The Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, was born in Okazaki Castle in 1542 during a period of significant civil unrest. At that time, the Tokugawa, then known as the Matsudaira, controlled the rice-rich Mikawa plains of what is now eastern Aichi Prefecture. This fertile region was highly coveted by surrounding warlords. Ieyasu, a shrewd leader and brilliant tactician, managed to maintain and expand his territories. Following in the footsteps of other national unifiers, Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Ieyasu emerged victorious at the decisive Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. In 1603, he was invested as Shogun, a title he made hereditary, enabling the Tokugawa family to rule Japan for the next 250 years.
Okazaki Castle was originally built in 1455 by the warrior Saigo Tsugiyori near the present site of Myodaiji Temple. Initially, it was likely just a small wooden fort. Ieyasu's grandfather, Matsudaira Kiyoyasu, captured the fortress and rebuilt Okazaki Castle on its current site in 1531, utilizing the Otogawa River and its tributary as a natural moat. Over the years, the castle was expanded and its defenses strengthened, making it one of the nation’s most respected castles. It served as the stronghold of the Tokugawa clan for over 350 years.
During the Edo Period, Okazaki prospered as a significant castle town located along the Tokaido Highway, the main route between the capital, Kyoto, and Ieyasu’s later stronghold, Edo (modern-day Tokyo).
In 1868, Japan ended its feudal system, and the samurai caste was abolished eight years later. In 1873, Okazaki Castle, like many other castles across Japan, was demolished, leaving only the moat and sturdy stone walls. The main keep, annex, and well-house were reconstructed in ferro-concrete in 1959.
Today, the castle grounds are a tree-filled park, popular for cherry blossom and wisteria viewing in spring. Visitors enter through the striking Otemon gate. The remaining rough-hewn stone walls, once formidable defensive structures, are now softened by lush moss and ferns.
The grounds feature several statues of Ieyasu and a smaller one dedicated to Honda Tadakatsu, a loyal Tokugawa retainer. There is also the oldest municipal Noh theatre in Japan, various shrines, small eateries, an ancient teahouse, and a well from which Lord Ieyasu's first bath was supposedly drawn. One of the castle’s yagura watchtowers has been rebuilt in the traditional manner and is open to the public.
Another notable attraction is the Ieyasu and Mikawa Bushi (warrior) Museum. The main highlight, however, is the castle keep. The reconstructed castle’s second, third, and fourth floors house a museum displaying samurai armor, weapons, daily items, and local history and cultural exhibits. The fifth-floor observatory offers a panoramic view of the surrounding Mikawa region, the area that Tokugawa Ieyasu first ruled.
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.
