Kochi Castle is one of the 12 samurai castles with original keeps. Yamanochi Kazutoyo (Yamauchi Katsutoyo), who was granted Tosa Domain (modern-day Kochi Prefecture in Shikoku) after the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, began constructing the castle and residence in 1601. The project took ten years, and the Yamanouchi clan remained at Kochi until the Meiji Restoration.
Kochi Castle makes excellent use of the land's layout. The Kagami and Enokuchi Rivers form a natural outer moat, with the castle perched on Mt. Otasaka. The main Honmaru bailey is situated on a rise to the south, with the Ni-no-Maru occupying the northern hill at a similar elevation. The Ni-no-Maru connects to the Honmaru via a corridor-like bridge called a roka-bashi across a small valley. Directly under the roka-bashi, blocking the valley, is the Tsume-mon gate. The layout deceptively suggests that the Tsume-mon is the entry to the Honmaru. However, any attacking enemy breaching this gate would find themselves heading away from the central precinct. While trying to breach the gate, they could be fired upon from the keep to their left, the gate above, and watchtowers to their right. Instead, entry to the Honmaru is to the right, up a flight of once heavily guarded stone stairs, through the Ni-no-Maru, and across the covered roka-bashi.
In 1727, many central structures, including the tenshu, were damaged by fire. Today, what remains is the rebuilt keep and palace from that period. The remaining tenshu was modeled on the original four-roofed, six-floor tower designed by Yamauchi Kazutoyo, who had wanted a mawarien, a balcony, and railing around the top floor. The reconstructed keep includes this feature. Around the bottom edge of the tenshu are tsuruge spikes called Shinobi Gaeshi, meant to prevent ninja and attackers from climbing the structure. These spikes are found only at Kumamoto, Nagoya, and Kochi Castles, with Kochi uniquely featuring trident-shaped spikes. Kochi Castle’s Honmaru Goten, the lord’s palace, is connected to the base of the main keep, a rare architectural feature. The living quarters occupy the first level of the main keep.
Kochi Castle’s Honmaru is particularly historically valuable, as it is the only castle with all its original structures—keep, palace, gates, and walls—still intact. A total of 15 structures designated National Important Cultural Properties remain at Kochi Castle, including the tenshu, Kaitokukan Honmaru Palace, Nando storehouse, nishi and higashi tamon yagura, Ote, Kurogane, and Roka gates, six wall segments, and the roka-bashi linking the Honmaru to the Ni-no-Maru.
See also
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Nagoya Castle
Nagoya Castle, originally built by the Owari Domain in 1612 during the Edo period, stands on the site of an earlier Oda clan castle from the Sengoku period. It became the centerpiece of Nagoya-juku, a significant castle town on the Minoji road, which connected two major Edo Five Routes: the Tokaido and the Nakasendo. In 1930, ownership of the castle was transferred to the city by the Imperial Household Ministry, establishing it as the focal point of modern Nagoya. Although partially destroyed in the Pacific War in 1945, the castle has undergone continuous restoration and preservation efforts since 1957.
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Matsushiro Castle
Matsushiro Castle, originally known as Kaizu Castle, is located in what was once Matsushiro town, now part of Nagano City. The site is recognized as a National Historic Site of Japan. Situated on the northern Shinano flatlands between the Chikuma River and a former riverbed that serves as a natural outer moat to the north, the castle and its surrounding town were prone to flooding due to their location.
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Fushimi Castle
Fushimi Castle, also known as Momoyama Castle or Fushimi-Momoyama Castle, is located in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto. Originally built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi between 1592 and 1594 as his retirement residence, the castle was destroyed by the 1596 Keichō–Fushimi earthquake and later rebuilt. However, it was demolished again in 1623, and its site now houses the tomb of Emperor Meiji. A replica of the castle was constructed nearby in 1964.
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Odawara Castle
Odawara Castle, located in the city of Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, is a reconstructed historical site with roots dating back to the Kamakura period (1185–1333). The current donjon (main keep) was rebuilt using reinforced concrete in 1960 on the stone foundation of the original structure, which was dismantled between 1870 and 1872 during the Meiji Restoration.
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Shinpu Castle
Shinpu Castle was a Japanese hirayama-style fortress from the Sengoku period, situated in what is now Nirasaki, Yamanashi Prefecture. It served as the main stronghold of warlord Takeda Katsuyori. Designated as a National Historic Site in 1973, the castle occupies a strategic position on a mountain with steep cliffs, overlooking the Kamanashi River to the west of Kofu, where Takeda Shingen’s Tsutsujigasaki Castle once stood.
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Takato Castle
Takato Castle, located in the city of Ina in southern Nagano Prefecture, Japan, was a notable stronghold during the Sengoku period. By the end of the Edo period, it was the residence of a cadet branch of the Naito clan, the daimyo of the Takato Domain. Also known as Kabuto Castle, it was originally constructed in the 16th century and is now mostly in ruins.
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Takatenjin Castle
Takatenjin Castle was a yamashiro-style fortress from Japan's Sengoku period, situated in the Kamihijikata and Shimohijikata districts of Kakegawa, Shizuoka Prefecture. Designated a National Historic Site in 1975, with an expanded protected area in 2007, its ruins remain a significant historical landmark.
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Yoshida Castle
Yoshida Castle is renowned worldwide, particularly through the intricate woodblock prints by Edo Period artist Hiroshige. His famous series, depicting the 53 stages of the Tokaido—the historic route between Kyoto and Edo (modern-day Tokyo)—includes the 34th print, which shows workmen repairing a castle overlooking a wooden bridge crossing a wide river. This scene captures the Toyokawa River at Toyohashi in southeast Aichi Prefecture, and the castle is Yoshida Castle.
