Akatsuka Castle

Akatsuka Castle is a medieval castle located in Akatsuka, Itabashi Ward, Tokyo. It was built by the Chiba brothers, Chiba Sanetane and Chiba Yoritane, who fled from Shimōsa Province to Musashi Province during the Kyōtoku War (Kyōtoku 3 (1454) to Bunmei 14 (1482)). Yoritane built Akatsuka Castle in Kōshō 2 (1456), and Sanetane built Ishihama Castle. Afterward, under the protection of Ōta Dōkan, the two castles became important strongholds in Musashi. Akatsuka Castle was a hilltop castle (hirayamajiro) built at the northeastern edge of the Musashino Plateau, defended by moats and earthen ramparts. Throughout the Sengoku period, the Akatsuka Chiba clan served as loyal retainers of the Hōjō clan, and Akatsuka Castle was a key point for land and water transport, controlling the Arakawa River crossing and the Kamakura road (Kamakura-kaidō). With the fall of the Hōjō clan in Tenshō 18 (1590), Akatsuka Castle was abandoned. Today the castle site has been developed as Akatsuka Park, where, in addition to a stone monument marking the site of the honmaru, remains such as earthen ramparts and dry moats survive.