Takasaki Castle

Takasaki Castle was a flatland castle in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, on the Karasu River. Ii Naomasa built it on the site of the older Wada Castle on the orders of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The Inui turret and East Gate still stand, and its moats and ramparts shape the layout of the city center.

From Wada Castle to Takasaki

A castle said to date to the late Heian period stood here, later held by the Wada clan, who shifted allegiance among the Uesugi, Takeda, and Hōjō. It fell in 1590 (Tenshō 18) during the Odawara campaign to forces including Maeda Toshiie and Uesugi Kagekatsu.

Ii Naomasa builds the castle

In 1598 (Keichō 3) Ii Naomasa, lord of Minowa Castle, built a new castle on Ieyasu's orders and moved in from Minowa; some accounts place the start of construction in the previous year, 1597 (Keichō 2). It stood at the strategic junction where the Nakasendō and the Sangoku highway part, and Naomasa named the place Takasaki.

Succession of lords

Many daimyo families followed, including the Suwa, Sakai, Toda, Matsudaira, and Andō. Andō Shigenobu, who entered the castle in 1619, began major renovations, and the Andō held the domain for three generations over 77 years; the castle's completion is credited to these three Andō lords. Tokugawa Tadanaga took his own life at the castle in 1633. The last lord was Ōkōchi Teruna.

Layout

The main enclosure had a three-story turret (Gosankai-yagura) and four corner turrets, surrounded by further enclosures and earthen ramparts with few stone walls. The three-story turret no longer exists.

Since the Meiji era

Under the 1873 abolition order the castle was designated for retention, but most buildings were moved or demolished, and much of the site housed the 15th Infantry Regiment. Of the surviving structures, the Inui turret was moved and restored in 1977 and the East Gate in 1980. The Inui turret is a Gunma Prefecture Important Cultural Property, the Sannomaru earthworks and moat are a Takasaki City Historic Site, and the East Gate is a Takasaki City Important Cultural Property.

Today

The site lies in the city center, with a 21-story city hall and public facilities. The moat area is Takasaki Castle Ruins Park (about 4.9 hectares), known for cherry blossoms and azaleas.