Ogawa Castle

History

The lord of Numata Castle, Numata Kagehisa, built Ogawa Castle to help defend him from the West. His son, Kageaki, became lord of the castle. Kageaki changed his surname from Numata to Ogawa, after the name of the village where the castle was located. From the Ogawa's support of the Numata against the Hojo, Ogawa earned the ire of the Hojo who attacked in 1580. Despite being vastly overmatched by the Hojo, the Ogawa lord put up a good fight but eventually burned the castle and escaped to the Echigo area. The castle was then controlled by the Hojo until they were defeated by Hideyoshi's forces during the Siege of Odawara. Thereafter, the castle returned to the control of the Sanada lords of Numata. The history after this point is somewhat vague, but for 19 years from 1638, Sanada Nobuzumi had a palace at Ogawa Castle until he became the head of the Numata Sanada clan and the fifth lord of Numata Castle.

Visit Notes

This is a fairly small castle, but it it is close to the station and just 2.5km from Nagurumi Castle. It's worth stopping by on your way to Nagurumi Castle. The main feature is the 6m deep moat of the Honkuruwa.
諸規模なお城ですが、駅に駅に近いし、名胡桃城から約2.5キロなので、名胡桃城のついでに訪れるといいです。本郭の６メートルほど深い堀が見事です。

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Gallery

Honmaru moat
Crossing the Honmaru moat
Honmaru moat
Honmaru Moat
The site of a yagura in the Honmaru
Honmaru Bailey
Sasakuruwa Bailey
Honmaru Bailey
Road through the Ninomaru Bailey

Castle Profile
English Name	Ogawa Castle
Japanese Name	小川城
Founder	Numata Kagehisa
Year Founded	1492-1501
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Designations	Prefectural Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	trenches
Visitor Information
Access	Jomokogen Sta. (Joetsu Bullet Train); 10 min walk
Visitor Information	park, open any time
Time Required	20 mins
Location	Minakami, Gunma Prefecture
Coordinates	36° 41' 33.65" N, 138° 58' 51.31" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2013
Admin Year Visited	2013
Admin Visits	Apr 29, 2013

2.00

(3 votes)

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Anonymous user #1

16 months ago

Score 0 You

08/05/2023. From Nagurumi castle, I walked to Ogawa castle. It's about 3km. I thought I wouldn't see a lot there, but actually, there was more to see. Sadly the second and third bailey's are now fields and housing. I saw some information panels across the road, but had no time to search for the third bailey.

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FurinkazanDaimyo

16 months ago

Score 0

my comment ^

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ARTShogun

40 months ago

Score 0

Ogawajō is a well maintained earthworks castle ruin with a network of deep karabori (dry moats), kuruwa (baileys) and dorui (earthen ramparts). A locally designated historic site, it is very easy to access. A lower bailey at the rear of the site seems to have been partially collapsed in a large landslide at some point, which has created an elliptical and concave cliffline which I recommend you do not fall off.

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