Kuwai Castle (Mikawa)
Kuwaijō is a minor site in the Kuwai Township of Okazaki Municipality. ‘Kuwai’ appears to be a contraction of ‘Kuwaya’, meaning ‘Mulberry Valley’. The area, which is a valley, was originally used for silk production - probably, but now it’s full of rice paddies, which was a transition many mountaino
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History
The medieval history of this site is not well known but it may have been built by Yamada Tōshichirō, an early lord of the castle. The area was then controlled by the Matsudaira Clan. It is said that Tokugawa Ieyasu built a temple near here in 1562. In the Edo period the site became a jin’ya, with facilities established in 1600 by Matsudaira Nagayoshi, who was enfeoffed with territory valued at 670 koku. This fief was later abolished. Matsudaira Yukitaka established a new fief in 1717 valued at 500 koku which lasted until the abolition of feudalism.
Field Notes
Kuwaijō is a minor site in the Kuwai Township of Okazaki Municipality. ‘Kuwai’ appears to be a contraction of ‘Kuwaya’, meaning ‘Mulberry Valley’. The area, which is a valley, was originally used for silk production - probably, but now it’s full of rice paddies, which was a transition many mountainous areas made in the early 20th century, including the famous Shirakawa-gō area in Hida.
The ruins of Kuwaijō were up until recently to be found in a bamboo grove, but now this has been converted into a solar panel array. I walked round the area, and it appears to be a small elevated protrusion amidst a gentle slope of the valley. It looked like there could’ve been a dry moat beneath the old bailey, but this is now on private property and I couldn’t get close.
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| Castle Profile | |
|---|---|
| English Name | Kuwai Castle (Mikawa) |
| Japanese Name | 三河桑谷城 |
| Founder | Yamada Tōshichirō; Matsudaira Nagayoshi; Matsudaira Yukitaka |
| Year Founded | Sengoku Period; 1600; 1717 |
| Castle Type | Flatland |
| Castle Condition | Ruins only |
| Historical Period | Edo Period |
| Artifacts | Karabori |
| Features | trenches |
| Visitor Information | |
| Access | Nearest Station is Fujikawa Station on the Nagoya Main Line |
| Hours | Access Limited |
| Time Required | 10 minutes |
| URL | Castle Website |
| Location | Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture |
| Coordinates | 34.89115, 137.2208 |
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| Admin | |
| Added to Jcastle | 2023 |
| Contributor | ART |
| Admin Year Visited | Viewer Contributed |
| Friends of JCastle | |
| Jōkaku Shashin Kiroku | |
