Aizu Wakamatsu Castle

History

Tsuruga-jo is the strongest and oldest fortress in all of Tohoku. It was originally built in 1384 as Kurokawa-jo by Ashina Naomori. In 1589 Date Masamune defeated Ashina Yoshihiro and moved into Kurokawa-jo. A year later it was absorbed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and governed by Gamo Ujisato. Gamo renovated the castle and renamed it Tsuruga-jo. The reconstructed main keep you see today was built by Gamo.

After the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate the castle was governed by the Matsudaira clan. The Matsudaira were a branch of the Tokugawa family and thus in the category of "inner lords." The "inner lords" were branches of the Tokugawa family who kept watch over the daimyo who were not originally Tokugawa allies and provided a buffer between allied and non-allied daimyo.

The Matsudaira ruled from Tsuruga-jo until the Meiji Restoration when it fell in the Boshin War . The most famous episode from the downfall of Tsuruga-jo is that of the Byakkotai.

The layout, nawabari, of this castle was patterened after that of Osaka Castle during Hideyoshi's time.

Visit Notes

The gray roofing tiles were all replaced in 2010-2011 with reddish tiles to match the original construction. The castle has many great moats and stone walls so I recommend taking the time to walk the grounds.
元の天守の瓦は赤瓦だったので2010-2011に灰色の瓦を赤瓦に張り替えました。このお城は堀や石垣が多いので地図を見ながらゆっくり回ってください。

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Gallery

main keep
Gosangai Yagura
main keep
main keep
main keep
stone stairs
West bailey
moat near the North Bailey
moat around the Honmaru Obi Kuruwa bailey
Bell tower
Nishi Naka Gate
Nishi Naka Gate ruins
Tsukimi Yagura Foundation
Hoshii Yagura and South Hashirinagaya Tamon Yagura
Hashirinagaya, Kurogane Gate and Hoshii Yagura
interior of the Hashirinagaya Yagura
Hoshii Yagura Interior
Kurogane Gate
Mushahashiri stone stairs
Stone walls of the Rokabashi Gate
Rokabashi Bridge
view from the Rokabashi Bridge
NInomaru East Gate
View from the main kep
map
Chatsubo Yagura (Teapot Tower) foundation
Chatsubo Yagura (Teapot Tower) foundation from the back
Kōka-machi Gate Remnant
Aizu Karou Yashiki Genkan

Castle Profile
English Name	Aizu Wakamatsu Castle
Japanese Name	会津若松城
Alternate Names	Tsuruga-jo, Kurokawa-jo
Founder	Ashina Naomori
Year Founded	1384
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	Reconstructed main keep
Designations	Top 100 Castles, National Historic Site
Historical Period	Edo Period
Main Keep Structure	5 levels, 7 stories
Year Reconstructed	1965 (concrete)
Features	main keep, gates, turrets, bridges, samurai homes, water moats, stone walls, walls
Visitor Information
Access	Wakamatsu Station (Ban'etsu Saisen), 30 minute walk or 10 minutes by bus
Visitor Information
Time Required	120 mins
Website	http://www.tsurugajo.com/~wakamatsujo/
Location	Aizu Wakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture
Coordinates	37° 29' 15.97" N, 139° 55' 47.64" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	1999
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	1997, 1998, 2003, 2011
Admin Visits	October 1997; January 1998; Sept. 14, 2003; July 17, 2011

Nearby Samurai Homes

Aizu Karou Yashiki (Saigou Residence)

3.86

(21 votes)

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ARTShogun

44 months ago

Score 1

Added picture and profile for "Aizu Karou Yashiki (Saigou Residence)".

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Nsvi77Peasant

52 months ago

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訪問する素晴らしい場所。私は去年訪れたので覚えているので覚えています。

このウェブサイトをご覧ください<a href="https://tirenavi.jp/"> tirenavi.jp </a>

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ARTShogun

91 months ago

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『明日のよるは、何国の誰か、ながむらんなれし御城に、残す月影』 “Come tomorrow night, who from what country will gaze upon the moonlit castle which was our home?”

- Yamamoto Yaeko, at the surrender of Aizu Castle to Imperial forces in 1868. 23 years old and a skilled marksman, Yae participated in the defence of the castle using a Spencer repeating rifle. Sixty years later, by then an old woman, Yae told of how she had drew her arms around herself and ground her teeth together as the Imperial Army marched into the castle. She recalled, “that night the moon shone with a melancholy brilliance” 「月が物凄いように輝いていた」.

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RebolforcesAshigaru

91 months ago

Score 0

Good multilingual museum display inside.

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FurinkazanDaimyo

114 months ago

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This is a nice site to visit. The tenshukaku being a concrete one isn't a big problem. It houses a nice museum with a lot of information about the history of the place and more in particular about the Boshin-war. The view from the top is outstanding. The 2 reconstructions in wood are a great addition to the castle. The Rinkaku teahouse is worth to visit. After that i went to the Prefectural museum, just next to the castle-site. Then i took a bus to the Aizu bukeyashiki, which is truly informative.

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Kiddus i2003Gunshi

128 months ago

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Saw this early in my castle trips loved it, will be back in 2014.

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Anonymous user #1

155 months ago

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We visited this castle as part of two day trip to Fukushima and saw it in combination with the Abukuma-do caves and the old post town Ouichijuku. The castle and grounds were covered in snow, which set the scene for some great photos. The castle itself is a basic concrete reconstruction, but the area is well worth the visit. The drive though the mountains to the old postal town of Ouichijuku is magnificent.

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Frank T.Gunshi

158 months ago

Score 0

This castle is very much in the mold of Osaka and Nagoya Castles. If you don't mind a large concrete reconstruction for the keep, there are plenty of other things to see.

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Anonymous user #1

167 months ago

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I believe so. When young, Gamo Ujisato was originally given to the Oda as a hostage when his father pledged allegiance. He grew up at Gifu. He then served Hashiba Hideyoshi and received Matsusaka and later Aizu-Wakamatsu. Anyway, I was sorting through Aizu omiyage to start handing out and I realised the new mascot character for Tsuruga-jo, Oshirobo-kun, has a red roof. I thought that was neat. Also, Eric, your story is sweet and romantic. Castles are a great place to take your partner.

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Anonymous user #1

167 months ago

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was'nt the gamo clan serving the oda clan

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Jcastle.oldHatamoto

167 months ago

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Definitely worth a trip, even in winter. When I lived in Fukushima, this was the first place I took my girlfriend when she came up to visit from Kyoto during New Year's break for her first (and last) trip to Fukushima. It was cold and snowing so hard we could barely see the tenshu. It didn't make a very good impression, but she still married me.

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Anonymous user #1

167 months ago

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I agree completely. Beautiful place. Aizu in the evening, entrenched in snow. In the morning there is a million dollar view of the mountains. I walked to Tsuruga-jo and enroute discovered Noguchi Street – filled with caricatures of the scientist better known as the man on the 1000 yen note. There were reportedly some ishigaki of Aizu-han naka yashiki at Noguchi Hiroba but I couldn't tell because they were smothered with a drift of snow up to my thighs. Tsuruga-jo was superb. Only the bottom level had scaffolding and if you crouched down and positioned the snow and trees just right you could still get a spectacular photo. The collection inside was standard; my favourite was the sign of a person the average height in the Edo Era, sort of 'you must be this short to enter the yagura' but better, because I was exactly the same height. The place also had a Tenchijin exihibit (Tenchijin lives!) and life-sized models of a teppo ashigaru and an ishi-otoshi ashigaru. Some thoughtful sculptor had made a snow yumi ashigaru in the castle grounds, complete with eyes, bow, quiver of arrows and even stripes on his coat. The moat was frozen. This amazed me. It had never occurred to me that a moat could freeze. It was breathtaking to see those massive stone edifices glittering with white crystals and guarding a motionless moat.

I also went to the nearby Bukeyashiki, which was great for photos and very informative. Nearby is one of Kondo Isami's graves, touchingly not far from the Matsudaira mausoleum. It was snowed under so I only made it as far as the main temple, (reason to come back!) Likewise with the Byakkotai graves.

The only thing I found annoying in Aizu was I wanted to get a post-card of Matsudaira Katamori for a friend of mine but couldn't find anything amidst the maze of White Tiger mementos; I secretly took a photo of the Matsudaira picture in the castle museum instead. (Criminal).

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