Tsuruga Castle

History

Tsurugajō was constructed circa 1583 by Yoritaka Hachiya. The castle is thought to have been 500m north-south by 300m east-west in area, constructed with mizubori (moats) and a three-tier donjon. In 1589 Ôtani Yoshitsugu took over as lord with a fiefdom valued at 50,000 koku. He extensively renovated and expanded the castle's moats, making use of Tsuruga's connection to the harbour. In 1600, Ôtani fought for Ishida Mitsunari at the Battle of Sekiǵahara; although he had reservations about fighting Tokugawa Ieyasu, it is said that Lord Ôtani was resolved by Ishida's zeal and righteousness. Ôtani Yoshitsugu died in the battle.

Although Tsurugajō was formally decommissioned in 1616 due to the Ikkoku-Ichijōrei, a decree limiting the number of castles per domain, it later became the domain office of a sub-fief for Tsuruga, as part of the wider Obama Domain, at which time it was known as Tsuruga-daikansho. From 1634 the Sakai Clan, starting with Sakai Tadakatsu, ruled Obama Domain; the sub-fief of Tsuruga became the Mariyama Domain, and it was based at the Mariyama-jin'ya (also called Tsuruga-jin'ya) near to Kaneǵasaki. Gradually the port town of Tsuruga developed, swallowing up the remains of Tsurugajō.

Visit Notes

Tsurugajō is now the site of Shinganji, a temple, and few ruins remain. There are waterways in the neighbourhood which look like they were formerly part of the castle's moats (particularly where they were formerly wider but have clearly been narrowed for road and park expansion). A stone block with a circular hole in it, said to be a foundation stone from the castle, sits before the temple's main hall next to a marker indicating the site of the castle. At another temple, Raigōji, is a gate which was used at the castle, or the later jin'ya, as its nakamon (middle gate) - now it's the sōmon (general gate) of the temple, before the main hall. Other traces of the castle here and there can be found throughout Tsuruga. There is also an information board with some depictions of the castle found at the corner of East Tsuruga Elementary School.

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Gallery

• 

  Relocated Nakamon gate seen from rear
• 

  Relocated jin'ya gate from front
• 
• 
• 

  Layout of daikansho
• 

  Former moat of the castle
• 

  Foundation stone said to have been used at the castle
• 

  Former Moat Site

Castle Profile
English Name	Tsuruga Castle
Japanese Name	敦賀城
Alternate Names	敦賀代官所・敦賀奉行所
Founder	Yoritaka Hachiya
Year Founded	c. 1583
Castle Type	Flatland
Castle Condition	No main keep but other buildings
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Artifacts	Nakamon (Middle Gate)
Features	gates, water moats
Visitor Information
Access	Tsuruga Station on the Hokuriku Main Line / Obama Line; 15 minute walk to Shinganji; 25 minute walk to Raigōji
Visitor Information	24/7 free; temple
Time Required	30 minutes
Location	Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture
Coordinates	35° 39' 18.14" N, 136° 3' 48.96" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2023
Contributor	ART
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed
Friends of JCastle
Jōkaku Hōrōki
Kojōdan
Jōkaku Tanbō

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ARTShogun

5 months ago

Score 1

A fairly complete profile by my standards; I've added co-ords because it can be difficult to know where everything is, and I had to do a lot of searching on the web. There is a little drawing of a castle tower on the signboard next to the school. I don't know where the tenshu was located, but presumably where the temple now is. The site of the daikansho is given as the school, and the site of the castle at the temple, but I have treated them as a single site in this profile.

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