Numazu Castle
Numaźujō is a hirajiro (flatland castle) ruin in downtown Numazu Municipality. Nothing remains on site of Numazu Castle, and the only castle-related artefact is actually a (poorly restored) segment of unearthed ishigaki (stone-piled ramparts) from Sanmaibashijō, which is the medieval fort which pred
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History
Numaźujō was a latter day castle built in 1777. The predecessor of Numaźujō was Sanmaibashijō, built by Takeda forces in 1579 (or possibly before) in order to protect against Hōjō attacks from Odawara. Tokugawa Ieyasu acquired the territory following the defeat of Takeda Katsuyori in 1582, and he made Matsudaira Yasuchika castellan of Sanmaibashijō. In 1590, during the reign of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Sanmaibashijō was placed under the control of Nakamura Kazūji, which also made it a branch castle of Sunpujō.
Following the victory of Tokugawa Ieyasu at Sekiǵahara in 1600, Sanmaibashijō was awarded to Ôkubo Tadasuke in 1601. However, when Lord Tadasuke died without an heir in 1613, his domain, valued at 20,000 koku, was abolished, and Sanmaibashijō was decommissioned (in the Edo period, a lot of people's fortunes rode on whether the local daimyō could procure an heir before dying).
In 1777, Mizuno Tadatomo, a wakadoshiyori (junior councillor of the shogunate), was granted a fiefdom in Numaźu valued at 20,000 koku, an increase of 7,000 koku over his previous gig in Ôhama Domain, and this allowed him to constructed Numazu Castle.
Numaźujō was unusual in that it was actually smaller than the Sengoku period fort which preceeded it, but by this time in the 18th century the country was enjoying its great peace of the Edo period, and so a large, well-defended castle was not considered necessary. As a result, Numaźujō was not heavily fortified and was known for its pleasant setting betwixt Suruga Bay and Mount Fuji.
The Mizuno Clan continued to rule Numaźujō until 1868 when Numazu Domain was merged into Shizuoka Domain, the new home of the retired shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu, and lorded officially by Tokugawa Iesato, the new head of the Tokugawa House. Numaźujō was the seat of Iesato. After their loss in the Boshin War, Iesato and Yoshinobu continued to implement their reforms, albeit now on a much smaller scale in Shizuoka Domain (the Tokugawa had gone from controlling 8,000,000 koku of territory to just 700,000 koku).
From 1868 to 1871, Numaźujō was the site of the Numazu Military Academy, one of Japan's first Western-style military academies. In 1871 the castle came under the control of the Ministry of War which closed the academy the following year, though important strides in both military science and education reform had been made during that time. In 1873 Numazu Castle was officially decommissioned and disposed of by the Ministry of War which auctioned the land for redevelopment. The castle's moats were filled in and the castle site was developed over. Today the castle's main bailey is the site of Numazu Central Park.
Field Notes
Numaźujō is a hirajiro (flatland castle) ruin in downtown Numazu Municipality. Nothing remains on site of Numazu Castle, and the only castle-related artefact is actually a (poorly restored) segment of unearthed ishigaki (stone-piled ramparts) from Sanmaibashijō, which is the medieval fort which predated Numaźujō, the latter not constructed until 1777.
Numaźujō was decommissioned in 1873, and a gate which used to stand at the castle was auctioned off and sold to a temple called Kōchōji to the north of town. The gate is a small copper-coated tile-roofed gate used by one of Kōchōji's sub-temples (the temple has a much larger main gate).
In the north of Numaźu's downtown is a museum called the Meiji Shiryōkan. There are various artefacts pertaining to the castle kept here, such as maps. I went there to see a model of the Numaźujō kept there. The model was smaller than I had expected but nicely illustrative. I was very lucky since the museum was scheduled to shut its doors for at least a year for renovations the following day. As such, it may not be currently possible to view this model.
Gallery
| Castle Profile | |
|---|---|
| English Name | Numazu Castle |
| Japanese Name | 沼津城・ |
| Alternate Names | Sanmaibashijō (三枚橋城 ) |
| Founder | Takeda Katsuyori; Mizuno Tadatomo |
| Year Founded | 1579; 1777 |
| Castle Type | Flatland |
| Castle Condition | No main keep but other buildings |
| Historical Period | Pre Edo Period |
| Features | gates, stone walls |
| Visitor Information | |
| Access | Numazu Station on the Tōkaidō Line; 7 min walk. |
| Hours | 24/7 free; park |
| Time Required | 20 mins |
| URL | Castle Website |
| Location | Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture |
| Coordinates | 35.09893, 138.85969 |
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| Admin | |
| Added to Jcastle | 2025 |
| Contributor | ART |
| Admin Year Visited | Viewer Contributed |
| Friends of JCastle | |
| Jōkaku Hōrōki | |
