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.
Odawara Castle has a long history, serving as a strategic stronghold during the Sengoku period. Initially fortified by the Doi clan in the Kamakura period, it later became the seat of power for the Odawara Hojo clan in 1495, after Ise Moritoki seized it from the Omori clan. Under the Hojo, the castle underwent significant expansion, transforming into a formidable fortress that withstood sieges from Uesugi Kenshin in 1561 and Takeda Shingen in 1569. In 1587, the Hojo further strengthened the castle in anticipation of conflict with Toyotomi Hideyoshi. However, during the Battle of Odawara in 1590, Hideyoshi successfully forced the Hojo to surrender through a combination of a three-month siege and psychological tactics, without launching a direct assault. Following this victory, Hideyoshi awarded the castle and surrounding lands to Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Tokugawa Ieyasu handed control of Odawara Castle to his retainer Okubo Tadayo, who reconstructed the castle on a smaller scale. Over the years, the castle was passed to several clans, including the Abe and Inaba, before the Okubo clan returned in 1686. The castle suffered extensive damage during major earthquakes in 1703, 1782, and 1853, but was rebuilt multiple times, including a restoration of the donjon in 1706.
During the Boshin War in the late 19th century, the castle's lord, Okubo Tadanori, allowed Imperial forces to pass through the region without resistance. After the war, the Meiji government ordered the destruction of feudal fortifications, and Odawara Castle was dismantled between 1870 and 1872. In the following years, the site was repurposed for various uses, including a Shinto shrine, the Odawara Imperial Villa, and later, a public park.
In 1938, the castle ruins were designated a National Historic Site, and further preservation efforts led to the reconstruction of two yagura (watchtowers) in 1934. Over the decades, more structures, such as the Tokiwagi Gate (1971), the Akagane Gate (1997), and the Umadashi Gate (2009), were restored to reflect the castle’s Edo-period layout.
Today, Odawara Castle Park features the reconstructed donjon, an art museum, a local history museum, a zoo, and various recreational facilities. The donjon was remodeled between 2015 and 2016 to enhance earthquake resistance, with the city donating all reopening-day entry fees to support Kumamoto Castle’s repairs following the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes. The castle remains a key cultural and historical landmark, listed among Japan's 100 Fine Castles in 2006.
See also
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Amagasaki Castle
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.
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Hiroshima Castle
Mōri Terumoto (1553–1625) was the grandson and rightful heir of the renowned Mōri Motonari. When Terumoto became the head of the Mōri clan in 1571, he inherited vast territories covering a large part of the San’in and San’yō regions in western Honshū. In addition, the Mōri clan possessed the largest and most technologically advanced naval fleet of its time.
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Fukuyama Castle
After the defeat of Toyotomi Hideyori’s supporters in the Osaka Campaigns of 1614–1615, many clans in Japan still remained not fully loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate, especially in the western Chūgoku region. Mizuno Katsunari (1564–1651), a cousin of Tokugawa Ieyasu, became the first of the Tokugawa house’s close retainers, the so-called fudai daimyō, to be relocated to this strategically important area.
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Tiba Castle
The founder of the Chiba clan is considered to be Chiba Tsunesige (1083–1180), who in 1126 moved his residence to the Inohana area and built a strongly fortified stronghold there. Although Tsunesige himself came from the Taira clan, the Chiba clan later supported Minamoto no Yoritomo, the future founder of the first shogunate.
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Sunomata Castle
Oda Nobunaga, as part of his “final solution” to the conflict with the Saitō clan, conceived the construction of a fort in the Sunomata area, which was intended to serve as a forward base for an attack on Inabayama Castle (later renamed Gifu). Sunomata was a swampy area located between Ogaki Castle, a stronghold of the Oda clan, and Inabayama, the main fortress of the Saitō clan. Earlier attempts to build fortifications in this area, carried out by Oda generals Sakuma Nobumori and Shibata Katsuie, had all ended in failure. After that, the task was entrusted to the young vassal Kinoshita Tokichirō, who later became known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
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Shibata Castle
The exact time when structures first appeared on the site of the present-day castle is unknown; however, it is generally believed that the first fortified buildings were constructed here during the Muromachi period, when these lands were controlled by the Shibata clan.
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Okayama Castle
According to a number of accounts, the earliest fortifications on the site of present-day Okayama Castle appeared as early as the 14th century and were built by the Nawa clan. The Asahigawa River was used as a natural defensive barrier, protecting one side of the fortifications.
In the early 16th century, the Kanamitsu clan constructed a new castle here, which at the time was known as Ishiyama. In 1573, it came under the control of the Ukita clan, after which Ukita Naoie (1529–1582) launched large-scale reconstruction efforts. He did not live to see the work completed, and construction was continued by his son Hideie. -
Nagahama Castle
Hashiba, later known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi, received Odani Castle and the surrounding lands from Oda Nobunaga after the defeat of the Azai clan. However, Odani Castle was located high in the mountains, which made it poorly suited for the effective administration of the territory. For this reason, in 1575 Hideyoshi began constructing a new castle in the village of Imahama on the shore of Lake Biwa. Taking the character naga from Nobunaga’s name, he renamed both the village and the new castle Nagahama.
