- Aizu domainRuled by the Uesugi and Aizu Matsudaira families.
- The Aizu domain was a strategic point in the Tohoku region that was captured by Date Masamune from the Aizu Ashina clan, and then commandeered by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. From the beginning of the Edo period, the Aizu Matsudaira family, whose origin was Masayuki Hoshina, the fourth son of Hidetada Tokugawa, served as the lord of the Aizu domain until the end of the Edo period. child
Tsuruga CastleAizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture
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- Tohoku
- Fukushima Prefecture
- Tsuruga Castle
| Other name | Aizuwakamatsu Castle, Kurokawa Castle |
|---|---|
| castle construction | 1384 |
| address | 1-1 Otemachi, Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture |
| telephone number | 0242-27-4005 |
| Opening hours | 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Last entry is 4:30 p.m.) |
| closing day | No holidays |
| Admission fee | Adults 410 yen, children 150 yen |
Tsuruga Castle is one of Japan's top 100 castles. An impregnable famous castle.
- Access to Tsuruga Castle
- From JR Aizuwakamatsu Station, take one of the four routes within the city, such as those bound for Takada or Nagaino via Ashinomaki or Nengocho, and get off at Tsurugajo Nishiguchi.
HISTORYTsurugasaki Castle, a red-tiled castle that was the site of a fierce battle during the Boshin War
Tsurugasaki Castle is a Hirayama castle built in Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture. It is also known as Wakamatsu Castle because it is registered as a national historic site under the name ``Wakamatsu Castle Ruins''. At the end of the Edo period, it also became the site of a fierce battle during the Boshin War. Here, we will look into the history of Tsurugasaki Castle.
- Medieval Tsurugasaki Castle
- It is said that Tsurugasaki Castle began in 1384 when a man named Naomori Ashina, the seventh generation of the Aizu Ashina clan, built a mansion called Higashi Kurokawakan. I am. The details of how this mansion became a castle are unknown, but in the 15th century it became Kurokawa Castle, a castle town was born, and it became the residence of the Aizu Ashina clan. Later, during the Sengoku period, the Ashina clan expanded its power around Kurokawa and became a powerful daimyo in Tohoku, on a par with the Date clan, famous for Date Masamune.
- Toyotomi Hideyoshi took Aizu from Date Masamune
- In 1589, Date Masamune, who was in a territorial dispute with the Aizu Ashina clan, ignored Toyotomi Hideyoshi's restraints and attacked Ashina Yoshihiro, destroying the Aizu Ashina clan and taking possession of Kurokawa Castle. However, in the following year, 1590, Date Masamune expressed his intention to submit to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Aizu came under the direct control of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and his loyal vassal Ujisato Gamo was appointed as the castle owner. There is a theory that this was done to keep Date Masamune in check.
Ujisato Gamo renovated Kurokawa Castle into a modern castle and renamed it Wakamatsu Castle. There is a theory that this name originates from Wakamatsu Shrine, which was located near the approach to Umamioka Watamukai Shrine, which was the guardian deity of the Gamo clan, and another theory that it originates from Matsusaka, which was their territory.
In 1593, a seven-story watchtower-shaped castle tower was completed, and the castle's name was changed from Wakamatsu Castle to Tsurugasaki Castle. However, in 1598, when Ujisato Gamo's son, Hideyuki Gamo, took over as head of the family, a commotion broke out in the family after he underreported the amount of stone. After Toyotomi Hideyoshi confiscated the Aizu territory, he made conditions such as accepting Tokugawa Ieyasu's daughter Furihime as his legal wife, and demolishing all castles other than Aizuwakamatsu Castle and seven branch castles. With Hideyuki Gamo's approval, Aizu territory was once again given to the Gamo clan. However, Hideyuki Gamo was unable to control his senior vassals and had his koku reduced from 920,000 koku to 180,000 koku, and was transferred to Utsunomiya, Shimotsuke Province. After that, Tsurugasaki Castle was given to Kagekatsu Uesugi. - Tsurugasaki Castle in the Edo period
- When the Battle of Sekigahara occurred in 1600, Uesugi Kagekatsu sided with the Western army. Therefore, after the battle was over, Tokugawa Ieyasu transferred Uesugi Kagekatsu to Utsunomiya, Shimotsuke Province, and had Hideyuki Gamo rule over Aizu again in his place. However, in 1627, Hideyuki Gamo's eldest son, Tadasato Gamo, died without being blessed with an heir, so Yoshiaki Kato entered the castle and, together with his son Akinari Kato, built extensions such as Nishidemaru and Kitademaru. I did. At this time, the castle tower, which had collapsed due to the Aizu earthquake in 1611, was rebuilt as a layered tower tower, which is currently being restored. In 1643, Kato Akinari was transferred to the castle, and Masayuki Hoshina entered the castle in his place. The Hoshina family later changed their name to the Aizu Matsudaira family, and Tsurugasaki Castle remained the residence of the Aizu Matsudaira family until the Meiji era.
- Tsurugasaki Castle and the Boshin War
- In 1868, the Aizu War, one of the phases of the Boshin War, broke out. This was a battle that occurred over the treatment of the Aizu clan between the Meiji government forces and the Ouuetsu clan alliance, which directed the former shogunate. The entire Aizu domain became a battlefield, but Tsurugasaki Castle became the stage for the final siege battle. The Aizu domain withstood the attack by Meiji government forces for a month, but when the Yonezawa domain and others surrendered, the era name changed from Keio to Meiji, and it surrendered on November 6th. After this, Tsurugasaki Castle was handed over to the Meiji government, placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Military Affairs, and managed by the Sendai Chindai. The effects of the Aizu War were large and many buildings were damaged, but these buildings were not rebuilt and were gradually demolished. In addition, a photo of the damaged Tsurugasaki Castle tower, said to have been taken in 1873, still exists.
- Tsurugasaki Castle after the Meiji era
- In 1874, the Meiji government issued the Nationwide Regulation on the Preservation, Abolition, and Disposal of Castles and the Selection of Military Encampments (commonly known as the Castle Abolition Order), and Tsurugasaki Castle became the property of the Army. The following year, all the buildings, including the castle tower, were demolished. One of the turrets, the Gosankai, still exists, having been relocated to a temple called Amida-ji Temple in Nanokamachi, Aizuwakamatsu City in 1899. Additionally, the Karaha style front entrance was also relocated from Honmaru Daishoin and is now the entrance to the third floor.
In 1890, when it was decided that part of the land in the castle ruins would be sold to the private sector, Keiji Endo, a former Aizu feudal samurai and Ministry of Finance official, later served as the second and fourth president of the 77 Bank. In order to preserve the entire castle ruins, a man gave up his personal wealth to purchase the land and donated it to the former feudal lord, the Matsudaira family.
Later, in 1908, when an army regimental training ground was built, part of Sannomaru, its moat, and earthworks, approximately 6ha, were removed, but the remaining 23ha of the castle ruins remained. It was designated as a national historic site by the Ministry of Education in 1934. - Current Tsurugasaki Castle
- In 1965, the exterior of Tsurugasaki Castle's castle tower was restored using reinforced concrete construction. Inside is the Wakamatsu Castle Castle Folk Museum. In 1990, the tea room "Rinkaku", which is said to have been built by Shoan, the eldest son of Sen no Rikyu, was moved and restored to its original location in the Honmaru, and in 2001, it was rebuilt as a rice turret within the Honmaru. The Minami-Hashiri Nagaya building will be restored and made of wood. In 2010, the roof of the castle tower was replaced with red tiles from the time of the Boshin War. Currently, the Wakamatsu Castle ruins include the restored castle tower, the Imperial Medicine Garden, which was a large strolling garden during the feudal period, the Chōyōkaku, a building associated with Princess Setsuko of Chichibu, the grandson of the feudal lord Katamori Matsudaira, and the tea room Rinkaku. The garden, tea room, and restored castle tower are open to the public as a museum.
Read about incidents related to Tsuruga Castle
- Keicho Dewa BattleAnother Sekigahara! “Keicho Dewa Battle” ~Kagekatsu Uesugi VS Yoshimitsu Mogami/Masamune Date
- In September 1600, the Eastern Army led by Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated the Western Army led by Ishida Mitsunari at Sekigahara in Mino (Gifu Prefecture) in the Battle of Sekigahara. It is famous as the battle that divided the world, but behind the scenes there was another major battle between the Eastern Army and the Western Army.
- Boshin WarThe Great War that determined the trends of the end of the Edo period and the Meiji Restoration
- The Tokugawa-Edo shogunate, which had lasted for 260 years, ended with the Restoration of Imperial Government, but the Tokugawa family continued to hold power. In response, members of the new government such as the Satsuma, Choshu, and Tosa clans sided with the former shogunate in order to seize control of the government.
- Battle of SuriueharaDate Masamune destroyed the Ashina clan and became the ruler of Oshu.
- On June 5, 1589, Date Masamune of Yonezawa (around present-day Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture) attacked and destroyed the Ashina clan of Aizu (Aizu region of Fukushima Prefecture). ``The Battle''. The Ashina clan fought for supremacy in Oshu, and sometimes
- Aizu conquestThe phantom battle that led to Sekigahara
- In June 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu set out to subjugate Kagekatsu Uesugi in Aizu (present-day western Fukushima prefecture, etc.) due to suspicion of rebellion. During this conquest, called the Aizu Conquest (Uesugi Conquest), Ishida Mitsunari and other Western troops campaigned against Ieyasu in Osaka.
Read biographies related to Tsuruga Castle
- Kagekatsu UesugiA righteous Hokuriku man
- During the Sengoku period, Uesugi Kenshin, the ``Dragon of Echigo,'' opposed Takeda Shingen, who was feared by those around him as the ``Tiger of Kai.'' After Kenshin passed away, Kagekatsu Uesugi led the Uesugi family. Kagekatsu teamed up with Ishida Mitsunari to fight against Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara.
History of the Aizu domain, whose domain office is Tsuruga Castle
| Domain office | Tsuruga Castle |
|---|---|
| old area | Mutsu Gaitsu District |
| stone height | 280,000 koku |
| Fudai/Tozama | Parent clan |
| main lord | Matsudaira family |
| Estimated population | 225,774 people (Ansei 5) |
Masayuki Hoshina, the founder of the domain, supported the fourth shogun, Ietsuna Tokugawa, as a key figure in the shogunate, and also played a major role in laying the foundations of the Aizu domain.
Tsuruga Castle, the symbol of Aizu, the site of the Boshin War
Tsuruga Castle (Wakamatsu Castle) is located in Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture. It was the stage for the Boshin War and is an impregnable castle that withstood a fierce attack for a month, and it attracted attention in the historical drama "Yae no Sakura". The castle tower, which was rebuilt in 1965, features red roofing tiles, the only one of its kind in Japan. It is also known as a famous cherry blossom spot, and in spring, the entire Tsuruga Castle Ruins Park is dyed a pale pink by 1,000 cherry trees.
- History of Tsuruga Castle
- Tsuruga Castle is said to have been built in 1384 by Ashina Naomori as Higashi Kurokawa Castle. It later developed into Kurokawa Castle, and in 1589, Date Masamune defeated the Ashina clan in the Battle of Suriagehara and entered the castle. After that, Masamune became a vassal of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and moved to Yonezawa Castle, and Gamo Ujisato took his place in Aizu. Starting in 1592, Ujisato remodeled Kurokawa Castle into a modern castle with stone walls and moats, and changed the name of the place from Kurokawa to Wakamatsu.
In 1593, the seven-story watchtower-style castle tower was completed and the castle was named Tsuruga Castle. Later, during the time of Gamo Ujisato's son, Hideyuki, problems arose and the Gamo clan moved to Omi (present-day Shiga Prefecture), and Uesugi Kagekatsu was transferred from Echigo (Niigata Prefecture) to take his place. Kagekatsu was on the Western side in the Battle of Sekigahara, but after the battle he was reduced to Yonezawa in Dewa Province (Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture), and Gamo Hideyuki took over Wakamatsu Castle again.
However, Gamo Tadasato, who succeeded Hideyuki, died without a legitimate son in 1627. The Gamo family was in danger of being extinct, but was allowed to continue by making his younger brother Gamo Tadatomo the successor and reducing his fief to Matsuyama in Iyo Province (Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture). In his place, Kato Yoshiaki moved from Matsuyama to Aizu.
During the time of Yoshiaki and his son Meisei, Wakamatsu Castle was expanded and remodeled, and after it was damaged in an earthquake, the castle tower was changed to a five-story tower type and the layout was changed to face north. Later, Tokugawa Iemitsu's younger brother, Hoshina Masayuki, was given additional land from Yamagata and moved to Aizu, and later the shogunate granted him the Matsudaira surname.
The next time Wakamatsu Castle appeared on the historical stage was during the Boshin War in 1868. The Aizu clan became part of the former Shogunate army and fought against the new government army, and Wakamatsu Castle also became a battlefield (Aizu War). After enduring artillery fire and fighting for a month, Wakamatsu Castle accepted the invitation to surrender and opened its doors.
After the Meiji period, the castle came under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War, and most of the buildings were demolished except for the stone walls in response to the castle abolition order, but some parts, such as the teahouse "Rinkaku," were relocated and escaped the disaster. The site became Tsuruga Castle Ruins Park, and the exterior of the castle tower was restored in 1965. In 1991, Rinkaku was relocated and restored, and in 2000, the rice-drying tower and south-running tenement house were restored in wood. - Highlights of Tsuruga Castle: 1. The red-tiled castle tower
- The biggest attraction of Tsuruga Castle is its castle tower, the exterior of which was restored in 1965. Originally, the five-story tower from the Kato period was restored with a black tile roof based on photographs from the early Meiji period, but in 2011 it was re-roofed with red tiles, the same as at the end of the Edo period.
These red tiles were developed at the behest of Masayuki Hoshina, and are made with a glaze that contains a lot of iron so that they can withstand the low temperatures and snowfall that is unique to snowy regions. Tsuruga Castle was reroofed with these tiles around 1648, and they were also used in other parts of Oshu.
The castle tower is now a museum, which is scheduled to reopen in April 2023. Using digital technology, the museum introduces the history of the castle, including the successive lords and the turmoil of the end of the Edo period. From the observation deck on the fifth floor, you can enjoy views of Aizuwakamatsu city, the Aizu Basin, Mt. Bandai, and more. - Highlights of Tsuruga Castle 2: Teahouse "Rinkaku"
- A teahouse connected to Sen no Rikyu's son, Sen no Shoan, has been relocated and restored to Tsuruga Castle. Sen no Rikyu was the tea ceremony teacher of Gamo Ujisato, and after Sen no Rikyu committed suicide, Ujisato hid Sen no Shoan for a time and worked to revive the Sen family. It is said that Rinkaku was built at that time.
When Wakamatsu Castle was demolished in the Meiji era, the eighth generation Zenbei Morikawa, a drug dealer and tea master, proposed to the government and moved the castle to his own garden at his own expense, which saved it from demolition. Today, you can enjoy matcha green tea and Japanese sweets while gazing at the garden. - Highlights of Tsuruga Castle 3: Musha-bashiri and stone walls
- At Tsuruga Castle, there remains a "Musha-hashiri" (walkway) near the main gate. A Musha-hashiri is a space on a passageway inside a castle. The Musha-hashiri on the stone walls of Tsuruga Castle is located behind the remains of the Taikomon Gate, which is the main gate. It is V-shaped, separating the uphill and downhill sections, so that soldiers can quickly climb onto the stone walls to intercept enemies attacking the Taikomon Gate.
The area around Taikomon Gate is made of stone walls made of rammed concrete, and here you can find the "Prostitute Stone," which is about 2.6 meters high and weighs about 8 tons. Legend has it that when the stone wall was being repaired, the stone was too large to carry, so a prostitute was placed on top of it to carry it.
Another highlight is the stone wall of the castle tower base, an old rough-faced structure built during the time of Gamo Ujisato. It is said to have been built by the professional stonemasons known as the Anato-shu.
The tallest part of the castle is the high stone wall near the Corridor Bridge, which is 20 meters high and is one of the tallest in eastern Japan. - Recommended photo spots
- The best place to take photos of Tsuruga Castle is from the Honmaru. If you take a photo with the iron gate, it will have a three-dimensional effect. In spring, if you take a photo of the cherry blossoms from the ruins of the Tsukimi Tower behind Rinkaku, the stone monument of "Kojo no Tsuki," or the surrounding earthworks, you can create a beautiful contrast between the cherry blossoms and the castle tower. It is also recommended to take a photo of the red corridor bridge and high stone walls from the Chatsubo Tower, located southeast of the Honmaru.
- WriterNaoko Kurimoto(Writer)I am a former travel industry magazine reporter. I have loved history, both Japanese and world history, since I was a child. I usually enjoy visiting temples and shrines, especially shrines, and often do ``pilgrimages to sacred places'' themed around historical figures. My favorite military commander is Ishida Mitsunari, my favorite castle is Kumamoto Castle, and my favorite castle ruins is Hagi Castle. My heart flutters when I see the ruins of battle castles and the stone walls of castle ruins.
Traveler
Introducing travelers photographed at Tsuruga Castle
HighlightsSightseeing Spots
- Oyakuen GardenFukushima Prefecture
- It has long been loved as a vacation home for generations of Aizu feudal lords.
- look
- Nanokamachi StreetFukushima Prefecture
- Popular for its retro townscape full of Taisho romance
- walk
- Lake InawashiroFukushima Prefecture
- Splashing ice in winter
- look
- Aizu samurai residenceFukushima Prefecture
- Time slip to the end of the Edo period
- look
- TonteiFukushima Prefecture
- A famous “sauce katsudon” restaurant loved by Aizu people
- eat
Tsuruga Castle column
Introduction column by castle enthusiasts
