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Guide to Japanese Castles

Kawagoe Castle

川越城

honmaru goten entrance
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Founder Ota Doshin
Year 1457
Type Hilltop
Condition Other Buildings
Admin's Rating ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Historical Site Prefectural Historic Site
Historical Value Top 100 Castles
Location Kawagoe, Saitama Pref
Map Google Map
Access Kawagoe Sta, Tobu Tojo Line, 20 min by tourist bus
Website Kawagoe City
Visited March 25, 2006
Notes The only real remnants of the castle are the lord's palace, but it is well worth the trip because there are very few extant palaces. You can also spend the day exploring other historical sites in Kawagoe.
History

Kawagoe Castle was founded in 1457 by Ota Doshin and his son Dokan under the order of Uesugi Mochitomo. In 1546 it was taken over by the Hojo until it fell again to Hideyoshi as part of his attack on Odawara and the Hojo.

When the Tokugawa established their base of power at Edo (Tokyo), Kawagoe Castle functioned as an important defensive position for Edo. The city of Kawagoe likewise prospered as an important logistical hub for the transportation of food and other goods to and from Tokyo. This focus on logistics and trade also led to the abundance of storehouse style buildings you can still see today. In this old part of town you can also get a feeling for an Edo Period castle town
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Viewer Comments

(5) | Post Comment
  • ava    August 12, 2009 at 05:56 PM
    this website was very helpful with my japanese assignment. it was the only site i needed to complete this section of the assign. because it gave me all the info i needed! cheers :) xx
  • Anonymous    May 07, 2009 at 07:39 AM
    This was very usefull. :) I just wish there was more info. I had to use this site for a school project :) THANKS!!
  • Anonymous    May 02, 2009 at 06:29 PM
    Kawagoe is now receiving maintenance and will be closed for the next couple of years. I was dissappointed to find this out when I got there, but there are lots of other things to see there.
  • Paige    November 03, 2008 at 09:13 PM
    Thankyou for this usefull website, this website was usefull to me for a school project, we had 2 find intersesting places to visit in Japan! ONCE AGAIN THANKYOU!!!!!!
  • MM    March 17, 2008 at 03:22 AM
    If you're a Shiro-lover like me, this is a good castle to go to because of its Honmaru palace. the only thing that exists besides this is a mound on which a Yagura stood.