The founding year of Amagasaki Castle is traditionally considered to be 1617, when Toda Ujikané built his castle here, making it the administrative center of the Amagasaki Domain. However, as early as the Sengoku period, a fortress built by the Hosokawa clan already stood on this site. After the fall of Itami Castle in 1579, Araki Murashige—formerly a vassal of Oda Nobunaga who had rebelled against him—fled to this earlier castle.
Because Amagasaki Castle was constructed during the peaceful Edo period, it was never subjected to military attacks. After Toda Ujikané, ownership of the castle passed to the Aoyama clan in 1635, and from 1711 until the end of the Edo period it was held by the Sakurai branch of the Matsudaira clan.
Throughout its history, Amagasaki suffered repeatedly from fires. In 1846, the palace of the main bailey, the Hommaru Goten, was completely destroyed by fire, but it was later rebuilt.
In 1873, in accordance with an edict issued by the new Meiji government, the castle was dismantled. All of its buildings were put up for auction, with merchants from Osaka becoming the main buyers. The structures were taken apart and transported elsewhere, but their subsequent fate is now unknown. Stones from the castle walls were reused in the construction of a breakwater in Osaka Bay.
Part of the daimyō’s residence survived and was used as the main hall of Shinshō-in Temple, but it was destroyed during the air raids of 1945.
Amagasaki Castle occupied a strategically advantageous position between the Omotsugawa and Shōgegawa rivers, which flowed into Osaka Bay. After construction was completed, ships from the bay could enter the castle directly via the rivers and moats.
Amagasaki consisted of several baileys separated by wide water-filled moats known as mizubori and stone walls called ishigaki. The castle had its own four-story tenshu donjon located at a corner of the main bailey, several two-story yagura turrets, and three additional three-story towers positioned at the corners of the main hommaru bailey. The hommaru itself was square in shape, with sides measuring approximately 115 meters. Three bridges led into the main bailey, each controlled by masugata barbicans.
Today, the site of the former main hommaru bailey is occupied by the buildings of Meijō Municipal Elementary School. Most of the other baileys have been lost to urban development. Only a small northern section of the former castle grounds is now preserved as part of Amagasaki Castle Ruins Park. The city board of education has conducted archaeological excavations at the castle ruins more than twenty times, and the artifacts that were discovered are displayed in the city’s historical museum.
In 2015, a local entrepreneur established a foundation with the goal of reconstructing the castle’s donjon. Part of the necessary funding was raised through donations from local residents. Construction work began in 2016 and was completed in 2019. In addition to the donjon, sections of stone ishigaki walls and earthen dobei walls were also built.
Although the reconstructed donjon generally resembles the main tower depicted in surviving plans, it is considered a so-called “fake” reconstruction, as it was not built on the original site of the historical donjon—it stands instead in the area of the former Nishi-sannomaru bailey—differs in several details from the original, and is made of reinforced concrete. This last point in particular has drawn criticism in light of the growing movement in Japan to replace postwar reinforced-concrete “reconstructions” of donjons with more authentic wooden structures.
The interior of the donjon houses informational displays on the history of the castle and the region, as well as various installations and interactive exhibition areas.
See also
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Nadzima Castle
It is believed that the first structures on this site were built by Tachibana Akitoshi (?-1568), head of the Tachibana clan, a branch family of the Ōtomo clan, as auxiliary fortifications for Tachibanayama Castle. In 1587, Toyotomi Hideyoshi established control over the island of Kyushu and granted Chikuzen Province to Kobayakawa Takakage, one of the leading vassals of the Mori clan. Takakage began construction of a new castle on the site of the existing fortifications in 1588. The exact date of completion is unknown, but by the time the invasion of Korea began in 1592, the castle had already been finished, as records note that Toyotomi Hideyoshi stayed there overnight on his way to Hizen Nagoya Castle, which served as the headquarters of the invasion forces.
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Kubota Castle
The founder of the castle is considered to be Satake Yoshinobu (1570–1633). Yoshinobu was one of the six great generals of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. During the Odawara Campaign of 1590, he took part in the siege of Oshi Castle under the command of Ishida Mitsunari, with whom Yoshinobu developed a good relationship.
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Kavanhoe Castle
Kawanoe Castle is located on the small Wasi-yama hill near the port area of the Kawanoe district in the city of Shikokuchuo, occupying a central position along the northern coast of Shikoku Island. Kawanoe was also known as Butsuden Castle. The term “butsuden” in Japan refers to temple halls, and for this reason it is believed that a Buddhist temple once stood on the site before the castle was built. Due to its location at the junction of four provinces on Shikoku Island, Kawanoe held significant strategic importance and was repeatedly targeted by rival forces seeking military control over the region.
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Yokote Castle
The founder of the castle is considered to be the Onodera clan. The Onodera were originally a minor clan from Shimotsuke Province and served Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–1199), the founder of the first shogunate. The Onodera distinguished themselves in battle against the Fujiwara clan of the Ōshū branch and were rewarded with lands around Yokote. Around the 14th century, the Onodera moved to Yokote as their permanent residence. Their original stronghold was Numadate Castle, but after a series of clashes with the powerful Nambu clan, they relocated their base to the site of present-day Yokote Castle. It was likely during this time that the first fortifications appeared at the castle.
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Wakayama Castle
Wakayama Castle was built in 1585, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered his uterine brother, Hashiba (Toyotomi) Hidenaga, to construct a castle on the site of the recently captured Ota Castle. The purpose of this construction was to secure control over the likewise newly conquered Province of Kii. Following an already established tradition, Hidenaga entrusted the project to his castle-building expert, Todo Takatora. Takatora carefully inspected the future castle site, personally drew up several designs, created a model of the planned castle, and took part in the work of laying out the grounds (nawabari). For the construction he brought in more than 10,000 workers and completed the large-scale project within a single year, which was considered extremely fast by the standards of the time.
Toyama Castle
Toyama Castle is located almost in the very center of the former province of Etchū and is surrounded by a wide plain with a large number of rivers. The very first castle on the banks of the Jinzu River was built in 1543 by Jimbo Nagamoto. The Jimbo clan were vassals of the Hatakeyama clan and governed the western part of Etchū Province. The eastern part of the province belonged to their rivals, the Shiina clan, who were also Hatakeyama vassals. Beginning in the 15th century, the influence of the ancient Hatakeyama clan gradually weakened, and as a result, the Jimbo and the Shiina fought constant wars for control of the province. Meanwhile, the forces of the Ikkō-ikki movement periodically intervened, helping first one side and then the other.
Takada Castle
During the Sengoku period, the lands where Takada Castle would later be built were part of Echigo Province and were controlled by the Uesugi clan.
Kishiwada Castle
The celebrated 14th-century military commander Kusunoki Masashige (1294–1336), who owned extensive lands south of what is now the city of Osaka, ordered one of his vassals, Kishiwada Osamu, to build a fortified residence. This order was carried out around 1336. These fortifications became the first structures on the site of what would later become Kishiwada Castle. From the beginning, the castle stood in a strategically important location—roughly halfway between the cities of Wakayama and Osaka, south of the key port of Sakai. Because of this position, it changed hands several times during periods of warfare.
