Akashi Castle

You mostly only see pictures of the 2 main yagura for this castle, but I was also impressed by the many stone walls and well defined baileys that still exist. I didn't notice until it was dark and too late to take any pictures, but it looks like you can get some good pictures from the train station

History

Ogasawara Tadazane (former lord of Matsumoto), moved into the area in 1617. In 1619, under the orders of Tokugawa Hidetada he built Akashi Castle in just one year for the purposes of watching over the Western lords and building up the Tokugawa defenses in the region. He accomplished building this castle in so little time mainly because he used materials from castles in the area that were decomissioned under the one castle per country law of 1615. The castle deftly makes use of the natural terrain in a 3 tiered castle compound. Ogasawara's father-in-law Honda Tadamasa, who also directed the construction of Himeji Castle, assisted with the construction of Akashi castle. Even though they build a large foundation for a large main keep, no main keep was ever built. In it's place the honmaru had 4 large 3 story yagura, two of which are still standing today. Eventually, Ogasawara Tadazane was moved to Kokura Castle and the lordship of Akashi Castle changed hands several times until it was taken over by Matsudaira Naoakira in 1682. The Matsudaira continued to ruled until the coming of the Meiji Restoration.

Field Notes

You mostly only see pictures of the 2 main yagura for this castle, but I was also impressed by the many stone walls and well defined baileys that still exist. I didn't notice until it was dark and too late to take any pictures, but it looks like you can get some good pictures from the train station too including both yagura.

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Gallery

Hitsujisaru Yagura
Tatsumi Yagura
Oda Residence Gate

More Galleries and Feature Pages

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Castle Profile
English Name	Akashi Castle
Japanese Name	明石城
Alternate Names	Kishun-jo
Founder	Ogasawara Tadazane
Year Founded	1619
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	No main keep but other buildings
Designations	Top 100 Castles, has Important Cultural Properties, National Historic Site
Historical Period	Edo Period
Artifacts	Tatsumi Yagura, Hitsujisaru Yagura
Features	gates, turrets, water moats, stone walls, walls
Visitor Information
Access	Akashi Sta (San'yo Line), 5 min walk
Hours
Time Required
URL	Castle Website
Location	Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture
Coordinates	34.65231, 134.99186
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2007
Admin Year Visited	2009
Admin Visits	November 14, 2009

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