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.
The castle is situated on a hill in what was once Takato Town, at the eastern edge of the Ina Valley in southern Nagano. It was strategically positioned at the crossroads of the Akiba Kaido, a route connecting Totomi Province with the Suwa region of Shinano and Kai Province, and a road leading to western Ina Valley and Mino Province. The location was crucial for controlling southern Shinano from Kai Province. The castle overlooked the confluence of the Mibugawa and Fujisawa rivers, which provided natural defenses. Its fortifications included deep trenches, earthen ramparts, and stone walls, arranged in concentric rings, typical of Takeda Shingen’s style. The Central Bailey was protected by the Second and Third Baileys, along with four additional enclosures. Most of the gates were box-shaped for added defense. During the Edo period, the castle’s front gate was moved to the west to face the castle town directly. A han school, constructed in 1860, was situated within the Third Bailey, and a few samurai residences from that era still remain in the surrounding area.
The exact date of Takato Castle’s construction is unknown, but before it existed, there was another fortification controlled by the Takato clan, retainers of the Suwa clan, who had dominated the region since the Kamakura period. In 1545, Takeda Shingen broke his alliance with the Suwa clan and captured Takato Castle during his campaign to conquer southern Shinano. After seizing the castle, Shingen had it completely rebuilt according to contemporary military designs by his strategist, Yamamoto Kansuke. Shingen granted the castle to his retainer, Akiyama Nobutomo, and later passed it on to his son, Takeda Katsuyori. From Takato Castle, Shingen launched his invasion of Mino Province and his final campaign toward Kyoto in 1572.
After Shingen's death, the castle was defended by Nishina Morinobu, Katsuyori's younger brother. However, in 1582, Oda Nobutada, son of Oda Nobunaga, captured the castle during the Battle of Temmokuzan, overwhelming the 3,000 defenders with 50,000 troops. Despite Nishina’s valiant resistance, the Takeda forces were ultimately defeated.
Following the destruction of the Takeda clan, Takato Castle was granted to Nobunaga’s general Mori Hideyori. After Nobunaga’s assassination in the Honno-ji Incident, the castle fell under the control of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who assigned it to Hoshina Masanao. When the Tokugawa were relocated to the Kanto region by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1590, Takato was given to Hideyoshi’s general, Ogasawara Sadayoshi. Tokugawa Ieyasu regained control of the castle after the Battle of Sekigahara in 1603, and under the Tokugawa shogunate, Takato became the center of the 30,000 koku Takato Domain, ruled by the Hoshina clan. The Hoshina were succeeded by the Torii clan (1636–1689) before the Naito clan took control until the Meiji Restoration.
With the establishment of the Meiji government and the abolition of the han system, the castle structures were dismantled, and surviving gates were donated to nearby temples or sold to private owners. Today, the site is preserved as Takato Castle Ruins Park (Takatojoshi Koen), famous for its cherry blossoms, which were planted in the Meiji period. The park is considered one of Japan’s top three cherry blossom viewing spots, alongside Hirosaki Castle and Mount Yoshino. Though little of the original castle remains, some moats and stone walls have survived. One yagura has been reconstructed, and the Otemon (main gate), which had been moved to a high school, was returned to its original site in 1984. The oldest remaining building on the castle grounds is the Shintokukan, a former han school built by the last daimyo of Takato, Naito Yorinao.
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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.
Takada Castle
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.
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.
Imabari Castle
Tōdō Takatora (1556–1630) served at different times as a vassal of several famous clans—Azai, Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa. He took part in the Battle of Anegawa (1570), the Battle of Shizugatake (1583), the invasions of Kyushu and Korea, the Sekigahara campaign (1600), and the Siege of Osaka (1614–1615).
Iwakuni Castle
Kikkawa Hiroie (1561–1625) was the grandson of the famous daimyo Mori Motonari and a vassal of the Mori clan. Under Mori Terumoto, he fought in both Korean campaigns and took part in the defense of Ulsan Castle. During the Battle of Sekigahara, Hiroie stood with his 3,000-man force on the side of the Western Coalition; however, even before the battle began, he sent Tokugawa Ieyasu a secret message stating that he did not intend to fight Tokugawa’s troops. As a result of his inaction, 15,000 soldiers under Mori Hidemoto were also unable to enter the battle, since Hiroie blocked their path.
Gujo Hachiman Castle
Gujo Hachiman Castle is located on 350-meter Mount Hachiman, near the confluence of the Yoshidagawa and Kodaragava rivers, and not far from the Nagaragawa River. During the Sengoku period, this area was of great strategic importance: it stood at a key crossroads of routes connecting Mino Province in the south with the Sea of Japan in the north, and Hida Province in the east with Echizen Province in the west.
