Ohtawara Castle

History

Ôtawarajō was built in 1545 by Ôtawara Sukekiyo of the Ôtawara Clan who were vassals of the Nasu Clan during the Sengoku period. In 1590 Toyotomi Hideyoshi fought a campaign against the powerful Hōjō Clan in Kantō. The Nasu did not want to get involved but the Ôtawara Clan and neighbouring Ôzeki Clan wanted to assist Hideyoshi. The leader of the Ôzeki, based at Kurobanejō not far from Ôtawarajō, was Ôzeki Takamasu, the uncle of Ôtawara Clan leader Ôtawara Harukiyo. They both defied the Nasu to ally with Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the Siege of Odawara, and as a reward the Ôtawara Clan was enfeoffed with holdings of 7,000 koku. During the Battle of Sekigahara, the Ôtawara sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu and he awarded them with a further 5,000 koku. The Ôtawara's luck backing winners seemed never to run out. Unlike many neighbouring clans, including the Ôzeki, in 1868 the Ôtawara did not side with the Shogunate, but joined the revolution of the Imperialists, and as a result Ôtawarajō was attacked by Loyalists from Aiźu and the palace in the third bailey was razed. After the Meiji Restoration the new government had no need for castles such as Ôtawarajō and in 1873 it was abandoned and its structures were dismantled. During the mid' Edo period, Ôtawarajō's Omote-chūōmon (Central Front Gate) was relocated to a nearby temple. It burnt down in 1825 but was thereafter reconstructed. Even though it's not an original structure from the castle, it does represent one. The gate is at Kōshinji and, whilst I didn't visit because I didn't realise how close it was to the castle, it turns out it's only a few minutes' walk away, and so is probably worth a gander.

Visit Notes

Ôtawarajō is a hirayamajiro (a castle built around a hilltop and expanding onto flatland) ruin. It has dorui (earth-piled ramparts), moats and several cleared baileys. A small mizubori (water moat) segment is preserved at the foot of the hill (next to the car park) in the former nishi-kuruwa (west bailey); it is shown here frozen over. The high ramparts are impressive and it's interesting to see how the natural terrain was sculpted into a fortification. The honmaru (main bailey) is ringed by high ramparts with cherry blossom trees on top (but I went in winter) and it is pleasant to stroll around them. The ninomaru (second bailey) contains some modern concrete monuments: one is a 'peace tower' but it does not take the form of an Indian stupa like they usually do. The north bailey is terraced. The upper part contains benches and children's swings (in Japanese 'blanco', presumably from Portuguese). The lower north bailey runs adjacent to the road and bridge over the river; traditionally this road is the Ōshū-Kaidō, one of the five major transit routes of the Edo period. The castle's main entrance opened out onto this road, along which were stables and bukeyashiki (samurai residences). A path from the north bailey loops around the back of the honmaru. If you look over the river from here you can see a large modern onsen building built very vaguely to look like a castle tower. The honmaru and ninomaru were connected by an earthen bridge and both were accessible from a gate at the foot of the hill. The honmaru and the sannomaru (third bailey) both once contained goten (palaces).

Admin note: original history and profile by ART. Photos renewed 2021 after Admin visit. You'll probably want to visit as part of a day trip to Kurobane Castle. Otawara Castle is along the same bus route that takes you to Kurobane Castle.

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Castle Profile
English Name	Ohtawara Castle
Japanese Name	大田原城
Founder	Ohtawara Sukekiyo
Year Founded	1545
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Designations	Local Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	water moats, trenches
Visitor Information
Access	Nishi-Nasuno Station on the Tohoku Main Line
Visitor Information	Free 24/7
Time Required	60 mins
Website	https://warp.da.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/2931644/www.city.ohtawara.tochigi.jp/11,798,45,161.html
Location	Ohtawara, Tochigi Prefecture
Coordinates	36° 52' 5.92" N, 140° 2' 4.81" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2018
Contributor	ART
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed, 2021
Admin Visits	May 9, 2021
Friends of JCastle
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