Kameda Castle

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BigFatMogiKameda.jpg

History

The castle was originally a Jin’ya serving as the headquarters of the Kameda Domain. It was built at the base of the mountain on which the former Akozu Castle had sat, abandoned a decade earlier. Kameda Manor was faced with attack by the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei Alliance after the Kubota Clan decided to side with the Meiji government. It was destroyed along with nearby Kubota Castle during the Boshin War.


Visit Notes

The former site of jin’ya called Kameda is now inhabited by a pair of complexes. Firstly there is an art gallery with a castle gatehouse, complete with Ishigaki and ensconced galleries outwardly designed to look like palatial structures. About a minute away around the corner is Amasagi-mura, a tourist attraction which features a mock reconstructed castle keep. Although these two structures are collectively known as Kamedajō, they are not historically accurate. I came therefore quite early just to admire the faux reconstructions, and I didn’t have time to wait around for Amasagi Village to open but it does contain an actual historical structure: Unuma-bukeyashiki (Samurai Residence of the Unuma), which has been relocated to the village. I could only see its thatched roof from behind a wall. The keep is just a folk museum with some token armour sets. I had no interest in visiting the art gallery. I went around the back and was able to see most of the mock reconstruction this way. An older castle called Akozu Castle is on the mountain next to Kamedajō so I went to hunt for the ruins of that immediate after. There another mock reconstruction, a pagoda-shaped turret marking the sannomaru of Akozujō, can be seen from the foot of the mountain. Also on the mountain and visible from below is Amasagi Wine Castle. It’s roof sort of looks like a castle with dual peaked gables on one side, but it otherwise looks nothing like one. This isn’t even the only “wine castle” in Japan. There are more wine castles that exist. I visited the wine castle for my health. Then I investigated the ruins of the mountaintop castle Akozujō Castle.




Gallery
  • Mogi Tenshu
  • Gatehouse
  • Pseudo Goten (Art Gallery)


Castle Profile
English Name Kameda Castle
Japanese Name 亀田城
Alternate Names Amasagijō; Kameda-jin'ya
Founder Iwaki Yoshitaka
Year Founded 1623
Castle Type Flatland
Castle Condition Reconstructed main keep
Historical Period Edo Period
Main Keep Structure Three Tiers, Four Storeys
Year Reconstructed 1974
Artifacts Mogi Tenshu, Restored Ishigaki, Gatehouse
Features main keep, gates, palace, stone walls
Visitor Information
Access Ugo-Kameda Station (Uetsu Line), 40min walk
Visitor Information 9am -4.30m
Time Required 2 hours
Website http://www.kamedajo.jp/
Location Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture
Coordinates 39° 29' 56.51" N, 140° 5' 13.52" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle 2016
Contributor ART
Admin Year Visited Viewer Contributed
Friends of JCastle
Kojōdan
Jōkaku Hōrōki


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