Open to
the public yes Year built 1601 Built by Honda Tadakatsu | In use Edo period Phone +81 594-24-1231 Demolished 1873 | |
 | ||
Type flatland-style Japanese castle Condition partially reconstructed Address 5 Chome-1 Yoshinomaru, Kuwana, Mie Prefecture 511-0032, Japan Similar Kyuka Park, Kameyama Castle, Toba Castle, Kuwana Station, Matsusaka Castle | ||
2011 02 12 reproduced battle at kuwana castle
Kuwana Castle (桑名城, Kuwana-jō) is a Japanese castle located in Kuwana, northern Mie Prefecture, Japan. At the end of the Edo period, Kuwana Castle was home to a branch the Matsudaira clan, daimyō of Kuwana Domain. The castle was also known as "Ōgi-jō" (扇城) or "Asahi-jō" (旭城).
Contents
History
During the late Heian period and Muromachi period, the area of modern Kuwana was known as Jūraku-no-tsu (十楽の津) and was a major seaport on the east coast of Japan, controlled by a guild of merchants. The poet Socho described it in 1515 as a major city with over a thousand houses, temples and inns. The port was protected by three fortifications, (Higashi Castle, Nishi Castle, Misaki Castle) which made up what was known as the “Three Castles of Kuwana”. During the Sengoku period, the area came under the control of the warlord Oda Nobunaga, followed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who initially installed Nobunaga’s younger son Oda Nobukatsu as ruler as all of Ise Province until the Battle of Odawara, In 1595, Hideyoshi assigned Ujiie Yukihiro a 22,000 koku domain, but he was dispossessed by Tokugawa Ieyasu after the Battle of Sekigahara. Kuwana then came under the control of Honda Tadakatsu, who built a new castle on the riverbank on what was roughly the site of the old Higashi Castle. Under the Honda, Kuwana-juku developed as a prosperous post town on the vital Tōkaidō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto. Kuwana Castle at this point was protected on three sides by a river. It had a six-story donjon 3 three-story yagura, 24 two-story yagura, 12 one-story yagura and 46 gates.
In 1616, the Honda were transferred to Himeji Domain, and Kuwana domain came under the control of a branch of the Matsudaira clan, who would rule Kuwana throughout the remainder of the Edo period. The castle burned down in a fire of 1701, which also destroyed most of the surrounding castle town. The Tokugawa shogunate did not grant permission for the donjon to be rebuilt, and the rest of the castle was restored on a much smaller scale.
During the Bakumatsu period, Kuwana was ruled by Matsudaira Sadaaki, key supporter of the Tokugawa clan in the Boshin War. However, in his absence while fighting the Satchō Alliance in northern Japan, the castle was surrendered to without a battle. It was set on fire by troops of the Meiji government and after the Meiji Restoration, its stone walls were demolished to form part of the breakwater at Yokkaichi Port.
In 1928, the inner bailey and a portion of the second bailey were made into a public part, the Kyuka Park (九華公園, Kyūka-kōen) and the castle site became a Mie Prefectural Historical Landmark in 1942.
The current structures include two reconstructed yagura.