Anjo Castle was built on a slight elevation at the edge of the Hekikai Plateau, about 2 kilometers southeast of present-day central Anjo City in Aichi Prefecture. Today, the surrounding area thrives on large-scale agriculture and automotive manufacturing, utilizing the expansive flatlands and its proximity to the Nagoya region.
The exact year of Anjo Castle’s construction is unknown, but it is believed to have been established in the mid-15th century by the local Hatakeyama clan. The original Anjo Castle was located roughly 500 meters west of the current site, within a valley near a water source, serving as the residence of a minor local lord.
As the Hatakeyama clan expanded their power, they relocated their main stronghold to the current location. The new castle was built on a peninsula-like height surrounded by marshland, making it naturally defensible. It also commanded both the old Tokaido Road and the Yahagi River, giving it control over key land and water transportation routes.
Around the same time, the Matsudaira clan — based in the Matsudaira region of present-day Toyota City and ancestors of the Tokugawa Shogunate — began expanding southward. In the mid-15th century, they captured Iwatsu Castle (in present-day Okazaki City) and pushed into the Okazaki Plain.
Structure of Anjo Castle
Anjo Castle featured a central enclosure and several surrounding areas. The main enclosure was a rectangular space measuring about 60 meters by 30 meters, now the site of a temple. The central area stood about 5 meters above the surrounding terrain and was once fully enclosed by clay walls, although only the western portion remains today.
To the south of the main enclosure was the secondary enclosure, now home to a shrine. This area was originally larger but was reduced in size due to the expansion of dry moats and the construction of thick clay walls, strengthening its role as a defensive buffer zone.
North of the main enclosure was the castle’s northern gate, where remnants of a turret platform still survive. To the west, where a museum now stands, was a corridor area designed to launch side attacks against enemies approaching the north gate. Overall, the castle measured about 200 meters in length and 100 meters in width.
The Matsudaira and Oda Clans at Anjo Castle
The Matsudaira clan controlled Anjo Castle for around 20 years until Matsudaira Kiyoyasu (1511–1535), grandson of Matsudaira Nagachika, moved their base to Okazaki Castle. Kiyoyasu succeeded in unifying much of Mikawa Province, but his assassination in 1535 significantly weakened the clan's power.
This power vacuum attracted the attention of Oda Nobuhide (1511–1552), lord of neighboring Owari Province and father of the famous Oda Nobunaga, as well as Imagawa Yoshimoto (1519–1560) of the powerful Imagawa clan from Suruga Province.
In 1540, Nobuhide invaded Mikawa Province, capturing Anjo Castle and pressuring Matsudaira Hirotada (1529–1549) at Okazaki Castle. In response, Hirotada submitted to the Imagawa clan, sending his son Takechiyo (later Tokugawa Ieyasu) as a hostage. However, Nobuhide managed to capture Takechiyo by bribing the Toda clan, who were responsible for the hostage transfer.
In 1548, Nobuhide attempted to seize Okazaki Castle, leading to a major confrontation at the Battle of Azukizaka. Imagawa forces, led by the monk-general Taigen Sessai (1496–1555), defeated the Oda army.
In 1550, Imagawa forces attacked and captured Anjo Castle, taking Nobuhide's eldest son, Oda Nobuhiro (?-1574), as a prisoner. Nobuhiro was later exchanged for Takechiyo. With Hirotada’s death in 1549, the Imagawa clan effectively took control of Mikawa Province under the name of Takechiyo.
The Decline and Legacy of Anjo Castle
Anjo Castle remained in use for about 10 more years but was eventually abandoned following the peace agreement between Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu after the Battle of Okehazama in 1560. It is possible that the castle was briefly restored as part of Okazaki Castle’s defensive network during Ieyasu’s conflict with Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1584.
Today, while no buildings remain, traces of Anjo Castle’s structure survive in the grounds of a temple and a shrine. The surrounding marshlands, once crucial to the castle’s defense, have been lost to land reclamation, and the site now sits amid expansive rice fields. However, by carefully comparing the current terrain with old maps, the strategic significance of Anjo Castle — once the main base of the Matsudaira clan and the center of fierce regional struggle — becomes clear.
See also
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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.
Kaminoyama Castle
Kamino-yama Castle stood at the center of an important logistics hub, in the middle of the Yonezawa Plain, which served as the gateway to the western part of the Tohoku region. Roads connecting the Aizu, Fukushima, and Yamagata areas intersected here.
Imabari Castle
Tōdō Takatora (1556–1630) served at different times as a vassal of several famous clans—Azai, Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa. He took part in the Battle of Anegawa (1570), the Battle of Shizugatake (1583), the invasions of Kyushu and Korea, the Sekigahara campaign (1600), and the Siege of Osaka (1614–1615).
Iwakuni Castle
Kikkawa Hiroie (1561–1625) was the grandson of the famous daimyo Mori Motonari and a vassal of the Mori clan. Under Mori Terumoto, he fought in both Korean campaigns and took part in the defense of Ulsan Castle. During the Battle of Sekigahara, Hiroie stood with his 3,000-man force on the side of the Western Coalition; however, even before the battle began, he sent Tokugawa Ieyasu a secret message stating that he did not intend to fight Tokugawa’s troops. As a result of his inaction, 15,000 soldiers under Mori Hidemoto were also unable to enter the battle, since Hiroie blocked their path.
Gujo Hachiman Castle
Gujo Hachiman Castle is located on 350-meter Mount Hachiman, near the confluence of the Yoshidagawa and Kodaragava rivers, and not far from the Nagaragawa River. During the Sengoku period, this area was of great strategic importance: it stood at a key crossroads of routes connecting Mino Province in the south with the Sea of Japan in the north, and Hida Province in the east with Echizen Province in the west.
