Suwahara Castle

This castle is a favorite among castle fans and I can see why. Nearly all the castle grounds are well preserved. There are many deep moats and you can easily imagine what this kind of Sengoku Period mountaintop castle was like. Part of the old Tokaido Road runs near the castle so take a walk along t

History

Suwahara Castle was founded by Takeda Katsuyori in 1573 along with nearby Koyama Castle to further his campaigns against Tokugawa in the West. In 1575, Tokugawa used the momentum from his win against the Takeda at Nagashino to conquer Suwahara Castle too. Suwahara Castle was renamed Makino Castle and used as the Tokugawa's base of operations against the Takeda in this area including the battle for Takatenjin Castle in 1581. After Tokugawa moved to the Kanto area (Tokyo), Suwahara Castle was no longer needed and was abandoned in 1590. Suwahara Castle is considered a great example of Takeda castle construction. It has steep natural cliffs on one side that open up onto a flat plain that is protected by several moats and maru umadashi style entrances.

Field Notes

This castle is a favorite among castle fans and I can see why. Nearly all the castle grounds are well preserved. There are many deep moats and you can easily imagine what this kind of Sengoku Period mountaintop castle was like. Part of the old Tokaido Road runs near the castle so take a walk along the old stone paved road and around the fields of tea bushes. I suggest you stop by the tourist information center at Kanaya Station before you go out. They have maps of several trails through the area that you can enjoy.

Loading map...

Gallery

Round Umadashi Entrance
no.4 moat
no.9 moat
no.12 moat
no.12 moat
no.4 moat
Earthen bridge between the #4 and #2 moats.
Round Umadashi Entrance
Ninomaru
Earthen bridge and moat
Honmaru bailey
tenshu foundation
no.6 moat
Sannomaru bailey
no.4 moat
Dry Moat
Stone paved Tokaido Road
map
Yakuimon Gate, reconstructed 2016

Castle Profile
English Name	Suwahara Castle
Japanese Name	諏訪原城
Alternate Names	Makino-jo
Founder	Takeda Katsuyori
Year Founded	1573
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	No main keep but other buildings
Designations	Next 100 Castles, National Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Artifacts	Yakuimon (reconstructed in 2016)
Features	gates, trenches
Visitor Information
Access	Kanaya Sta. (Tokaido Line); 20 min walk
Hours
Time Required
Location	Kikugawa, Shizuoka Prefecture
Coordinates	34.81765, 138.12014
Loading map... {"minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"mappingservice":"leaflet","width":"auto","height":"200px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"Castlemarker.png","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"zoom":6,"defzoom":14,"layers":["CartoDB.Positron"],"image layers":[],"overlays":[],"resizable":false,"fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":true,"cluster":false,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clustermaxradius":80,"clusterspiderfy":true,"geojson":"","clicktarget":"","imageLayers":[],"locations":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":34.81765,"lon":138.12014,"icon":"../images/1/1e/Castlemarker.png"}],"imageoverlays":null}
Admin
Added to Jcastle	2010
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2010
Admin Visits	October 11, 2010

3.20

(5 votes)

Loading comments...