Minowa Castle

The route to get to this castle from Takasaki Station was not very clear, but it was worth the efforts to figure it out and go. There are a few nice signs explaining different points around the castle but they need to have better maps showing the layout. It was fun to walk all around the different p

History

Nagano Narihisa established his base here around 1500 from which his family ruled for 4 generations until the castle fell to Takeda Shingen in 1566. After the fall of the Takeda, the castle was taken over by Oda Nobunaga in 1582 and ruled by Takigawa Kazumasa. Less than a month later, the castle was taken over by the Gohojo and was ruled by Hojo Ujikuni from Hachigata Castle. In 1590, after the fall of the Hojo, Tokugawa Ieyasu stationed Ii Naomasa here. Ii Naomasa undertook a large reformation of the castle and most of the castle structure and remnants are thought to be from this period. In 1598, Ii Naomasa moved to Takasaki Castle and Minowa Castle was decomissioned. The picture above is of one of the very few remaining sections of stone walls. It's located near the Kotomon entrance of the Sannomaru.

Field Notes

The route to get to this castle from Takasaki Station was not very clear, but it was worth the efforts to figure it out and go. There are a few nice signs explaining different points around the castle but they need to have better maps showing the layout. It was fun to walk all around the different paths around the mountain through all the different baileys and moats.

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Gallery

Castle Profile
English Name	Minowa Castle
Japanese Name	箕輪城
Founder	Nagano Narihisa
Year Founded	1500
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	No main keep but other buildings
Designations	Top 100 Castles, National Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	gates, bridges, trenches, stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	Takasaki Sta. (Takasaki Line), 40 min. bus, 15 min. walk
Hours
Time Required	120 minutes
URL	Castle Website
Location	Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture
Coordinates	36.4049, 138.95083
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2008
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2008, 2022
Admin Visits	November 6, 2008; April 8, 2022

2.75

(4 votes)

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