Kakegawa Castle

History

Imagawa Yoshitada had his retainer Asahina Yasuhiro build Kakegawa Castle about 0.5km to the northeast of the present castle to help control this vital point of the Tokaido road. In 1569, his descendent, Asahina Yasutomo, lost the castle to Tokugawa Ieyasu's forces. In 1590, the area was absorbed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi who stationed Yamanouchi Kazutoyo here when Tokugawa moved to Edo (Tokyo).

Yamanouchi built the main keep on the current site and renovated the castle and town into a more modern castle. After the Battle of Sekigahara, Yamanouchi was moved to Kochi. Yamanouchi's main keep was destroyed in an earthquake in 1604 but was soon rebuilt. The new keep lasted until 1854 when it destroyed by another earthquake. It was not rebuilt and the castle was dismantled in 1869.

Visit Notes

The museum in the main keep does not have many artifacts but the displays are very well done. The combination of a nicely reconstructed main keep, an original palace and a few other gates and buildings really make this castle a must see for castle fans.

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Gallery

Donjon and walls
donjon, gate, walls
gate, walls, and donjon
Otemon Gate
Taiko Yagura
palace
inside the oalace
interior of the palace
Fuki Gate
inside of the main keep
map
ôteninomarumon (main gate to the second bailey), 1659, relocated to Yuusanji in 1873
relocated ôteninomarumon
Relocated Gate, Ryūunji Uramon
relocated ôteninomarumon

Castle Profile
English Name	Kakegawa Castle
Japanese Name	掛川城
Alternate Names	Kumokiri
Founder	Asahina Yasuhiro
Year Founded	1497
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	Reconstructed main keep
Designations	Top 100 Castles, has Important Cultural Properties, Local Historic Site
Historical Period	Edo Period
Main Keep Structure	3 levels, 4 stories
Year Reconstructed	1993 (wood)
Artifacts	Yusanji Sanmon Gate, goten
Features	main keep, gates, turrets, palace, stone walls, walls
Visitor Information
Access	Kakegawa Station (Tokaido Honsen), 10 minute walk
Visitor Information
Time Required
Website	http://www.city.kakegawa.shizuoka.jp/kanko/siro.htm
Location	Kakegawa, Shizuoka Prefecture
Coordinates	34° 46' 31.66" N, 138° 0' 53.50" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	1999
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	1999, 2009
Admin Visits	May 1999; October 15, 2009

4.08

(24 votes)

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Matthew WardGunshi

9 months ago

Score 0

I finally visited Kakegawa Castle the day before yesterday, and really loved it! I got there mid-morning and thought maybe I'd have enough time to see Hamamatsu Castle too before heading back to Kansai, but as it turned out, Kakegawa Castle kept me very occupied for the whole day.

The best part of it was the palace, which is incredible and has to be one of the best surviving castle buildings in Japan. And the combination of that and the beautifully and authentically restored main keep alone makes it a must-see. The palace is a fascinating maze of rooms with lots of good displays, and the main keep really felt like a historical keep to me, even slightly more than the keep of Ozu Castle, perhaps because it's a little older and the wood is darker.

I also enjoyed the other extant and reconstructed buildings, especially the drum tower (the combination of it and the main keep make great views from a distance) and the restored Ote gate with the historical gatehouse behind it. The teahouse was very nice, and I got some excellent views of the main keep, along with some autumn colors from it.

When I was there, they were doing some work on the dobei and also on the side of the drum turret, which made marred a few of the views, but also made me creative about getting shots from different angles, so overall I think it helped me really see the place well.

I was surprised by the number of extant Meiji Era buildings on the castle grounds--really more than I expected. I went into the mansion in the Bamboo Bailey, but there are several more, including a schoolhouse and the Koutoku Memorial Hall. I like it when castles have a range of historical buildings, even when those aren't castle buildings, because it ends up just making them more rich historically.

One place I went to that I didn't know about before going was the Ryuugein Daiyuin Otamaya, a mausoleum built by Kakegawa Castle lord Hojo Ujishige, which is on a hill a few blocks away from the main castle hill. I was originally attracted to it because the maps stated that the hill also it had Kakegawa castle ruins on it. Anyway, the mausoleum is also a beautiful building and very worthwhile visit. I didn't find much in terms of castle ruins on the hill (I didn't look very hard to be honest), but there were some of what may well have been dorui and definitely a bit of ishigaki on the hillside.

One amusing little point: some tourist literature I had read claimed that one could feel the atmosphere of the castle town while walking from the station to the castle. While there are some older buildings here and there, I definitely didn't see any castle town buildings. However, there do seem to be a number of mogified structures, which despite not being authentic historical buildings do seem to blend in with the castle, and make pictures from the main keep better than they would be otherwise.

My only critique of Kakegawa Castle is that it doesn't offer much for ishigaki and moat fans, but the combination of the palace and main keep still make it a 5-star castle, and the various other buildings really add further to its value.