Toba Castle

Profile and gallery updated by ART (2024; visited 2016). Tobajō is a hirayamajiro (hilltop castle) ruin in Toba Municipality. It is also considered an umijiro (sea castle), and was accessed during its time primarily from the sea. The castle's structure has been heavily modified since t

History

Tobajō was built on a hill overlooking the sea in 1594 by Kuki Yoshitaka who was the premier naval commander serving Oda Nobunaga and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Yoshitaka had been granted the land around Toba as a reward for his defeating the Mōri Clan navy in 1578 at the Second Battle of Kizugawaguchi where he employed six large iron-plated battleships. Yoshitaka became the greatest naval commander of the Sengoku period and his territory in Shima Province amounted to 35,000 koku (rising to 55,000 koku under his grandson Kuki Hisataka, stretching down the coast). In 1592 Yoshitaka participated in the invasion of Korea with a fleet of battleships including the gigantic Nipponmaru (the symbology of a unified Japan fighting a foreign foe).

Yoshitaka retired afterwards and his son Kuki Moritaka took over as head of the Kuki Clan. Tragedy struck in 1600 when father and son found themselves on opposite sides of the war to determine the destiny of Japan. Moritaka backed Tokugawa at the Battle of Sekigahara, where Yoshitaka fought against the future Shōgun and his side, of course, lost. Yoshitaka fled to Toshijima off of Toba. Moritaka begged the Shōgun for his father’s life, but before an official pardon could reach Yoshitaka he had already committed seppuku. Yoshitaka’s graves are still seen on Toshijima today: one for his body and one for his head.

Tobajō had a three-tier tenshukaku (main keep) and ôtemon (main gate) facing the sea. In 1854 the castle was hit by a tsunami and earthquake which toppled the donjon, but by the time of the Meiji Restoration and the castle’s desertion the tenshudai still stood, along with 13 yagura (turrets), and gates including Fujiguchimon, Yokomachiguchimon and Aibashiguchimon, which from the latter ishigaki stone bases remain beneath the bridge today. It seems most if not all structures were demolished by 1871, and the tenshudai was cleared in the Meiji period.

Field Notes

Profile and gallery updated by ART (2024; visited 2016).

Tobajō is a hirayamajiro (hilltop castle) ruin in Toba Municipality. It is also considered an umijiro (sea castle), and was accessed during its time primarily from the sea. The castle's structure has been heavily modified since the end of the Edo period, and it was abandoned earlier than most following its destruction during the Ansei quakes from 1855. Nonetheless, preserved ruins feature ishigaki (stone-piled ramparts) and bailey spaces. Unfortunately the tenshudai (donjon platform) was removed in the Meiji period. Ishigaki can also be found at the foot of the hill where formerly there was the aibashiguchimon ('meeting bridge entrance gate'), and around parts of the hillside.

The prominent terracing of stone walls now seen on the castle's seaward side does not appear to be present on old maps. The stone-piling here looks more modern, and so I wonder if these ten bands of ishigaki, though striking, truly represent the original castle structure...

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Gallery

Sanmaru plaza
Terraced bands of ishigaki
Ishigaki terracing from above
Aihashi bridge and former gate site
View from the Sannomaru
Bridge foundation ishigaki
Ishigaki ramparts of the Chief Vassal Residence
Site of Chief Vassal's Residence
map
Well site in main bailey
Ishidoi
Main bailey entrance area ramparts
Bailey entrance ishigaki (restored)
Main bailey ishigaki
Ishigaki
Ishigaki; turret platform
Edo period map of castle (reproduced)
stone walls
stone walls
Stone walls
stone walls

Castle Profile
English Name	Toba Castle
Japanese Name	鳥羽城
Alternate Names	Nishiki-jo
Founder	Kuki Yoshitaka
Year Founded	1594
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Designations	Prefectural Historic Site
Historical Period	Edo Period
Features	stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	Toba Sta. (Kintetsu Toba Line, Shima Line; JR Sanguu Line); 10 min. walk
Hours
Time Required
URL	Castle Website
Location	Toba, Mie Prefecture
Coordinates	34.48087, 136.84455
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2010
Contributor	ART
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed
Admin Visits	Viewer Donated
Friends of JCastle
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Umoreta Kojō

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