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.
In 1590, Toyotomi Hideyoshi relocated Uesugi Kagekatsu to Aizu Province and granted the area around Takada to his general, Hori Hideharu (1575–1606). During the 1600 Sekigahara campaign, the Hori clan supported Tokugawa Ieyasu, and after the victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, Echigo Province came under Hideharu’s control. At the beginning of the Edo period, Hideharu’s son, Hori Tadatoshi, faced peasant uprisings, religious disputes, and internal unrest within the clan. As a result, the shogunate accused him of incompetence, stripped him of his domain, and sent him into exile.
In 1614, Tokugawa Ieyasu ordered his vassals to build a castle for his sixth son, Matsudaira Tadatēru (1592–1683), which was intended to serve as the center of the Takada Domain. The construction was part of the Tokugawa shogunate’s projects known as tenka fushin (“public works”). Thirteen daimyo from different regions of the country took part in building the castle.
The castle was meant to control an important route linking the coast of the Sea of Japan with the Kanto region in the east, and also to strengthen the shogunate’s position against the powerful Maeda clan of the Kanazawa Domain.
Construction was overseen by Tadatēru’s father-in-law, the famous military commander Date Masamune. The castle was completed in a record four months.
Takada was classified as a hirajiro, or “flatland castle,” and covered a fairly large area—800 by 400 meters—divided into three baileys. Its defensive system included wide mizubori moats, which were filled with water from the Sekigawa River. However, the castle never had stone walls (ishigaki), which is quite unusual for late Edo-period castles. Instead, it relied on earthen ramparts (dorui). Several theories exist to explain the absence of stone walls, including Masamune’s desire to reduce costs and speed up construction in light of the looming confrontation between the Tokugawa and supporters of Toyotomi Hideyori, the area’s overly soft ground, and a shortage of suitable stone in the region.
The tallest structure in the castle was the three-story Sangaiyagura tower, built at the corner of the fortifications of the main bailey (honmaru). Many researchers consider it the castle’s donjon. In any case, it served as the main tower. At the center of the main bailey stood the honmaru goten, the lord’s palace. The main bailey was connected to the second bailey (ninomaru) by three bridges. Two entrances were protected by masugata barbicans, while the northern entrance was guarded by a tower-style gate known as a yaguramon.
However, Tadatēru did not enjoy his castle for long. During the second Osaka campaign in 1615, he came into conflict with his brother, Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada. His father, Tokugawa Ieyasu, also treated his sixth son quite coldly. As a result, in 1616 Tadatēru was removed from all posts and exiled to Takashima Castle, where he was effectively kept under confinement until his death in 1683.
After that, the Takada Domain and the castle passed to the Sakai clan, which ruled until 1619. The castle then changed hands many times, including various branches of the Matsudaira clan, a period of direct shogunate administration, and the Inaba and Toba clans. In 1741, Takada was granted to the Sakakibara clan, which held it until the beginning of the Meiji era.
The castle was severely damaged twice by major earthquakes, in 1665 and 1751. In 1802, the honmaru goten palace burned down completely, but was later rebuilt. Although the castle escaped destruction during the Boshin War of 1868, a fire in 1870 destroyed both the reconstructed palace and the donjon tower.
In 1872, in accordance with an edict of the Meiji government, the remaining castle structures were dismantled. Most of the moats were filled in, and the earthen ramparts were leveled. For a long time, the central part of the castle was used as a base for the Imperial Japanese Army. After World War II, the ruins were turned into a city park, and 4,000 cherry trees were planted there.
In 1991, to mark the 20th anniversary of the founding of the city of Joetsu, the three-story donjon tower was reconstructed. It was recreated using surviving written sources and the results of archaeological excavations. This is one of the few examples of a careful reconstruction of a donjon in Japan. The tower now houses a history museum, and the third floor is used as an observation deck. The surviving moats and ramparts were restored, and Gokuraku Bridge—connecting the main and second baileys—was also rebuilt. In 2017, the Japan Castle Society included Takada in its list of the “Other 100 Notable Castles of Japan” (the “Top 200”).
See also
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Nadzima Castle
It is believed that the first structures on this site were built by Tachibana Akitoshi (?-1568), head of the Tachibana clan, a branch family of the Ōtomo clan, as auxiliary fortifications for Tachibanayama Castle. In 1587, Toyotomi Hideyoshi established control over the island of Kyushu and granted Chikuzen Province to Kobayakawa Takakage, one of the leading vassals of the Mori clan. Takakage began construction of a new castle on the site of the existing fortifications in 1588. The exact date of completion is unknown, but by the time the invasion of Korea began in 1592, the castle had already been finished, as records note that Toyotomi Hideyoshi stayed there overnight on his way to Hizen Nagoya Castle, which served as the headquarters of the invasion forces.
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Kubota Castle
The founder of the castle is considered to be Satake Yoshinobu (1570–1633). Yoshinobu was one of the six great generals of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. During the Odawara Campaign of 1590, he took part in the siege of Oshi Castle under the command of Ishida Mitsunari, with whom Yoshinobu developed a good relationship.
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Kavanhoe Castle
Kawanoe Castle is located on the small Wasi-yama hill near the port area of the Kawanoe district in the city of Shikokuchuo, occupying a central position along the northern coast of Shikoku Island. Kawanoe was also known as Butsuden Castle. The term “butsuden” in Japan refers to temple halls, and for this reason it is believed that a Buddhist temple once stood on the site before the castle was built. Due to its location at the junction of four provinces on Shikoku Island, Kawanoe held significant strategic importance and was repeatedly targeted by rival forces seeking military control over the region.
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Yokote Castle
The founder of the castle is considered to be the Onodera clan. The Onodera were originally a minor clan from Shimotsuke Province and served Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–1199), the founder of the first shogunate. The Onodera distinguished themselves in battle against the Fujiwara clan of the Ōshū branch and were rewarded with lands around Yokote. Around the 14th century, the Onodera moved to Yokote as their permanent residence. Their original stronghold was Numadate Castle, but after a series of clashes with the powerful Nambu clan, they relocated their base to the site of present-day Yokote Castle. It was likely during this time that the first fortifications appeared at the castle.
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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.
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.
