Kakegawa Castle

From Jcastle.info

Kakegawa3.jpg

History

Imagawa Yoshitada had his retainer Asahina Yasuhiro build Kakegawa Castle about 0.5km to the northeast of the present castle to help control this vital point of the Tokaido road. In 1569, his descendent, Asahina Yasutomo, lost the castle to Tokugawa Ieyasu's forces. In 1590, the area was absorbed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi who stationed Yamanouchi Kazutoyo here when Tokugawa moved to Edo (Tokyo).

Yamanouchi built the main keep on the current site and renovated the castle and town into a more modern castle. After the Battle of Sekigahara, Yamanouchi was moved to Kochi. Yamanouchi's main keep was destroyed in an earthquake in 1604 but was soon rebuilt. The new keep lasted until 1854 when it destroyed by another earthquake. It was not rebuilt and the castle was dismantled in 1869.


Visit Notes

The museum in the main keep does not have many artifacts but the displays are very well done. The combination of a nicely reconstructed main keep, an original palace and a few other gates and buildings really make this castle a must see for castle fans.


Loading map...


Gallery
  • Donjon and walls
  • donjon, gate, walls
  • gate, walls, and donjon
  • Otemon Gate
  • Taiko Yagura
  • palace
  • inside the oalace
  • interior of the palace
  • Fuki Gate
  • inside of the main keep
  • map
  • ôteninomarumon (main gate to the second bailey), 1659, relocated to Yuusanji in 1873
  • relocated ôteninomarumon
  • Relocated Gate, Ryūunji Uramon
  • relocated ôteninomarumon


Castle Profile
English Name Kakegawa Castle
Japanese Name 掛川城
Alternate Names Kumokiri
Founder Asahina Yasuhiro
Year Founded 1497
Castle Type Hilltop
Castle Condition Reconstructed main keep
Designations Top 100 Castles, has Important Cultural Properties, Local Historic Site
Historical Period Edo Period
Main Keep Structure 3 levels, 4 stories
Year Reconstructed 1993 (wood)
Artifacts Yusanji Sanmon Gate, goten
Features main keep, gates, turrets, palace, stone walls, walls
Visitor Information
Access Kakegawa Station (Tokaido Honsen), 10 minute walk
Visitor Information
Time Required
Website http://www.city.kakegawa.shizuoka.jp/kanko/siro.htm
Location Kakegawa, Shizuoka Prefecture
Coordinates 34° 46' 31.66" N, 138° 0' 53.50" E
Loading map...
Admin
Added to Jcastle 1999
Contributor Eric
Admin Year Visited 1999, 2009
Admin Visits May 1999; October 15, 2009


4.08
(24 votes)
Add your comment
Jcastle.info welcomes all comments. If you do not want to be anonymous, register or log in. It is free.


avatar

Matthew WardGunshi

3 months ago
Score 0++

I finally visited Kakegawa Castle the day before yesterday, and really loved it! I got there mid-morning and thought maybe I'd have enough time to see Hamamatsu Castle too before heading back to Kansai, but as it turned out, Kakegawa Castle kept me very occupied for the whole day.

The best part of it was the palace, which is incredible and has to be one of the best surviving castle buildings in Japan. And the combination of that and the beautifully and authentically restored main keep alone makes it a must-see. The palace is a fascinating maze of rooms with lots of good displays, and the main keep really felt like a historical keep to me, even slightly more than the keep of Ozu Castle, perhaps because it's a little older and the wood is darker.

I also enjoyed the other extant and reconstructed buildings, especially the drum tower (the combination of it and the main keep make great views from a distance) and the restored Ote gate with the historical gatehouse behind it. The teahouse was very nice, and I got some excellent views of the main keep, along with some autumn colors from it.

When I was there, they were doing some work on the dobei and also on the side of the drum turret, which made marred a few of the views, but also made me creative about getting shots from different angles, so overall I think it helped me really see the place well.

I was surprised by the number of extant Meiji Era buildings on the castle grounds--really more than I expected. I went into the mansion in the Bamboo Bailey, but there are several more, including a schoolhouse and the Koutoku Memorial Hall. I like it when castles have a range of historical buildings, even when those aren't castle buildings, because it ends up just making them more rich historically.

One place I went to that I didn't know about before going was the Ryuugein Daiyuin Otamaya, a mausoleum built by Kakegawa Castle lord Hojo Ujishige, which is on a hill a few blocks away from the main castle hill. I was originally attracted to it because the maps stated that the hill also it had Kakegawa castle ruins on it. Anyway, the mausoleum is also a beautiful building and very worthwhile visit. I didn't find much in terms of castle ruins on the hill (I didn't look very hard to be honest), but there were some of what may well have been dorui and definitely a bit of ishigaki on the hillside.

One amusing little point: some tourist literature I had read claimed that one could feel the atmosphere of the castle town while walking from the station to the castle. While there are some older buildings here and there, I definitely didn't see any castle town buildings. However, there do seem to be a number of mogified structures, which despite not being authentic historical buildings do seem to blend in with the castle, and make pictures from the main keep better than they would be otherwise.

My only critique of Kakegawa Castle is that it doesn't offer much for ishigaki and moat fans, but the combination of the palace and main keep still make it a 5-star castle, and the various other buildings really add further to its value.
avatar

ARTShogun

3 months ago
Score 1++
The mausoleum site you mentioned is on the grounds of the ruins of Kakegawa 'Old' Castle. Profile here: https://jcas...awako_Castle
avatar

Matthew WardGunshi

3 months ago
Score 0++
Thanks! I definitely saw the dorui in the 4th picture. Next time, I'll have to look for the great trench too.
avatar

Matthew WardGunshi

9 months ago
Score 0++

Right now, Kakegawa Castle is the second on my J-castle bucket list, after Hirosaki Castle. Really looks like a great place, and the rave reviews on this site confirm this impression. The combination of the original goten, a couple of other original structures on-site, the Meiji-era grand residence mentioned below, and the authentically rebuilt main keep, turret and gates sound like a really excellent Japanese castle experience.

As for original structures, in addition to the goten, the moat, stone walls, earthenwalls, and the relocated Ote Ninomaru Gate, the Taiko Yagura and the Ote-gate guardhouse are also original structures, but both have been relocated within the castle grounds. Apparently, when they rebuilt the Ote Gate, they put it about 50 yards from the original location due to road development in the original gate area, so they moved the guardhouse to match the location of the rebuilt gate. And the Taiko Yagura was moved from the Third Bailey and put in the former location of the Arame Yagura. The relocated Ote Ninomaru Gate also looks like a beautiful structure, though it’s obviously not on the castle grounds.

It appears that no further restoration work is planned for this castle, but sounds like they have done a really fine job with it!
avatar

RaymondWDaimyo

9 months ago
Score 1++
This is a good one to visit as you have already noticed in the comments posted by many castle fans. I've been back two more times since my first visit. If you combine visiting Kakegawa Castle with Suwahara Castle ruin (also covered on this website), located a couple of train stations further along the train line towards Shizuoka, it would make a fantastic "castle-hunting" day.
avatar

ARTShogun

19 months ago
Score 0++
Added relocated gates to gallery with co-ords.
avatar

ARTShogun

72 months ago
Score 1++

Kakegawa Castle's main keep's historically accurate reconstruction from wood in 1994 was applauded by historians. Kakegawajō is that grade of castle that I will recommend castle fans visit no matter where they are based in the country. Kakegawa is located between Tōkyō and Nagoya on the Tōkaidō shinkansen line, so it’s quite accessible. Allow me to list the desirable features of this castle site:

1. An Edo-era go’ten palace is located in the Ninomaru bailey of the castle complex. The go’ten had its own wall, which was rare for a castle palace. The go’ten is built from wood in single storey shoin-zukuri style. It has 20 rooms with tatami matting. It is divied into 3 parts: shointo, for ceremonial functions, including rooms go’shoin kaminoma, where the lord interviewed visitors, tsuginoma, where retainers met with their lord, and sannoma, a waiting room for guests (most visitors did not go in the go’shoin room but stayed in sannoma); Koshointo, where the lord had his official residence, including the nagairorinoma living quarters; and Shoyakusho, which hosted government offices for administrators, police officers, the financial department of the daimyate, and document archives. The gable over the entranceway to the palace is in the makuri-hafu style. When I visited they were making a movie there so some parts were off limits, but I got to see samurai walking around, smoking cigarettes and checking their phones!

2. The Meiji-era grand residence in Bamboo bailey. An industrial-era manor combines traditional Japanese and foreign architecture in exquisite style. Located in takenomaru (bailey of bamboo), “Lantern Art” is also on display here.

3. The architecture of the tenshu. The tenshu is reproduced from wood to be historically accurate. If medieval warriors were available now they could move in and be able to defend this castle immediately, making use of the structure’s defensive features: Sama, out of which arrows and firearms are fired, and the ishi-otoshi, an overhang on the first floor from which rocks could be dropped and spears thrust. The donjon’s architectural features include a katomado window on the second floor in the style of zen temples, and the kara-hafu (“Tang-style”) arched gable around it. The keep’s balacony is black-lacquered, a yagura adorns the entrance, and the tenshu is flanked by east and west projections which add a sense of imposing grandeur to a keep which is not otherwise a large one. The tenshudai is 3.6m in height and the tenshukaku is 16.2m.

History:

Imagawa Yoshitada ordered Asahina Yasuhiro to construct Kakegawajō around 1515. In 1569, Asahina Yasutomo was defeated and, acting from their powerbase in Kantō, the Tokugawa supplanted the Imagawa. After this the Toyotomi vassal, Yamauchi Kazutoyo, became the local lord. He constructed the tenshukaku in 1590 and grew up the castle town. The castle tower was destroyed by an earthquake which struck in 1854.
avatar

SuupaahiirooAshigaru

75 months ago
Score 1++
Fantastic castle site. The keep is the second I have visited of the tenshukaku rebuilt with original materials/techniques, the other being Shiroishi Castle in Miyagi. But the real highlight here, of course, is the original goten. The roof is yosemune-dzukuri (寄棟造り) rather than irimoya-dzukuri (入母屋造り), a relatively rare sight for buildings from this era. I got the same 900 yen kyōtsū-ken as Furinkazan, which I would highly recommend. The tea room and its adjoining garden are gorgeous and the 900 yen ticket includes green tea and a Japanese sweet. Takenomaru, the Meiji era building, is a nice extra. Especially the second floor is a great example of wayō-setchū (和洋折衷), a mix of Japanese and Western style, with a katō-mado (火灯窓) but also stained glass.
avatar

FurinkazanDaimyo

82 months ago
Score 1++

On my last day in Japan this year, i revisited this castle en route to Tôkyô. I went first to the Fukinomon and then to the Otemon. After that i went to the bridge which leads to the castle. In front of that bridge there is a shop selling all stuff a would be samurai wants. Since i'm in a little group, which provides samurai or geishas on japanese tinted events, i bought some objects. I was like Alice in Wonderland. Then i went to the castle. You can buy a ticket for 900¥, giving access to the tenshu, the gôten, the ninomaru tea house, where you receive green tea, and to the Takenomaru(=the mansion mentioned by Art). This last building was build in 1903, but is architecturally very interesting.

If your luggage is too large to put in a coin locker, which was my case, go to the Tourist information office in the station. They'll take care of your luggage for a 500¥ fee, which is the amount for the biggest coin locker in the station.
avatar

ARTShogun

100 months ago
Score 0++
oh my god oh my god. This castle! It's the palace especially which is so awesome. And when I went they were filming a period drama show, so there were samurai walking around all over the place! I was there, maaaan, I was transported to the bygone Edo-jidai. The palace is well worth seeing and the castle itself is very scenic and pretty. The nearby structures are also of great interest. The Meiji Era mansion in the outer bailey is a composite of Japanese and Western architecture - an absolute must-see if you're interested in Meiji history. I gush.
avatar

Kiddus i2003Gunshi

120 months ago
Score 0++
Great looking little castle and the premises below were excellent.
avatar

DiegoDeManilaAshigaru

120 months ago
Score 0++

Visited 04 February 2014. Easy 10-15 minute walk almost due north from Kakegawa Station (a Kodama stop so very convenient for JR Pass users). The faithful reconstruction using traditional materials easily won me over and it's now one of my favourite castles. Clearly deserves a 4-star rating for the buildings, though I've added an extra half-star for the great staff and a memorable experience I had in the castle's tea house.

http://withi...bruary-2014/
avatar

BryanbaierPeasant

147 months ago
Score 0++
Hard to believe that it's a reconstruction but it is and a very good one. The hall is way cool. The tea ceremony is nice too.
avatar

RaymondWDaimyo

148 months ago
Score 0++
This is a great reconstructed castle to revisit. Access is quite easy. It is just a 10 minute walk from JR Kakegawa Station. From the top of the castle keep, you can clearly see where Suwahara Castle Ruin is located to the east and Takatenjin Castle Ruin to the south. There is a helpful and friendly volunteer on the top floor who is quite happy to answer visitors’ questions. There isn’t much to see inside the castle keep. On the ground floor, there are some banners, a bronze statue of Yamanouchi, and some armour and weapons. At night, it was nicely lit up, too. Apart from the reconstructed wooden keep, there is an original palace which was rebuilt in 1861 after an earthquake. For me, this castle site is definitely worth four stars because of the wooden castle keep, the original palace rebuilt near the end of the Edo Period, and some original relocated castle structures nearby.
avatar

Frank T.Gunshi

151 months ago
Score 0++
Another reconstruction done the way it should be. Conveniently located on the way between Tokyo and Nagoya, this site is well worth a visit.
avatar

Anonymous user #1

160 months ago
Score 0++
This is one of the better castles we have seen so far, it was a wooden reconstruction and felt more genuine. The structures, grounds and township are all very interesting and well worth the effort.
avatar

Anonymous user #1

162 months ago
Score 0++
I went there on my way to Futamata and Hamamatsu; by chance it was also the day of a local Fire Service matsuri. There were about 30 fire engines parading past the castle and various brass bands, so as I toured the castle I had my own theme music. The staff at the gate offered to take my photo, mind my baggage for free and gave me some of the local produce. Kakegawa is a recent reconstruction and a lot of work has gone into it; it makes you realise how good reconstructions can be. The displays are in Japanese but they do have nice pictures and furigana for everything which helps. In the palace there was a computerised quiz to find out which famous Sengoku era man or woman you would be. Out of Oichi, Nene, Cha-Cha and Chiyo I found out I was most like Chiyo-hime. (Sadly a Chiyo-hime who is never going to be able to buy her boyfriend a horse. Oh well.) There were plenty of Chiyo and Kazutoyo souvenirs around, including some 'Komyo ga Tsuji' relics.
avatar

RaymondWDaimyo

174 months ago
Score 0++
I went and visited this castle today. For a reconstructed castle, it is brilliant. It's so nice to go inside a castle that has a wooden construction as opposite to just bland concrete walls and pillars. The palace is an original one from the late Edo Period, which is a bonus while visiting this castle. The palace was rebuilt in the late Edo Period after it was destroyed by either a fire or earthquake (sorry, can't remember exactly.) This castle site certainly deserves its 4-star rating on this website. If you go, make sure you get the combo ticket for 400yen as this gets you into the castle keep, the palace, and the art musuem on the grounds. It's easy to get to the castle. You can see it as you pull into the station. This is definitely one of the better castle sites to visit between Tokyo and Nagoya.
avatar

FurinkazanDaimyo

178 months ago
Score 0++
This is a realy nice castle. I encountered a japanese man reading the panels of some battles in the tenshu. These are unfortunately only in japanese. But i recognized the battles and ask him if i wasn't mistaken. He was so impressed by my knowledge that, when i encountered him back at the goten, he bought me the book of the reconstuction of the castle(alas only in japanese). The maps in the book are very interesting. I can tell that the base of the foundation of the castle has been reconstructed with a concrete core. The tower was completely reconstructed with classical materials. In the tenshu and the goten are a lot of interesting artifacts.