Hirosaki Castle

Hirosaki Castle (弘前城, Hirosaki-jō) is a hirayama-style Japanese castle constructed in 1611. It was the seat of the Tsugaru clan, a 47,000 koku tozama daimyō clan which ruled over Hirosaki Domain, Mutsu Province, in what is now central Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It was also referred to as Takaoka Castle (鷹岡城 or 高岡城, Takaoka-jō).

Hirosaki Castle measures 612 meters east-west and 947 meters north-south. Its grounds are divided into six concentric baileys, which were formerly walled and separated by moats. It is unusual in that its Edo period tenshu and most of its outline remains intact. Noted historian and author Shiba Ryōtarō praised it as one of the "Seven Famous Castles of Japan" in his travel essay series Kaidō wo Yuku.

During the late Sengoku period, former Nambu retainer Ōura Tamenobu was awarded revenues of 45,000 koku by Toyotomi Hideyoshi for his role in the Battle of Odawara in 1590. He took the family name of Tsugaru at that time. At the Battle of Sekigahara, he sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu and was subsequently confirmed as lord of Hirosaki Domain with revenues increased to 47,000 koku.

In 1603, he began work on a castle in Hirosaki; however, work was suspended with his death in Kyoto in 1604. Work was resumed by his successor, Tsugaru Nobuhira in 1609, who stripped Horikoshi Castle and Ōura Castle of buildings and materials in order to speed up its completion.

The current castle was completed in 1611. However, in 1627, the 5-story tenshu was struck by lightning and destroyed by fire. It was not rebuilt until 1810 when the present 3-story structure was erected, but at the southeast corner, rather than the original southwest location. It was built by the 9th daimyō, Tsugaru Yasuchika.

With the Meiji Restoration and subsequent abolition of the han system, the Tsugaru clan surrendered the castle to the new Meiji government. In 1871, the castle was garrisoned by a detachment of the Imperial Japanese Army, and in 1873 the palace structures, martial arts school and most of the castle walls were pulled down. In 1894, the castle properties were donated by the Tsugaru clan to the government for use as a park, which opened to the general public the following year. In 1898, an armory was established in the former Third Bailey by the IJA 8th Division. In 1906, two of the remaining yagura burned down.

Text adapted from “Hirosaki Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Hirosaki Castle ranks #456 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #22 of the 297 mapped in Japan. Founded 1611, it is older than 31% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 580 atlas entries founded in the 17th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 12,908 times in the last 60 days, more than 95% of the atlas. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how Japan compares in the castle statistics.

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