Kururi Castle

The castle was built roughly 500m from the original Kokururi Castle, but may have included some structures or built over some structures from Kokura Castle too. Refer to the Kokururi Castle page for more information. The castle is an interesting combination of mountaintop castle and lowland

History

When Satomi Yoshitaka absorbed these territories as the weakened, he established a new base at Kururi Castle. The Satomi stood in opposition to the expansion of the Hojo based in Odawara. After several unsuccessful attempts to attack Kururi Castle, it was eventually taken over by the Hojo (1564) but was then recaptured by Satomi in 1567.

After the coming of the Tokugawa, the castle was controlled successively by the Osuga, Tsuchiya, and Kuroda until it was eventually destroyed in 1872 after the Meiji Restoration. The castle's nickname, U-jo (rain castle), comes from the story that it rained at least once every three days during it construction for a total of 21 times.

Field Notes

The castle was built roughly 500m from the original Kokururi Castle, but may have included some structures or built over some structures from Kokura Castle too. Refer to the Kokururi Castle page for more information. The castle is an interesting combination of mountaintop castle and lowland castle. The Third Bailey (Sannomaru) is considered to the where the town is today and the Main Bailey (Honmaru) and Second Bailey (Einomaru) are at the top. There are a few other small baileys and and horikiri trenches indicative of Sengoku Period mountaintop castle at the top of the mountain too. It could be that they are from the original Kokururi Castle or could have been built newly for Kururi Castle.

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Gallery

you have to love their illustrations
Elevation 3 baileys
Kururi shopping area sign
Shinshoji Temple
Takeda family crest

Castle Profile
English Name	Kururi Castle
Japanese Name	久留里城
Alternate Names	U-jo
Founder	Mariya Takeda
Year Founded	1540
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Reconstructed main keep
Designations	Top 100 Mountaintop Castles
Historical Period	Edo Period
Year Reconstructed	1977 (concrete)
Features	main keep, trenches
Visitor Information
Access	Kururi Sta. (Kururi Tetsudo); approx. 30 minute walk
Hours	Museum open 9:00-16:30; closed Mondays (unless a National Holiday); closed Dec. 28 - Jan. 4
Time Required	45 mins
URL	Castle Website
Location	Kimitsu City, Chiba Prefecture
Coordinates	35.28755, 140.08993
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2005
Admin Year Visited	2005, 2021
Admin Visits	May 28, 2005; May 3, 2021

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