Takaoka Castle

Takaoka Castle (高岡城, Takaoka-jō) was a flatland-style Japanese castle in what is now the city of Takaoka, Toyama Japan. It was originally constructed in 1609, and was only used for a few years before being dismantled. The site of its ruins is now a park. The castle is designated one of Japan's Top 100 Castles by the Japanese Castle Foundation. The ruins are protected as a National Historic Site.

Takaoka Castle is located at the center of what is now the city of Takaoka, in the western part of Etchū Province. The Takaoka area was considered the center of Etchū Province until the Muromachi period, as it was the location of the provincial capital and was an important junction point for the Hokuriku kaidō highway and the road to Noto Province. The area came under the control of the Maeda clan under Maeda Toshiie of Kaga Domain of the Tokugawa shogunate from the early Edo period.

Takaoka Castle was a rectangle of 400 meters long and 200 meters wide. The castle originally had five enclosures, all surrounded by a single, or in places, a double, moat. The inner bailey was 200 meters square and located at the middle part of western edge, surrounded by moats, with smaller enclosures to the north, east and south. As the west side of the castle was a marsh, and there was no need for a secondary enclosure on this side. Each enclosure was guarded by stone walls and a wide moat. The design was influenced by the Jurakudai palace of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in Kyoto, as the small secondary enclosures were poorly designed for defence, but were instead intended to enhance the prestige of the inner bailey as well as to provide beautiful views along the moats. It is uncertain if a tenshu, or even if yagura watchtowers were ever built.

Maeda Toshinaga, the son of Maeda Toshiie and second daimyō of Kaga Domain retired in 1605 at the age of 43, and moved from Kanazawa Castle to Toyama Castle. The reason for his early retirement is uncertain, but one reason could have been that he wanted to ensure the succession of the Maeda clan by turning the position of daimyō to his younger brother Maeda Toshitsune, who was married to the daughter of shōgun Tokugawa Hidetada. Toyama Castle burned down in 1609, and Toshinaga relocated to Uozu Castle while waiting for permission from the shogunate to build a new castle at a place named Sekino.

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

Takaoka Castle ranks #2,337 of 8,133 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #141 of the 297 mapped in Japan. Founded 1609, it is older than 32% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 626 atlas entries founded in the 17th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 2,879 times in the last 60 days, more than 75% of the atlas. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how Japan compares in the castle statistics.

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