Minakuchi Castle

Most people will probably visit this castle for the reconstructed yagura, gate and bridge, but the large Edo Period stone walls are really the highlight of this castle. It is not huge, so I highly recommend walking the full circumference of the Honmaru to admire these walls. The museum inside the y

History

Minakuchi Castle was built in 1634 as a fortified way station for when Tokugawa Iemitsu went from Tokyo to Kyoto. Kato Akitomo entered Minakuchi Castle in 1682 and formally established the state of Minakuchi. With one exception, the Kato family ruled over the castle until the coming of the Meiji Restoration when it was dismantled and parts were sold off. Since the castle was originally meant as a place for the shogun to rest on his way to Kyoto, it is said that the Kato rulers never used the palace in the honmaru that was built for the shogun. They built a separate residence in the Ninomaru.

Field Notes

Most people will probably visit this castle for the reconstructed yagura, gate and bridge, but the large Edo Period stone walls are really the highlight of this castle. It is not huge, so I highly recommend walking the full circumference of the Honmaru to admire these walls. The museum inside the yagura has some nice displays including information about nearby Koka Castles. The first castle in Minakuchi, Minakuchi Okayama Castle, was actually built to the east of present day Minakuchi Castle by the order of Hideyoshi to help pacify the Koka region. The museum also had some information about two extant gates from samurai homes in the town so it was a good opportunity to find those as well (despite being the middle of a typhoon!).

Loading map...

Gallery

Original gate from a samurai home
Original gate from a samurai home
Original gate from a samurai home
Ichirizuka, distance marker along the Tokaido Road

Castle Profile
English Name	Minakuchi Castle
Japanese Name	水口城
Alternate Names	Okayama-jo, Hekisui-jo
Founder	Tokugawa Iemitsu
Year Founded	1634
Castle Type	Flatland
Castle Condition	No main keep but other buildings
Designations	Prefectural Historic Site
Historical Period	Edo Period
Year Reconstructed	1991
Features	gates, turrets, water moats, stone walls, walls
Visitor Information
Access	Minakuchijonan Sta. (Omi Tetsudo Line); 10 min walk
Hours	open 10am-5pm, close Thursday, Friday, and year end holidays; 100 yen
Time Required	45 mins
URL	Castle Website
Location	Koka, Shiga Prefecture
Coordinates	34.97023, 136.16547
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":34.97023,"lon":136.16547,"icon":"../images/1/1e/Castlemarker.png"}],"imageoverlays":null}
Admin
Added to Jcastle	2006
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2022
Admin Visits	September 18, 2022
Friends of JCastle
Malcolm Fairman Photography - Minakuchi Castle
Kojodan - Minakuchi Castle
Shiro Meguri Fan - MInakuchi castle
Jokaku Horoki - Minakuchi Castle
Shirobito - Minakuchi Castle

2.22

(9 votes)

Loading comments...