Takaoka Castle

Takaoka Castle was built in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture. In 1609 (Keichō 14), Maeda Toshinaga, the second head of the Maeda family of Kaga, built it as a retirement castle. Toshinaga chose the Sekino area to begin construction, and in the ninth month of the same year he entered the unfinished castle and renamed Sekino as Takaoka. The layout features a series of umadashi (barbican enclosures), including the Ni-no-maru and San-no-maru, and an artificial water moat that occupies about 30% of the total area. The water moat still survives today in an almost complete form. The castle's name comes from the line “The phoenix sings on that high ridge” in the Chinese classic Shijing (Classic of Poetry) and means “high hill.” Toshinaga died at Takaoka Castle in 1614 (Keichō 19). During his brief five years in residence, he laid the foundations of the castle town. The castle was abandoned under the One Castle per Province Edict of 1615 (Genna 1). However, Toshinaga's younger brother Toshitsune developed the castle town into a center of commerce and industry, and Takaoka is still known today as a center of traditional crafts.