Jcastle.info

Guide to Japanese Castles

Kakegawa Castle

掛川城

Donjon and walls
     
Alternate Name Kumokiri
Founder Asahina Yasuhiro
Year 1513
Reconstructed 1993 (wood)
Type Hilltop
Structure 3 levels, 4 stories
Condition Reconstructed
Rating ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Historical Site Local Historic Site
Historical Value Top 100 Castles, Important Cultural Properties
Historical Artifacts Important Cultural Properties:
Yusanji Sanmon Gate, goten
Location Kakegawa, Shizuoka Prefecture
Map Google Map
Access Kakegawa Station (Tokaido Honsen), 10 minute walk
Website Kakegawa City
Visited May 1999
Notes A short walk from the station, Kakegawa-jo is one of the nicer reconstructed donjon I've visited. It was reconstructed using traditional techniques and materials. The original palace ( goten ) of the daimyo remains perfectly preserved on the castle grounds as well. Very few of such palaces remain in Japan so it is protected as Important Cultural Property.
History Kakegawa-jo was first established in 1513 by Asahina Yasuhiro. In 1569 his descendent, Asahina Yasutomo lost the castle to Tokugawa Ieyasu's forces. Tokugawa placed Imagawa Yoshitada and his son Yasumichi in charge of the castle. In 1590 the area was absorbed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi who replaced the Imagawa with Yamanouchi Kazutoyo. Yamanouchi renovated the castle and donjon into what you see today. After the Battle of Sekigahara, the castle was controlled by the Tokugawa until it was torn down after the Meiji Restoration.

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