Sakura Castle (Aichi)
History
There are three castles around Toyotashi Station that are closely linked together. The first castle was Kanaya Castle, built around 1308-1310 by the Chujo clan. It had three small baileys near the present day Uwagoromo Station, but has largely been developed over and the Meitetsu Train line runs through the middle of it. Kanaya Castle was abandoned in 1600 when Miyake Yasusada built Sakura Castle to the east of present day Toyotashi Station.
Sakura Castle was also built three times. The first Sakura Castle was built by Miyake Yasusada in 1607. It had a proper castle and castle town and lasted from 1607-1664. The structure and size of this castle has been lost to history. When the Koromo Domain was abolished in 1664, the castle was destroyed, moats were filled and warehouses were built on the castle site. In 1683, Honda Tadatoshi built a jin'ya (government outpost for smaller domains without a castle) on the site of the former castle. In 1756, Naito Masamitsu became a "castle holding" level daimyo and started construction of the third Koromo Castle. After the Yahagi River flooded in 1779, Naito gave up on Sakura Castle and move to Koromo Castle on a hillside roughly in the middle between the locations of Sakura Castle and Kanaya Castle. Thus, the third castle in the series of castles around Toyotashi Staion is Koromo Castle. See that profile for more details.
The stone wall you see today was the foundation of a yagura of the Second Bailey (Ninomaru). One legend says that the castle is called Sakura (cherry blossoms in Japanese) because Miyake Yasusada planted many cherry blossom trees around the castle. The legend is unfounded and may have been just a clever story playing off different kanji for the name Sakura (桜= cherry blossoms vs. 佐久良)
Visit Notes
Only the castle wall foundation of a yagura remains in the Sakurajoshi Park. This was once a fairly large, albeit short lived castle. You can see an illustration of what the castle was like on this page. it's the second illustration from the bottom. You can read more about the history of this castle and the other two related castles below. Unfortunately, I ran out of time to visit the Kanaya Castle site on this trip, but there is really nothing to see of the site.
Castle Profile | |
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English Name | Sakura Castle (Aichi) |
Japanese Name | 桜城 (佐久良城) |
Founder | Miyake Yasusada |
Year Founded | 1600 |
Castle Type | Flatland |
Castle Condition | Ruins only |
Designations | Local Historic Site |
Historical Period | Edo Period |
Features | stone walls |
Visitor Information | |
Access | Toyotashi Sta. (Meitetsu Mikawa Line), 7 min walk |
Visitor Information | Park; open 24/7 |
Time Required | 10 mins |
Website | https://www.tourismtoyota.jp/spots/detail/58/ |
Location | Toyota, Aichi Prefecture |
Coordinates | 35° 5' 4.06" N, 137° 9' 35.57" E |
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Admin | |
Added to Jcastle | 2020 |
Contributor | Eric |
Admin Year Visited | 2020 |
Admin Visits | January 14, 2020 |
Friends of JCastle | |
Kojodan - Sakura Castle | |
Jokaku Horoki - Sakura Castle |
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