Marugame Castle

This is an amazing castle. I spent much more time here than I had anticipated. I don't think I've seen any book or website that really does justice to the size of this castle nor the magnificent stone walls. One of the great things about Marugame Castle is how close you can get to all of the walls.

History

Ikoma Chikamasa, the lord of the Sanuki area originally ruled from Takamatsu Castle. While there, he built and moved to Marugame Castle placing his son in charge of Takamatsu Castle. Marugame Castle was decomissioned as part of the one castle per country law in 1615.

Marugame Castle was resurrected in 1641 when Yamazaki Ieharu was granted the small fief of Western Sanuki. He rebuilt the castle into what we see today and developed the surrounding castle town of Marugame.

Field Notes

This is an amazing castle. I spent much more time here than I had anticipated. I don't think I've seen any book or website that really does justice to the size of this castle nor the magnificent stone walls. One of the great things about Marugame Castle is how close you can get to all of the walls. If you think about the big Edo Period castles like Edo, Osaka, Nagoya, etc their great stone walls are across a moat so you can't physically get right up next to most of them to be really awed by their scale. The main keep at the top is the smallest in Japan, but when you have such a commanding view from the only mountain in sight, you don't need a big keep.

Loading map...

Gallery

Main Keep
Main keep, Ote Ichinomon, Ote Ninomon
Main keep and stone walls
Main keep and Uchibori moat
Main keep and stone walls
Stone walls and main keep
Main keep and stone walls
Stone walls and main keep
Ninomaru Karamete
Ote Ninomon and Ichinomon masugata style gate
Ote Ninomon Gate
Ote Ninomon Gate
Ote Ninomon Gate
Ote Ninomon
Walls of the masugata gate
embankment and stone wall of the moat
Ote Ichinomon Gate
masugata gate
Inside the Ote Ichinomon Gate
Stone wall of the Sannomaru
Stone wall of the Sannomaru
Sannomaru Stone walls
Sannomaru Stone walls
Ninomaru Stone Walls
View from the Sannnomaru Bailey
Stone walls of the Ninomaru and Sannomaru
Ninomaru stone walls
Sannomaru stone walls
Ninomaru Bailey Ote Entrance
Ninomaru Bailey Ote Entrance
Ninomaru stone walls
Ninomaru Karamete Entrance
Main Keep
Main Keep
Inside the main keep
Inside the main keep
View from the main keep
Inside the main keep
Honmaru stone walls
Ninomaru entrance
Ninomaru Tatsumi Yagura foundation
Ninomaru Tatsumi Yagura foundation
Ninomaru stone walls
Ninomaru stone walls
Karameteguchi (rear entrance)
Sannomaru Stone Walls
Sannomaru Stone Walls
Ninomaru Stone walls
Ninomaru Stone walls
Obikuruwa Bailey and Sannomaru stone walls
Ninomaru Karameteguchi (rear entrance)
Sannomaru Stone walls
Ninomaru, Sannomaru stone walls
Sannomaru stone walls
Sannomaru Karameteguchi
Sannomaru stone walls
Sannomaru Karameteguchi
Sannomaru stone walls
Obikuruwa and Sannomaru Stone Walls
Sannomaru stone walls
Sannomaru stone walls
Sannomaru stone walls
Sannomaru stone walls
Sannomaru stone walls
Obikuruwa and Sannomaru stone walls
Sannomaru stone walls
Sannomaru stone walls
Nozurazumi stone wall
Nozurazaumi tone walls
Uchibori moat (inner moat)
Lord's palace front gate
Nagaya of the guard house
Lord's palace gate
Walls of the palace grounds
Uchibori Moat
Main keep and stone walls
Map

Castle Profile
English Name	Marugame Castle
Japanese Name	丸亀城
Alternate Names	Kameyama-jo, Horai-jo
Founder	Ikoma Chikamasa
Year Founded	1597
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	Original main keep
Designations	Top 100 Castles, has Important Cultural Properties, National Historic Site
Historical Period	Edo Period
Main Keep Structure	3 levels, 3 stories
Artifacts	tenshu, Ote Ichinomon, Ote Ninomon
Features	main keep, gates, turrets, water moats, stone walls, walls
Visitor Information
Access	Marugame Sta. (Yosan Line), 10 minute walk
Hours	Main Keep open 9:00-16:30; 200yen
Time Required	150 mins
URL	Castle Website
Location	Marugame, Kagawa Prefecture
Coordinates	34.28608, 133.80043
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":34.28608,"lon":133.80043,"icon":"../images/1/1e/Castlemarker.png"}],"imageoverlays":null}
Admin
Added to Jcastle	2005
Admin Year Visited	2016
Admin Visits	February 28, 2016

3.93

(28 votes)

Loading comments...