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.
Ukita Hideie (1573–1655) was a vassal of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and served as commander-in-chief of the Japanese forces during the invasion of Korea. Hideyoshi appointed him as one of the five regents charged with governing the country on behalf of the underage heir Toyotomi Hideyori. At the Battle of Sekigahara, Hideie fought on the side of the Western Coalition opposing Tokugawa Ieyasu. The complete reconstruction of the castle was finished by 1597, with approximately 315,000 stones used in its construction.
In addition to a large main keep built in the style of Azuchi Castle, Okayama’s defensive system included 35 yagura turrets and 21 gates, placing it among the largest castles of its time. Hideie focused not only on the castle itself but also on the development of the surrounding castle town, inviting skilled craftsmen from various parts of the country to settle there.
After his defeat at Sekigahara in 1600, Hideie was arrested and imprisoned on Hachijō Island. The castle passed to Kobayakawa Hideaki, but he died two years later. His main contribution to the castle was the construction of an outer moat approximately 1.6 kilometers long, which, according to tradition, was completed in just twenty days. Control of the castle later passed to Ikeda Tadatsugu, the son of Ikeda Terumasa, the castellan of Himeji Castle, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Until the Meiji Restoration, the castle was held by twelve daimyō of the Ikeda clan from the Bizen branch. In 1869, it was confiscated by the new government and used for administrative purposes by the Ministry of War (Hyōbusho); the outer moats were filled in and the defensive walls dismantled. Due to a lack of funding, most of the buildings gradually fell into ruin.
In 1931, the main keep was designated a “National Treasure,” but it was destroyed by fire during an American air raid on June 29, 1945. In 1966, the keep was reconstructed using reinforced concrete; it has six floors, three tiers, and a total height of 21 meters. From July 2021 to November 2022, a major renovation was carried out, including work aimed at strengthening the structure against earthquakes.
The foundation stones of the original keep were preserved and relocated to a nearby site. The tower is clad in black wooden boards, which gave rise to the castle’s nickname, Ujō, or “Crow Castle.” The base of the keep has the shape of an irregular pentagon, likely reflecting the influence of Korean castle layouts familiar to Ukita Hideie, while the second and third tiers are of the traditional rectangular form.
Adjacent to the main keep is the Shiogura Tower, or “salt storage tower,” which is believed to have once served as an entrance to the keep. On the first floor of the castle, visitors are offered the opportunity to take photographs wearing Edo-period costumes. In the reconstructed keep, only the figures of the mythical shachihoko creatures and certain roof elements recall the fact that before the Battle of Sekigahara many parts of the castle, including the roof tiles, were gilded.
At that time, the castle was known as Kin’ujō, or “Golden Crow Castle.” Gilded shachihoko, known as kinshachi, were reinstalled on the roof of the main keep in 1996 to mark the 400th anniversary of the castle’s founding. In addition to the keep, several gates have been reconstructed, including Akazumon (“Unopenable Gate”), Rokamon (“Corridor Gate”), and Rokujuichigangiuemon (“Gate at the Top of Sixty-One Steps”).
The Tsukimiyagura, or “moon-viewing tower,” was built by Ikeda Tadakatsu in 1620 and has survived to the present day, earning the designation of an “Important Cultural Property.” It was intended not only for viewing the moon but also for storing weapons and, unlike most moon-viewing towers that were primarily built for leisure, it was well fortified and equipped with serious defensive features such as loopholes and ishiotoshi stone-dropping devices. Nearby are the remains of a well and a gunpowder storehouse.
Another structure associated with the castle that also holds the status of an “Important Cultural Property” is the Nishinomaru Nishite Yagura, although it has since been relocated to another area within the city. The most recent reconstruction within the castle complex at the time of writing is the Tomo-no-koshikake building, erected in 2024; historically, it served as a resting place for the attendants of vassals while their superiors conducted business in the castle and was located near one of the gates, which have not survived and were not reconstructed. Overall, the castle complex is designated a “National Historic Site” and is included in the list of the Top 100 Japanese Castles.
See also
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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.
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Kokura Castle
Kokura Castle is traditionally considered to have been founded by Hosokawa Tadaoki (1563–1645), although by the time the Hosokawa clan came to control these lands, the fortification had already existed since at least 1569 and was most likely built by members of the Mori clan.
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Ikeda Castle
In 1334, Ikeda Noriyoshi built a small fort on this site, which over time was repeatedly expanded and rebuilt. During the Ōnin War of 1467–1477, the Ikeda clan supported the Western Coalition. As a result, Ikeda Castle was attacked and captured by the forces of the Eastern Coalition, but it was soon recaptured, allowing it to avoid serious destruction.
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Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle
Aizu-Wakamatsu is the most powerful and at the same time the oldest castle in the Tōhoku region in the north of Honshu Island. Its history begins in the 14th century and is closely connected with the Ashina clan, whose members claimed descent from the legendary Taira family.
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Maruoka Castle
Maruoka Castle is located in the central part of the former city of Maruoka, which is now part of the city of Sakai. This area lies in the northeastern part of Fukui Prefecture. The castle was built on the bank of the Kuzuryu River, on the side opposite Fukui City, which once served as the administrative center of the former Echizen Province. Thanks to its location, Maruoka held significant strategic importance, as it controlled two major routes at once: the Hokurikudo highway leading from Kaga Province and the Mino Kaido road connecting these lands with Mino Province.
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Marugame Castle
Marugame is part of the so-called “Authentic Dozen,” a group of twelve castles whose donjons have survived to the present day without major reconstructions since the Edo period.
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Iyo Matsuyama Castle
Historically, the center of Iyo Province—corresponding to today’s Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku—was the city of Imabari, while the Matsuyama area was regarded as an agricultural hinterland with broad plains and low hills. During the Muromachi period, the central part of the province was governed by the Kano clan from Yuzuki Castle. With the onset of the Sengoku period, however, this clan lost its former influence and was forced to survive in the shadow of the more powerful Mori and Chōsokabe clans. After Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s forces conquered Shikoku in 1587, the northern part of Iyo Province was granted to Fukushima Masanori, one of the so-called “Seven Spears of Shizugatake.” In 1595, Masanori was transferred to Kiyosu Castle, and the lands around Matsuyama were given to another of the Seven Spears, Katō Yoshiaki, who received Masaki Castle and an income of 60,000 koku of rice.
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Kanazawa Castle
Construction of Kanazawa Castle began in 1580 on the orders of Sakuma Morimasa, a vassal of Oda Nobunaga. The castle was built on the site of the Ikko-ikki sect's Oyama Gobo temple, which is why it is sometimes called Oyama Castle. Morimasa managed to build several moats and begin construction of a castle town. However, after his defeat at the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583, he was executed, and ownership of the castle passed to Maeda Toshiie (1538–1599).
