Jcastle.info

Guide to Japanese Castles

Iga Ueno Castle

伊賀上野城


Picture Donated by Raymond W.
←      →
Alternate Name Ueno-jo, Hakuho-jo
Founder Takigawa Katsutoshi
Year 1585
Reconstructed 1935 (wood)
Type Hilltop
Structure 3 levels, 3 stories
Condition Reconstructed
Admin's Rating ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Historical Site National Historic Site
Historical Value Top 100 Castles
Location Iga, Mie Pref.
Map Google Map
Access Uenoshi Sta. (Kintetsu Iga Line)
Website Kanko Mie
Notes I don't have any pictures to display it, but the stone walls of the honmaru are the highest castle walls in Japan at 28 meters.
History Takigawa Katsutoshi initiated construction of Iga Ueno Castle in 1585. He was followed by Tsutsui Sadatsugu who built the honmaru and three level donjon. After the Battle of Sekigahara (1608), Sadatsugu's lands were confiscated by the Tokugawa and given to Todo Takatora. Todo Takatora initiated a great renovation of the castle to fortify the defenses against a resurgance of Toyotomi's followers. This is when the great stone walls of the honmaru were built by Todo. After the destruction of the Toyotomi, however, the renovation plans were mostly abandoned and the donjon, which was destroyed by high winds, was never rebuilt.
Photo Tags

Viewer Comments

(4) | Post Comment
  • Anonymous    February 19, 2010 at 02:43 PM
    The castle repair and restoration page is a huge help to people that live in Japan and like traveling to castles or those who live overseas and have an interest in coming to Japan to see some of the castle sites for themselves. Thanks
  • Raymond W.    January 31, 2010 at 09:54 PM
    I had a similar experience when I went to Kumamoto Castle in 2007. The top floors of the castle keep were covered in white scaffolding. These days before I go and visit a castle, I try to find its official website and see if there is any renovation before I go. BTW, on the official Iga Uneo Castle website at http://www.ict.ne.jp/~uenojyo/, it says that the castle is undergoing some renovation for typhoon repairs (hope I have read the Japanese right) from 24th Nov. 2009 to the end of Feb. 2010.
  • Anonymous    January 26, 2010 at 08:37 PM
    I arrived at Igaueno castle today from Tokyo with the specific purpose of getting some nice photos and was absolutely mortified to see that it is surrounded by scaffolding and is undergoing some reconstruction. An expensive trip for nothing!
  • Raymond    December 04, 2008 at 04:00 PM
    The honmaru walls are quite impressive going down to a water moat on three sides. The tenshu (keep) has a pretty good museum inside with plenty of original artifacts and samurai armour. One of the display actually had an English explanation much to my delight. There are still some nice red autumn leaves on the trees, so now it is good time to visit if you are in the area. I went there from Shiga using JR trains. It takes about an hour from JR Kusatsu to JR Iga-Ueno or around 90 minutes from Kyoto. You can change to a Kintetsu train at Iga-Ueno Station, but if you like walking (like me), it is only a 30 minute walk or about 3km. Exit the station and go straight down that main road. You can see the castle on the hill a few clicks down the road.