Kakunodate Castle

History

The original castle was founded by the Tozawa clan in late 1500's but some legends say it actually dates to the 1400's. The castle and castle town we see today however dates from the early 1600's and was founded by Ashina Yoshikatsu. When his older brother Satake Yoshinobu was re-assigned to Akita after the Battle of Sekigahara, Yoshikatsu became the lord of Kakunodate Castle.

The town of Kakunodate was originally located to the North of Mt. Furushiroyama. When Ashina Yoshikatsu became lord of Kakunodate he relocated the town to a more suitable location for developing a castle town. It's new location is surrounded by mountains on three sides and open to the Senboku plains to the South by the Tamagawa River. Kakunodate Castle was decommissioned under the One Castle Per Country Edict in 1620, but the samurai as well as the former lord of the castle remained in Kakunodate and fortified the town itself.

Visit Notes

The castle is about a 20 minute uphill walk from the stoplight at the end of the samurai quarter. It is not a difficult climb, but is a climb nevertheless. It is well worth your time to visit the top of the mountain and castle site simply for the stunning views of the valley and the town below. It looks like the castle originally was well developed with many small baileys around the mountain and side baileys (koshiguruwa) and stepped baileys, but many areas of the map say "unsurveyed" so it may have been even larger than what is known today. In the town, there are a lot of old "looking" houses and old houses in the castle town but only a handful of original samurai homes, only 6 of which are open to the public. See the individual samurai home pages for the details of each. There is also one original gate that has been relocated in the town. See the photos and map below for details.

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Gallery

The castle is atop this mountain
Side Bailey off the main bailey
View of the town from a side bailey
View from a side Bailey off the main bailey
Entrance to the hiking trail
Hiking trail
Small bailey
Main Bailey
Main Bailey
Small bailey
Trail
Main Bailey
Main Bailey
Main Bailey
Memorial in the middle of the main bailey
Baileys leading to the Otemon
Baileys leading to the Otemon
series of stepped baileys
Original gate repurposed at the Ten'eiji Temple
Original gate repurposed at the Ten'eiji Temple
Map of the castle
Castle town
Dogleg road in the castle town
Dogleg street junction
Castle town
Wall of the castle town
Samurai quarter
Wall of the samurai quarter
Wall of the samurai quarter
Samurai quarter
Map of the castle town
Map of the samurai quarter

Castle Profile
English Name	Kakunodate Castle
Japanese Name	角館城
Alternate Names	Komatsuyama-jo
Founder	Tozawa Clan
Year Founded	15th C.
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	No main keep but other buildings
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	samurai homes, castle town
Visitor Information
Access	Kakunodate Station (Akita Shinkansen); 15 minute walk
Visitor Information	park, open any time
Time Required	20 mins for the castle itself, most of one day for the castle and castle town
Website	http://kakunodate-kanko.jp/category/2015/04/post-34.html
Location	Semboku, Akita Prefecture
Coordinates	39° 36' 23.51" N, 140° 33' 45.83" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	1999
Admin Year Visited	1998, 2004, 2018
Admin Visits	April, 1998; Aug 9, 2004; May 11, 2018

Nearby Samurai Homes

Aoyagi Residence

Ishiguro Residence (Kakunodate)

2.62

(13 votes)

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ARTShogun

23 months ago

Score 0

Castle fans are obligated to visit the barren ruins of the castle proper on the mount, but really everyone goes for the treasure trove of preserved samurai homes in the town which make this site a must-visit!

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Kiddus i2003Gunshi

94 months ago

Score 0

The streets were starting to be covered by Sakura which made the visit worthwhile. The Samurai houses were very interesting but very crowded due to the beginning of Hanami.

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Anonymous user #1

124 months ago

Score 0

I agree with Frank, although Kakunodate is worth a visit, the castle itself is a bad joke. Nothing left. IMHO it does not deserve its rating 4/5.

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Frank T.Gunshi

152 months ago

Score 0

The samurai quarter IS good, but you can see samurai quarters in other places more conveniently located and with castles to go along with them. I took the time to hike up to the actual site of the castle. It's a mosquito infested, overgrown lookout of the town with NOTHING else to see--not even stones.

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