Takasaki Castle

From Jcastle.info

Takasaki12.jpg

History

The history of Takasaki Castle begins with Wada Castle constructed by Wada Yoshinobu around 1428. After the fall of the Hojo in 1590, Wada Castle was destroyed.

Tokugawa Ieyasu had Ii Naomasa (lord of Minowa castle) construct a castle in Takasaki at this strategic crossroads of the Nakasendo and Mikuni trade routes. Ii Naomasa renamed the area Takasaki and built up the foundations of the castle town. After three years, Ii Naomasa was sent to Hikone where he built the famous Hikone Castle. Starting with Ando Shigenobu in 1619, the castle underwent 77 years rebuilding and reconstruction. During the Meiji Period, Takasaki Castle was actually one of the castles that were saved under the Castle Abolition Law for use as government or military purposes. Even so, all the buildings were eventually destroyed or sold. The East Gate and Inui Yagura are both original, but were moved here from other locations. Today, the city offices, a hospital, schools, etc occupy part of the Sannomaru where the yagura and gate were moved to.


Visit Notes

if you spend any time in Gunma visiting the many interesting castles you'll likely find yourself with some free time at Takasaki Station at some point. That's the perfect time to take the short walk to visit these few ruins. For my second visit, I got off the bus near the castle on the way back from Takatome Castle. The second time through i found some more points of interest I did not see the first time years ago, like the stone waterway. See the photos for details.
群馬県いは面白いお城が沢山あります。いろいろ登城している中できっと高崎駅時間が余ります。その時に徒歩約10分のところにある高崎城に行けばいいです。最近行った時は鷹留城の帰りのバスで高崎城のそば降りてみて帰りました。二回目は一回目の時に気づかなかった医師がの水路も見つかりました。


Loading map...


Gallery
  • Inui Yagura and East Gate
  • Inui Yagura, originally in the Honmaru
  • East Gate
  • East gate
  • Stone walls and Inui Yagura
  • Stone walls
  • Stone walls and Inui Yagura
  • Sannomaru Moats
  • Sannomaru Moats
  • Sannomaru Moats
  • Sannomaru Moats
  • Sannomaru Moats
  • Earthen embankment
  • Earthen embankment
  • Waterway between the Honmaru and Ninomaru
  • Stone walls
  • Stone walls
  • Cutaway of the embankment
  • Sannomaru moat
  • Sannomaru moat
  • Map
  • Map


Castle Profile
English Name Takasaki Castle
Japanese Name 高崎城
Alternate Names Wada-jo
Founder Ii Naomasa
Year Founded 1597
Castle Type Flatland
Castle Condition No main keep but other buildings
Designations Prefectural Historic Site
Historical Period Edo Period
Features gates, turrets, water moats, stone walls, walls
Visitor Information
Access Takasaki Sta. (Takasaki Line), 10 min. walk
Visitor Information open any time
Time Required 30 mins
Website http://www.city.takasaki.gunma.jp/kankou/sigai/yagura/yagura.htm
Location Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture
Coordinates 36° 19' 26.04" N, 139° 0' 15.44" E
Loading map...
Admin
Added to Jcastle 2008
Contributor Eric
Admin Year Visited 2008, 2017
Admin Visits November 6, 2008; November 24, 2017


1.75
(8 votes)
Add your comment
Jcastle.info welcomes all comments. If you do not want to be anonymous, register or log in. It is free.


avatar

ARTShogun

90 months ago
Score 1++
Takasaki Castle has been hollowed out and its inner sanctum used as the administrative center of the modern city. The surrounding moat and dorui (earth embankments) however are well maintained, and a gate and yagura (sentry tower) survive as original structures on the site.
avatar

FurinkazanDaimyo

107 months ago
Score 0++
After Minowajo, i had time left before going to Tokyo. So i visited these structures. RaymondW and the Webmaster said everything about this site. Because the buildings are original i give it 1.5 stars. This was my last castle visit in Japan for this year. Tomorrow i return home.
avatar

RaymondWDaimyo

126 months ago
Score 0++
This castle has been mostly built over with government buildings. Some of the water moats, earthen ramparts (in some places 4 to 5 metres high), stone walls, and two original structures remain. The only remaining yagura, moved from its original location, is closed to the public. There isn’t that much to see here, but in early November with some the tree leaves turning into their fiery autumnal hues, the castle park is fairly pretty and worth a detour if one is in the area visiting other castles. Of course, for Ii Naomasa fans, this is one of his pre-Hikone castles. Like at Hikone Castle, there are some significant earthen ramparts, but there is very little of the castle left to properly compare it with Hikone Castle. For me, this is only a one-star site. It could rate a little higher if they open up the yagura to the public.