A Guide to Japan’s Best Castles by Categories! Learn About the Castles and Their Locations

A Guide to Japan’s Best Castles by Categories! Learn About the Castles and Their Locations
Shikako
Shikako 
Published
| 8 min read

In Japanese you can often hear terms like “Japan’s three most famous castles” or “Japan’s big three mountain castles”. In fact, there is a big categorization of the domestic castles. Now I will introduce a classification based on the castles’ location and characteristics.

Japan’s three most famous castles

a guide to japan’s best castles by categories! learn about the castles and their locations | japan’s three most famous castles

The classification of Japan’s castles was not developed by anyone in particular. It just happened that people started talking about some of them as the “best” or “most famous”, but this also depends on their characteristics.


Before introducing the division based on characteristics, let’s first take a look at Japan’s three most famous castles. With this phrase people in Edo period referred to the three most prominent castles, excluding Edo Castle where Tokugawa shogun lived. The three most famous castles are especially hard to select based on some category, because it is unclear whether that would be their size or their architecture style or something else. Different criteria lead to different examples of best castles.



Therefore the three most commonly believed to fit the category of “famous castles” are Kumamoto Castle, Nagoya Castle and Himeji Castle. Some sources also add Osaka Castle and Matsumoto Castle (it appears that there is no consensus even among Japan Castle Foundation). 


Note about the castles

• Kumamoto Castle (Kumamoto prefecture, Kumamoto city): built in 1607 (according to various sources) by Kato Kiyomasa. It is famous for its black painted walls because it used Matsumoto Castle as a model.

• Nagoya Castle (Aichi prefecture, Nagoya city): built in 1612. It is the most famous representative of castles built on the plains by shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu after the battle at Sekigahara and the establishment of the shogunate. Famous for the golden shachihoko statues on its roof.

• Himeji Castle (Hyogo prefecture, Himeji city): built in 1346. In the beginning it was a small mountain castle built by Akamatsu Sadanori. In 1993 it was registered as the first World Cultural Heritage in Japan together with Horyuji temple. It is the only among the 12 surviving original tower castles that is registered as a national treasure.



On the photo is Himeji Castle. After the Heisei restoration it became whiter than ever, but the photo here is before the restoration.

Japan’s big three mountain castles

a guide to japan’s best castles by categories! learn about the castles and their locations | japan’s big three mountain castles

Now let’s move on to introducing Japan’s big three castles based on some category. The first type is “mountain castles”. As you probably guess from the name, these are castles built on a mountain. This type was prevalent in the early history of Japanese castles, particularly based on the examples in Yayoi period when settlements started appearing on top of mountains to protect the nearby villages. Takeda Castle, whose remains have recently become quite popular, was also a mountain castle. 


Japan’s big three mountain castles are Iwamura Castle, Takatori Castle and Bitchu Matsuyama Castle. 


Built on mountains, those castles were very effective as defense facilities. Many of them were built before the Warring States period. There was usually a separate residence at the foot of the mountain where the lords would reside, but would shut themselves away in the castle during wars. Later on castles started to be built on the plains as they grew bigger and the mountains were inconvenient for such constructions. 


Note about the castles

• Iwamura Castle (Gifu prefecture, Ena city, Iwamura): built in 1185. Located at 721 meters above sea level, it is the highest castle in Japan. Only the stone wall has survived so it is in fact “Iwamura Castle remains”.

• Takatori Castle (Nara prefecture, Takatori town): built in 1332. It is the only castle from Nara prefecture included in the list of Japan’s best 100 castles. Only the stone wall has survived so it is in fact “Takatori Castle ruins”.

• Matsuyama Castle (Okayama prefecture, Takahashi city): built in 1240. Often called “Bitchu Matsuyama” not to be confused with Matsuyama Castle of Ehime prefecture. It is the only mountain castle among the 12 surviving original tower castles. Similarly to Takeda Castle in Hyogo prefecture, it is seasonally surrounded by a sea of clouds, so it is also known as “the second best castle in the sky”. 


On the photo is Matsuyama Castle. You can observe the sea of clouds from Matsuyama observatory. They only occur between late September and early April in the morning, when the weather is clear and the temperature difference between the morning and the noon is big.

Japan’s big three castles on the plains

a guide to japan’s best castles by categories! learn about the castles and their locations | japan’s big three castles on the plains

The next category is castles on the plains. There is also a similar category “castles on a hill in the plains”.


Those two types began to be built after the mountain castles, as I explained earlier. The division between them is not very clear, but generally the former have to be built on a flat ground, while the latter are often built on a small hill with about 100 meters elevation as the main difference. Therefore castles on a hill in the plains are sometimes referred to simply as castles in the plains. 



Most of the castles in the plains are built near the towns so that their governing would be easy. One of the weak sides of the castles built on flat ground is that they are generally defenseless, unlike the mountain and hill castles. That is why many of them have additional facilities like moats, gates and turrets.

Nijo Castle in Kyoto city, registered as a World Cultural Heritage, is an example of a castle in the plains which is not selected among the big three. 



The big three castles in the plains are Nagoya Castle, Okayama Castle and Hiroshima Castle.



Note about the castles

• Okayama Castle (Okayama prefecture, Okayama city): built in 1597 by the feudal lord Ukita Hideie who was kindly welcomed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. It took 8 years to complete it. The black walls in a style called “Toyotomi style” were reconstructed in 1965.

• Hiroshima Castle (Hiroshima prefecture, Hiroshima city): built in 1589 by Mori Terumoto, one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s Council of Five Elders. It was registered as a national treasure in 1931, but was destroyed by the atomic bomb later. Now the castle has been rebuilt. 


On the photo is Nagoya Castle. The big tower is a symbol of that castle, but the large moat that you see is a typical feature of all castles in the plains.

Japan’s big three castles on a hill in the plains

a guide to japan’s best castles by categories! learn about the castles and their locations | japan’s big three castles on a hill in the plains

Castles on a hill are those which stand between the categories of mountain castles and castles in the plains. They have both a defense function and a castle town relatively close. Most of them were built during the end of the Warring States period. These castles look pretty standing on small hills.



Japan’s big three castles on a hill in the planes are Tsuyama Castle, Himeji Castle and Matsuyama Castle.



Note about the castles

• Tsuyama Castle (Okayama prefecture, Tsuyama city): built in 1616 by the founder and first feudal lord of Tsuyama domain Mori Tadamasa. It took 12 years to build the castle. Later it was abandoned and destroyed, so nowadays its remains are a popular sakura seeing spot.

• Matsuyama Castle (Ehime prefecture, Matsuyama city): built in 1602. Sometimes called “Iyo Matsuyama” to differentiate it from Bitchu Matsuyama Castle. The one who constructed all the buildings on the spacious castle ground 132 meters above sea level was Kato Yoshiaki, one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s chief generals from the Battle of Shizugatake. It is one of the surviving 12 original tower castles. 



On the photo is Matsuyama Castle. There is a hiking trail until the castle, but you can also reach it easily with a ropeway and a chair lift.

Japan’s big three water and lake castles

japan’s big three water and lake castles

The next category is water castles. Most of them fall into the category of castles in the plains. The ones facing the sea or a river are defined as water castles, while the ones facing a lake are lake castles. As I already explained, castles built in the plains needed some additional defense facilities. That is why instead of building a moat, some of them used the sea, rivers and lakes as a natural protection.


Japan’s big three water castles are Takamatsu Castle, Imabari Castle and Nakatsu Castle. Japan’s big three lake castles are Matsue Castle, Zeze Castle and Takashima Castle.


Note about the castles

• Takamatsu Castle (Kagawa prefecture, Takamatsu city): built within several years starting from 1588 by Ikoma Chikamasa after being given the rule over Sanuki province. Now it’s part of Tamamo Park. The famous “Takamatsu Castle water raid” depicted in NHK’s TV drama “Gunshi Kanbei” actually took place at Bitchu Takamatsu Castle.

• Imabari Castle (Ehime prefecture, Imabari city): built in 1602 by the famous architect Todo Takatora. It has a moat of three layers which is peculiar for using sea water. In the past ships could sail from the sea directly to the castle.

• Nakatsu Castle (Oita prefecture, Nakatsu city): built in 1588 by Kuroda Kanbei (Kuroda Yoshitaka), who is the main character in NHK’s TV drama “Gunshi Kanbei”. It is built on Nakatsugawa river which flows into Suo sea, so the moat also uses sea water.


• Matsue Castle (Shimane prefecture, Matsue city): built in 1611 at the shore of Lake Shinji. It took 3, instead of 5 years to build, and the castle is known for its beautiful stone walls. The stones are lined in an old style called “norazumi”. It is one of the 12 surviving original tower castles.

• Zeze Castle (Shiga prefecture, Otsu city): built in 1601 by the winner of Sekigahara battle Tokugawa Ieyasu on the shore of Lake Biwako as a strategic point along Tokaido road. Now there are only remains of the tower and the stone walls, and they have become part of Zeze Park.

• Takashima Castle (Nagano prefecture, Suwa city): built in 1592 by Hineno Takayoshi. Originally built in a way so that it looks like it is “floating” over Lake Suwa, but during Edo period the land of the lake was reclaimed and now the castle is surrounded by houses. 


On the photo is Takamatsu Castle. The moat contains sea water and red sea bream fish live there. However, they have not come from the sea, but have instead been bred by people.

Japan’s big three connected-construction castles on a hill in the plains

japan’s big three connected-construction castles on a hill in the plains

Up until now I introduced a classification of castles based on their location. Finally, I will explain about the term “connected-construction” castles on a hill in the plains.


Japan’s big three connected-construction castles on a hill in the plains are Himeji Castle, Matsuyama Castle and Wakayama Castle. 



Connected-construction castle (“renritsu-shiki”) is a type of architecture in which the big and small towers and the turrets are connected and linked to the long-wall “tamon” turret. This type of architecture is particularly famous in the examples of the big three castles listed above.



Note about the castles

• Wakayama Castle (Wakayama prefecture, Wakayama city): built in 1585 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s younger brother Hidenaga. Later it became the base of Tokugawa family’s Kii branch after the feudal lord Tokugawa Yorinobu took reign over it. 


On the photo is Wakayama Castle. It consists of a large tower, a small tower, several turrets, gates and a kitchen.

It’s funny the more you learn!

So how was it? In this article I introduced a categorization of Japan’s castles based on their location. It’s interesting to research and check what type the castle nearest to you is. A must-do if you’re interested in castles!

Disclosure: Trip101 selects the listings in our articles independently. Some of the listings in this article contain affiliate links.

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