Takaoka Castle

History

Maeda Toshinaga built Takaoka Castle in 1609 after Toyama Castle burned down. Toshinaga died in 1614. The castle was decommissioned in 1615, before it was even finished, under the One Castle per Domain law. It was designated as a park in 1875.

Visit Notes

Several baileys and large water moats remain, but I'm not sure why it would have been selected for the Top 100.

Gallery

Castle Profile
English Name	Takaoka Castle
Japanese Name	高岡城
Founder	Maeda Toshinaga
Year Founded	1609
Castle Type	Flatland
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Designations	Top 100 Castles, Prefectural Historic Site
Historical Period	Edo Period
Features	water moats, stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	Takaoka Sta. (Hokuriku Line), 10 min walk
Visitor Information
Time Required
Website	http://www.e-tmm.info/siro.htm
Location	Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture
Coordinates	36° 44' 57.01" N, 137° 1' 14.02" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2013
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed

1.25

(8 votes)

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ARTShogun

23 months ago

Score 0

My second visit to Takaokajō was much more rewarding than the first. When I first went in the summer of 2015 I was rather disappointed in what appeared to me to be little more than a large park with shrine buildings and sculptures. However, this time I made an exhaustive tour of the castle ruins, and we even took a boat ride in the moat. Takaokajō has two tall ishigaki (stone-piled ramparts) segments either side of an earthen bridge between the honmaru (main bailey) and ninomaru (second bailey). One side is approachable from below but the other is immediately adjacent to a mizubori (water moat) and the only way to get a good look is by boat. The boat didn't stop for us to appreciate the ishigaki, though, as I thought it might, but instead turned right around again. I realised then that the boat ride is mostly for people with little interest in ishigaki... I took some pictures to analyse at my leisure. Having inspected the other side I found lots of kokuin, or impressions in the stone blocks of the ishigaki, in various patterns, such as manji (swastika) and kushidango (skewered gelatinous rice balls) shapes. Takaokajō is really a fantastic site when one appreciates the mizubori (water moats), dorui (earthen ramparts) and aforementioned ishigaki. I went around each bailey and the whole of the outer moat. The park contains various facilities, and some of these obscure the dorui unfortunately. Luckily the zoo there is free to enter so one can get a glimpse of some solid dorui there. Dorui is likewise found around the honmaru and other baileys. Other structures include bridges, both reconstructed and earthen. Lastly, the park is really lovely in spring, with flowers blooming, birds chirping, and chubby babies a-romping.

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ARTShogun

23 months ago

Score 0

The reason Takaoka was selected for the top 100 is because each prefecture needed at least two and they didn't have any better candidates in the prefecture after Toyama. Still, though, it is a big site with impressive features. Other good sites in Toyama also exist, such as Yasuda; maybe they were selected for the Next Top 100 but i don't keep track of that sort of thing.

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ARTShogun

42 months ago

Score 0

I've lowered my score for Toyama Castle and raised it for Takaoka Castle, haha

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FurinkazanDaimyo

126 months ago

Score 0

What to add to the commentaries of the webmaster, hum, ah yes the 100 meijo stamp is in the municipal museum on the castlegrounds.

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