Obi Castle

History

The first castle on this site was founded by the Tsuchimochi clan during the Nanboku-cho Period, but it mostly comes into history from the mid 1400's. The Shimazu fortified this castle to prevent expansion into Obi by the Ito clan. It became a focal point of conflict between the Ito and Shimazu, but the Ito only managed to win it once in 1567. It was taken back by the Shimazu in 1572 and remained in their control until Hideyoshi's Kyushu campaigns in 1587. The Ito Clan, one of the first allies of Hideyoshi, were awarded Obi for their loyalty. The Ito started the development of the castle town. In 1686, Ito Sukezane began a major overhaul of the castle to fortify it against earthquakes and to rebuild it into a modern castle. The Ito Clan continued to rule until the Meiji Period.

Visit Notes

The Obi area of Nichinan is one of many self proclaimed little Kyoto's. It has some old samurai homes, temples, warehouses, museums etc that you can also enjoy on your visit to Obi to give you a feel for the Edo Period life.

Gallery

Road to the Otemon
Otemon from behind
Path to the Obi Castle History Museum
old honmaru
Path up to the Matsuo no Maru
View of the elementary school on the grounds of the honmaru from the Matsuo no Maru
Obi Castle History Museum
Part of Yoshokan, the residence of the Ito family
North Gate
North Gate

Castle Profile
English Name	Obi Castle
Japanese Name	飫肥城
Alternate Names	Maizuru-jo
Founder	Tsuchimochi clan
Year Founded	15th c.
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	No main keep but other buildings
Designations	Top 100 Castles, Local Historic Site
Historical Period	Edo Period
Features	gates, samurai homes, stone walls, walls, castle town
Visitor Information
Access	Obi Sta. (Nichinan Line), 15 min walk
Visitor Information	600 yen; open 9:30-16:30; closed Dec 29-31;
Time Required
Website	http://www.miyazaki-cci.or.jp/nichinan/obijyou.html
Location	Nichinan, Miyazaki Prefecture
Coordinates	31° 37' 44.80" N, 131° 21' 1.08" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2012
Contributor	Frank T.
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed

3.00

(3 votes)

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Anonymous user #1

3 months ago

Score 0 You

Thank you for this and all your other castle articles!

A reader in France

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FindlayjamiePeasant

93 months ago

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A small, but very pleasant castle site, and a wonderful town around. When I was there (early August) there were hardly any people around, and most Japanese people seem hardly to have heard of this gem of a place.

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FurinkazanDaimyo

138 months ago

Score 0

Obi city is a nice place to visit. For 600yen you have access to 7 buildings in the area of the castle. When the lady who sold me the ticket asked me if i came with a train, i showed her my JR-Pass. She deduced 100yen from the fee, because i came with the train. The grounds of the castle are interesting and the museum on the castleground have very nice artifacts. The Matsu no maru contains a very nice reconstructed nobleman's residence. If you have time try to spend certainly half a day in this little city.

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