Taga Castle

History

Taga Castle was built on the boundary between the Emishi people of the northeast and the lands ruled by the Imperial Court in Kyoto. It was the main military and political base for the pacification of the northeast. It was burned down in a rebellion in 780 but was soon rebuilt. Sakanoue no Tamuramaro moved the military base farther north in 802, but Taga Castle continued to flourish as the political and administrative center. Taga Castle lost it's importance during the period of Northern and Southern courts.

Several castles of this same type were built pushing farther into the north as new territories were subjugated. Taga Castle is well known for being mentioned in an ancient history text (shokunihonki) and by Matsuo Basho in his famous Oku no Hosomichi.

Visit Notes

A nice castle for castle fans to visit since it is one of the oldest castle sites in the country, and especially on the main island of Honshu. Stop by the tourist information center just outside the station to get a map of the castle ruins. The first place to start is just outside the station and then you only need to follow the blue signs (even if you can't read them) to get to the other sites.

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Gallery

remains of the government office
government or officials buildings
central compound model
gate ruins and tuijibei wall
open area in front of the provincial office
foundation of the provincial office.
East Gate and wall ruins
southern wall ruins
stone monument to the renovation of the castle
Sakkan area
map of Taga Castle

Castle Profile
English Name	Taga Castle
Japanese Name	多賀城
Founder	Ohno no Azumabito
Year Founded	724
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Designations	Top 100 Castles, has Important Cultural Properties, National Historic Site, Special Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features
Visitor Information
Access	Kokufu-Tagajo Sta. (Tohoku Main Line), 15 min walk
Visitor Information
Time Required
Website	http://tagakan.jp/
Location	Tagajo, Miyagi Prefecture
Coordinates	38° 18' 21.35" N, 140° 59' 19.21" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2010
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2010
Admin Visits	May 22, 2010

2.67

(9 votes)

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ARTShogun

94 months ago

Score 0

Or just Tagajō / Taga Castle. Kokufu means “Provincial Capital.” This is the second oldest castle site I’ve ever visited: Tagajō was founded in 724. It is a type of fortification like a scaled-down walled city, as it also functioned as an administrative centre for the Yamato’s expanding frontier in Mutsu, formerly controlled by the Emishi, an ethnically distinct group from North Japan. Tagajō survived on into the Heian period which saw the rise of the warriors we would properly call Samurai (originally called Saburai, at which time their most cherished weapon was the bow, rather than the sword). With the rise of the half-blood Fujiwara no Kiyohira, Tagajō was eclipsed by his city of Hiraizumi and was soon abandoned.

Tagajō once had a huge gatehouse. The government office was in the main hall, the largest and most important structure on the site, in the middle of the fort. These important structures had tiled roofs. Official ceremonies were hosted in the castle. At the site today the stone foundations and platforms on which the buildings stood have been mapped out, in some cases using the original stones. Dorui (earthen mounds) remain and surround the site, but the castle’s environs extend outwards across the countryside. The scale is quite vast. Earthen ramparts also survive on nearby hills, and an ancient stele, called Tsubo no Ishibumi, from the Nara period, commemorating Tagajō’s founding is to be found in a small lattice-work gazebo. When Matsuo Bashō, the travelling poet, came to Tagajō to inspect its ruins, he found this stele and wept. He wrote of his experience: “There are seldom any certain vestiges of what has been, yet in this place there are wholly trustworthy memorials of events a millennium ago”.

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FurinkazanDaimyo

113 months ago

Score 0

This morning i visited first the Tôhoku history museum, which is on the opposite side of the station than the castle-site. It's a decent museum. I thought i'll found the 100 meijô stamp there, but the ladies told me it was at the station. Indeed when you exit the station to the castle-site, it's just there to use. I went to the informationoffice and the guy there was really helpful for explaining the route to the castle. Actually i didn't expect a lot of this site because there are no buildings. But i really enjoyed the explanation-panels all around the place. Everything, or almost, is translated in english. I went everywhere, even to the ruins of the northern wall, which is in the woods. There is a trail to it. Actually they do there best to make the place enjoyable. Some men were cutting the grass in the northern part. The grass was already cut at the Seicho. You have to know that this is a very vast site. The existing ruins are scattered all over the place. On the explanation-panels there are photos of the excavations and drawings of the buildings in their heyday. If you are in Sendai it's only 13min on the Tôhoku line to Kokufu-Tagajô station. Normally i should give it only 1 star, but because of the explanations i give it 0.5 more.

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RebolforcesAshigaru

139 months ago

Score 0

Closer to 30 minutes walk, or that might have been the directions I got at the museum near the stations

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Jcastle.oldHatamoto

173 months ago

Score 0

Another famous josaku castle like Shiwa Castle

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