Hamada Castle

History

Yoshida Shigeharu was given the Hamada domain for his success at the Battle of Sekigahara and moved here from Matsuzaka (Mie Pref.) in 1619. The Hamada domain was an important domain held closely by Tokugawa allies as a defense against the Mouri in the Choshu region. The castle and castle town were completed in 1623. After Yoshida, the castle was briefly ruled by the Matsudaira, Honda, and then back to the Matsudaira again, where it stayed until the end of the Edo Period. In 1866 the Hamada Domain formed the center of the second Choshu Incursion by the Tokugawa. The Hamada forces lost badly and set fire to the castle before fleeing. The castle was never rebuilt.

Visit Notes

This is a surprisingly nice little castle. Well preserved stone walls and excellent signage makes it an enjoyable stop. It's a bit out of the way from anywhere you might normally go but it's a worthy half day trip if you are visiting the area. You can get a direct bus from Hiroshima to Hamada which is faster than trains and could also set you up for excursions into Tsuwano and Hagi.
以外によかったお城です。石垣が多くて立地も構造も面白いです。説明板も多く設置されているのは嬉しいです。浜田市はあまり観光で行くようなところではなさそうですが機会があればお城を訪れる価値があります。広島からのバスもあるので電車より速いです。1日に近くの津和野城も回ることができます。

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Gallery

Gate
Gate
Sanmaru stone walls.
Entrance to the Sanmaru Bailey
Sanmaru stone walls
Sanmaru stone walls
Sanmaru Stone walls
Sanmaru stone walls
Nimaru stone walls
Demaru bailey
Honmaru Bailey
View from the Honmaru bailey
Ichinomaru Gate and Honmaru stone walls
Ninomon Masugata Gate
Ninomon Gate
Ninomon stone walls
Ninomon stone walls
Ninomon Gate
Stone walls
Stone walls
Stone wall remnants
Stone walls
Sanmaru Bailey
Path to the Enshogura
Enshogura site
Ninomaru stone walls
Stone walls of the Uramon Gate
Nakanomon Gate
Otemon
Map
Map
Reconstruction illustration

Castle Profile
English Name	Hamada Castle
Japanese Name	浜田城
Alternate Names	Kameyama-jo
Founder	Furuta Shigeharu
Year Founded	1619
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	No main keep but other buildings
Designations	Next 100 Castles, Prefectural Historic Site
Historical Period	Edo Period
Features	gates, trenches, stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	Hamada Sta. (San'in Line), 25 min walk or 10 min bus + 5 min walk
Visitor Information	open any time, enter the grounds through the shrine and go towards the right not to the main shrine area.
Time Required	45 mins
Website	http://www.city.hamada.shimane.jp/www/contents/1001000002482/index.html
Location	Hamada, Shimane Prefecture
Coordinates	34° 54' 10.48" N, 132° 4' 23.99" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2015
Admin Year Visited	2014
Admin Visits	November 23, 2014

2.25

(4 votes)

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ARTShogun

44 months ago

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Updated to yellow status for the historic albeit relocated gate.

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ARTShogun

45 months ago

Score 0

Hamadajō (Hamada) 　浜田城［島根県浜田市］

Hamadajō is a hilltop castle (ladder-like arrangement) in the port town of Hamada, Shimane Prefecture. Ruins feature ishigaki and baileys. The views of the bay are pleasant and the site is easy to access. If possible I recommend starting at the Uramon ("Rear Gate") and then Nakanomon ("Middle Gate") ruins so as not to have to double-back to visit them, but the site is anyway not so large (actually I missed the Uramon > <). The ishigaki is in mostly good condition and the masugata (square layout) gate complex is impressive, especially since one can walk all the way around it and inspect it from every angle. There are many signposts at the site detailing features and showing both maps and computer graphic mock-ups, so the site gets full marks from me here, albeit - an afterthought but - all information is in Japanese only.

The gate seen here is Edo Period but was originally the gate of a bukeyashiki (samurai residence) in Tsuwano! It was not moved to Hamadajō until 1967, having first been relocated to Hamada to serve as the entrance to the Hamada Prefectural Office (all domains were temporarily converted into prefectures at the start of the Meiji Period), which later became the Naka District Head Office when in 1876 Hamada-ken was merged into Shimane-ken (which - trivia - until 1881 also included Tottori-ken).

Hamadajō was destroyed during the Second Chōshū Expedition in 1866 after the invasion of Chōshū led by Ômura Masujirō.

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