Iwatsuki Castle

History

Ohta Doshin, a retainer of Ougiya Uesugi Mochitomo, built Iwatsuki castle. It was built around the same time as Kawagoe Castle and Edo Castle as an important fortification for the Ougiya Uesugi clan. The castle made good use of natural defenses with the Arakawa River to the North and East and a swampy area to the South and West.

The castle was taken over by the Hojo in 1525. Iwatsuki Castle fell to Hideyoshi's allies during his Odawara campaigns. It is said that a force of 20,000 was sent against the 2000 defenders. After Tokugawa moved to Edo, many different lords were stationed here. In 1775 a great fire burned down most of the castle buildings. The castle was dismantled in 1870 and most of it has been settled as a residential area. The remaining Shinkuruwa and Kajikurawa were external courtyards outside the main Honmaru, Ninomaru, etc.

Visit Notes

A nice little park for a walk (except for the dozen or so mosquito bites I got). The 2 original gates are well preserved. They could have put more effort into signage around the grounds.

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Gallery

kuromon
yakuimon gate
shoji bori moat
shinkuruwa moat
shinkuruwa dry moat
shinkuruwa moat
kajikuruwa
pond
map

Castle Profile
English Name	Iwatsuki Castle
Japanese Name	岩槻城
Founder	Ohta Doshin
Year Founded	1457
Castle Type	Flatland
Castle Condition	No main keep but other buildings
Designations	Local Historic Site
Historical Period	Edo Period
Features	gates
Visitor Information
Access	Iwatsuki Sta. (Noda Line), 20 min walk
Visitor Information	24/7 free; park
Time Required	120 minutes
Website	http://www.city.saitama.jp/www/contents/1188883041192/index.html
Location	Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture
Coordinates	35° 57' 3.85" N, 139° 42' 41.51" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2009
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2009
Admin Visits	August 29, 2009

2.33

(3 votes)

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ARTShogun

45 months ago

Score 1

Iwatsukijō (Iwatsuki) 　岩槻城・白鶴城［岩槻］

It was a terribly rainy day when I visited this site so I struggled to take any crisp pictures, my camera being rather sodden. The ruins of Iwatsukijō are extensive and impressive. Features include multiple kuruwa (baileys), dorui (earth-piled ramparts), karabori (dry moats), and two preserved gates from the castle. In one trench shōjibori had been unearthed, which is a sort of latticework trench system, but this has been reburied. The site today is centered around a large park. I came across a sign in town which said Hirokoji (広小路) Street, "former samurai house street", but there aren't any old homes there now unfortunately. There is still an old bell tower, however, built in 1853, used to tell the time for the castle and town. Iwatsukijō was my 400th unique castle visit!

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Anonymous user #1

169 months ago

Score 0

Iwatsuki is mildly famous as the site war-dogs, (gunken), were first used in a battle. It is also mildly famous as a good cherry-blossom viewing site in Saitama. The town is notable for its production of dolls. There is a service station on the site of the honmaru.

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