Takasaki Castle

History

The history of Takasaki Castle begins with Wada Castle constructed by Wada Yoshinobu around 1428. After the fall of the Hojo in 1590, Wada Castle was destroyed.

Tokugawa Ieyasu had Ii Naomasa (lord of Minowa castle) construct a castle in Takasaki at this strategic crossroads of the Nakasendo and Mikuni trade routes. Ii Naomasa renamed the area Takasaki and built up the foundations of the castle town. After three years, Ii Naomasa was sent to Hikone where he built the famous Hikone Castle. Starting with Ando Shigenobu in 1619, the castle underwent 77 years rebuilding and reconstruction. During the Meiji Period, Takasaki Castle was actually one of the castles that were saved under the Castle Abolition Law for use as government or military purposes. Even so, all the buildings were eventually destroyed or sold. The East Gate and Inui Yagura are both original, but were moved here from other locations. Today, the city offices, a hospital, schools, etc occupy part of the Sannomaru where the yagura and gate were moved to.

Visit Notes

if you spend any time in Gunma visiting the many interesting castles you'll likely find yourself with some free time at Takasaki Station at some point. That's the perfect time to take the short walk to visit these few ruins. For my second visit, I got off the bus near the castle on the way back from Takatome Castle. The second time through i found some more points of interest I did not see the first time years ago, like the stone waterway. See the photos for details.
群馬県いは面白いお城が沢山あります。いろいろ登城している中できっと高崎駅時間が余ります。その時に徒歩約１０分のところにある高崎城に行けばいいです。最近行った時は鷹留城の帰りのバスで高崎城のそば降りてみて帰りました。二回目は一回目の時に気づかなかった医師がの水路も見つかりました。

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Gallery

Inui Yagura and East Gate
Inui Yagura, originally in the Honmaru
East Gate
East gate
Stone walls
Stone walls and Inui Yagura
Stone walls and Inui Yagura
Sannomaru Moats
Sannomaru Moats
Sannomaru Moats
Sannomaru Moats
Sannomaru Moats
Earthen embankment
Earthen embankment
Waterway between the Honmaru and Ninomaru
Stone walls
Stone walls
Cutaway of the embankment
Sannomaru moat
Sannomaru moat
Map
Map

Castle Profile
English Name	Takasaki Castle
Japanese Name	高崎城
Alternate Names	Wada-jo
Founder	Ii Naomasa
Year Founded	1597
Castle Type	Flatland
Castle Condition	No main keep but other buildings
Designations	Prefectural Historic Site
Historical Period	Edo Period
Features	gates, turrets, water moats, stone walls, walls
Visitor Information
Access	Takasaki Sta. (Takasaki Line), 10 min. walk
Visitor Information	open any time
Time Required	30 mins
Website	http://www.city.takasaki.gunma.jp/kankou/sigai/yagura/yagura.htm
Location	Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture
Coordinates	36° 19' 26.04" N, 139° 0' 15.44" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2008
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2008, 2017
Admin Visits	November 6, 2008; November 24, 2017

1.75

(8 votes)

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ARTShogun

84 months ago

Score 1

Takasaki Castle has been hollowed out and its inner sanctum used as the administrative center of the modern city. The surrounding moat and dorui (earth embankments) however are well maintained, and a gate and yagura (sentry tower) survive as original structures on the site.

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FurinkazanHatamoto

101 months ago

Score 0

After Minowajo, i had time left before going to Tokyo. So i visited these structures. RaymondW and the Webmaster said everything about this site. Because the buildings are original i give it 1.5 stars. This was my last castle visit in Japan for this year. Tomorrow i return home.

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RaymondWDaimyo

120 months ago

Score 0

This castle has been mostly built over with government buildings. Some of the water moats, earthen ramparts (in some places 4 to 5 metres high), stone walls, and two original structures remain. The only remaining yagura, moved from its original location, is closed to the public. There isn’t that much to see here, but in early November with some the tree leaves turning into their fiery autumnal hues, the castle park is fairly pretty and worth a detour if one is in the area visiting other castles. Of course, for Ii Naomasa fans, this is one of his pre-Hikone castles. Like at Hikone Castle, there are some significant earthen ramparts, but there is very little of the castle left to properly compare it with Hikone Castle. For me, this is only a one-star site. It could rate a little higher if they open up the yagura to the public.

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