Pre Edo Period

Pre Edo Period / 江戸時代より以前

Castles that were only active prior to the Edo Period come from a very different time of castle construction. The Edo Period saw the introduction of the "One Castle per Province" edict which forced the abandonment of thousands of castles throughout Japan. Castles prior to the Edo Period tended to be a part of a wider castle network. There would have been a central home castle where the provincial lord may lived and ruled and there was also a large network of small castles that would protect the borders, watch over major roads, serve as smoke signal forts, or may have simply been created and generally left empty except when needed in a time of unrest.

Any castle with this designation is probably smaller in scale, often on a mountaintop, and is unlikely to have any buildings. These sites will be of more interest to history fans, castle fans, and those who want to understand a specific area better.

This category also includes some of the ancient castles such as the Josaku sites ((e.g. Shiwa Castle, Taga Castle)) in Northeastern Japan and the early fortifications in Western Japan such as those at Kinojo and Ono Castle. I will likely separate these out into other categories at some point.

Castles with Pre Edo Period

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