CastleHilltop castle (hirayamajiro)Next 100 Fine Castles No. 105
What makes this castle distinctive
The castle of Katakura Kojuro, right-hand man to Date Masamune: allowed to survive as the Sendai domain's second castle after the one-castle-per-province rule, with its three-story turret rebuilt in wood and clay in 1995.
Why?
Under the 1615 one-castle-per-province order, each daimyo was generally allowed only one castle. In the Sendai domain, Shiroishi was the sole exception besides Sendai Castle itself, and it remained the Katakura family's castle until the Meiji era. It was torn down in 1874, but in 1995 the three-story turret and main gates were rebuilt in wood using traditional methods.[7][2][1]
In the honmaru (main enclosure); you can go inside and climb to the third floor
What to look at
The posts and beams joined without metal brackets, the 21–24 cm thick clay walls, and the view from the third-floor railing
Why it's interesting
In 1995, using excavation results and records, the turret was rebuilt with traditional techniques in the form it took after its 1823 reconstruction, its final appearance. The walls are clay applied in many layers over a bamboo lattice and finished with lime plaster. It stands 16.7 m above the top of the stone wall, and the castle describes it as among the largest postwar wooden keep reconstructions in Japan in both height and floor area.[3][4][9]
Can you see it?
Visible from outsideAdmission charged. On October 3, 2026, entry is restricted 12:00–14:30 for the Oni Kojuro Festival.
02
Lordmetroid at English Wikipedia · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Stone walls that change style partway along
Where
The stone wall under the turret and the wall running from it to the main gate
What to look at
Rough natural stones under the turret, and from where the outer wall begins, stones with dressed faces and small stones packed in the gaps
Why it's interesting
The keep base is nozura-zumi, barely shaped natural stone typical of the Warring States period. From there to the main gate the style is uchikomi-hagi, with dressed stone faces and small stones packed into the gaps. The castle says Shiroishi was the first restoration in Japan to rebuild a wall in the rough nozura style, which is said to date from the Gamo family's time.[3][4]
Can you see it?
Visible from outsideVisible from outside the honmaru.
The entrance to the honmaru, just past the first main gate (Ote Ichinomon)
What to look at
The massive pillars holding up the gate
Why it's interesting
The thickest pillars in the whole project are those of Ote Ninomon, about 60 cm across. Because the heartwood is avoided, cypress logs over 120 cm in diameter were needed, and Taiwan cypress over 1,000 years old was used. With such trees no longer available, Shiroishi was even called the last restoration of the century.[4]
Can you see it?
Visible from outsideYou can walk through the gate.
At a glance for visitors
Nearest station
15 min walk from JR Shiroishi Station
Climb
Some climbing
Time neededEditors' estimate
About an hour for the turret and the honmaru; allow around 2.5 hours to add the museum, the 3D theater and the samurai house.
Admission
Adults 400 yen, school students 200 yen, preschoolers free (groups of 20+: 320 / 160 yen). Combined ticket for the turret, 3D theater and samurai house: adults 800 yen, students 400 yen
Hours
April–October 9:00–17:00; November–March 9:00–16:00 (last entry 30 minutes before closing)
Access
Open to visitors
Masuoka Park is free to walk around. The three-story turret, the 3D theater and the samurai house charge admission; the History Museum's exhibition is free. The Next 100 Castles stamp is inside the turret, so you need to enter during opening hours.
Shiroishi Castle is a hilltop-and-plain castle (hirayamajiro) whose main enclosures sat 76 m above sea level on a hill in the center of Shiroishi. In medieval times it belonged to the local Shiroishi family. It guarded the southern approaches of the Sendai domain, ringed by baileys (kuruwa) and moats on the hill and a third enclosure on the flat land below. The honmaru stood on stone walls over 9 m high topped with earthen banks, while the lower enclosures relied on banks and cliffs, mixing medieval and early modern methods.[2][1][7]
02
Historical record
Changing hands at the end of the Warring States era
In 1591 Toyotomi Hideyoshi took this area from the Date family and gave it to Gamo Ujisato; tradition says Ujisato's retainer Gamo Satoshige remade Shiroishi into a castle with stone-based turrets and called it Masuoka Castle. In 1598 the area passed to the Uesugi family, and their retainer Amakasu became lord. In 1600, just before the Battle of Sekigahara, Date Masamune captured the castle, and the area returned to Date rule.[2][7]
03
Historical record
Home of the Katakura family for over 260 years
In 1602 Masamune granted the castle to his retainer Katakura Kojuro Kagetsuna, who had served at his side since Masamune's childhood. For more than 260 years after that, until the Meiji Restoration, the Katakura family held it. Even after the 1615 one-castle-per-province order, the Sendai domain was allowed to keep two castles as an exception: Sendai Castle and Shiroishi.[2][7][8]
04
Historical record
Stage for the Northern Alliance
A fire in 1819 destroyed most of the honmaru, and the great turret (the three-story turret) was rebuilt in 1823. During the Boshin War of 1868, the domains of northeastern Japan met at Shiroishi Castle, a gathering that led to the Ouetsu Reppan Domei, the alliance of northern domains against the new Meiji government. The alliance's governing council was set up in the castle, but the alliance was defeated and the castle surrendered.[2][7]
05
Historical record
Torn down and turned into a park
The castle was dismantled in 1874, and in 1900 the grounds became Masuoka Park. The buildings were gone, but the honmaru stone walls and earthen banks remained, and the park became a favorite spot for cherry blossoms. In 1982 the site was designated a Shiroishi City Historic Site.[2][8]
06
Historical record
Rebuilt in wood after 120 years
Rebuilding the turret became city policy in 1988, and after excavations and research, the three-story turret and the two main gates, Ote Ichinomon and Ote Ninomon, were completed in wood in March 1995. The roofs use about 43,000 tiles modeled on excavated originals, including ones bearing the Date family crest, and about 1,700 residents wrote their names and dreams on tiles that went onto the turret. The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake cracked and stripped the plaster walls, and repairs were carried out in 2012.[3][4][5][2]
The three-story turret and main gates are rebuilt in wood[2][3]
Buildings and remains
The keep today
Historically documented reconstruction
The castle's keep was a three-story turret, officially called the great turret (oyagura) rather than a tenshu. Torn down in 1874, it was rebuilt in wood in 1995 in its post-1823 form, based on excavations and records. The castle calls it the three-story turret (keep).
The site today
The castle grounds are Masuoka Park. The rebuilt three-story turret and main gates stand in the honmaru, and the Shiroishi Castle History Museum is in the park. A samurai house survives along the Sawabata River, which served as the outer moat of the third enclosure.
Main buildings
Rebuilt in wood
Three-story turret (keep)
Rebuilt in wood in 1995; 16.7 m tall from the top of the stone wall. Plaster walls damaged in the 2011 earthquake were repaired in 2012.[3][5]
Rebuilt in wood
Ote Ichinomon and Ote Ninomon (main gates)
Rebuilt in wood together with the turret in 1995.[1][4]
OriginalShiroishi City Historic Site
Honmaru stone walls and earthen banks
The honmaru stone walls and banks date from the Edo period, but the stone base under the turret was laid in the rough nozura style during the restoration that began in 1993.[2][4][8]
Key facts
Type
Castle
Setting
Hilltop castle (hirayamajiro)built on a low hill rising from the plainEditorial article
Period
Medieval (c.1185–1570s), Early modern (1570s–1871)Editorial article
Keep (tenshu)
Historically documented reconstructiona building reconstructed from plans, photographs or other historical recordsEditorial article
Built by
Gamo UjisatoJapan Castle Foundation
Built
1591Japan Castle Foundation
Main lords
Gamō clan, Ishikawa clan, Katakura clan, Amakasu KagetsuguJapan Castle Foundation
Abandoned
1874Wikipedia (ja)
Remains to see
Stone walls, Gates, Turrets or turret bases, Earthen ramparts, Baileys / enclosures (kuruwa), Keep base (tenshudai)Editorial article
Designation
Shiroishi City Historic Site (Shiroishi Castle ruins) (1982)Editorial article
Selection
Next 100 Fine Castles No. 105Japan Castle Foundation
Visiting
Access
Open to visitors
Masuoka Park is free to walk around. The three-story turret, the 3D theater and the samurai house charge admission; the History Museum's exhibition is free. The Next 100 Castles stamp is inside the turret, so you need to enter during opening hours.
Address
1-16 Masuokacho, Shiroishi, Miyagi 989-0251 (in Masuoka Park)[10]
Checked: 2026-10-03
Nearest stations and how to get there
JR Shiroishi StationJR Tohoku Main Line
about 15 min walk · Some climbing
About 15 minutes on foot. The castle stands on a hill a little above the town.[10][11]
Checked: 2026-10-03
JR Shiroishi-Zao StationJR Tohoku Shinkansen
Not confirmed
About 5 minutes by car. Rental bicycles are available at the station's tourist information office (9:00–17:00; 300 yen plus 500 yen deposit).[10]
Checked: 2026-10-03
Hours and admission
Shiroishi Castle (three-story turret)
Hours
April–October 9:00–17:00; November–March 9:00–16:00 (last entry 30 minutes before closing)
Closed
December 28–31
Admission
Adults 400 yen, school students 200 yen, preschoolers free (groups of 20+: 320 / 160 yen). Combined ticket for the turret, 3D theater and samurai house: adults 800 yen, students 400 yen[9]
Checked: 2026-10-03
Shiroishi Castle History Museum
Hours
Same as the castle. The 3rd-floor 3D theater has six showings a day, starting between 10:00 and 15:00
Closed
December 28–31
Admission
Exhibition free. 3D theater: adults 400 yen, students 200 yen (one film)[9][6]
Checked: 2026-10-03
By car / parking
About 10 minutes from Shiroishi IC on the Tohoku Expressway. There is no dedicated castle parking; use the Joka Hiroba lot next to City Hall or the Masuoka Park lot opposite Shiroishi High School (both take buses). The City Hall lot is also open on weekends and holidays.[10][6]
Checked: 2026-10-03
Grounds opening hours
Not confirmedChecked: 2026-10-03
Time neededEditors' estimate
About an hour for the turret and the honmaru; allow around 2.5 hours to add the museum, the 3D theater and the samurai house.
Steps, slopes and footing
The castle is on a hill, so you walk uphill to the honmaru. Inside the turret are steep wooden stairs.[11][3]
Wheelchairs and strollers
Not confirmedChecked: 2026-10-03
Toilets and rest
Not confirmed
English signs / audio guide
The official website offers machine translation (Google Translate) into English and Chinese. English signage inside is not confirmed.[1]
Seasons
Masuoka Park is a popular cherry blossom spot in spring. The Oni Kojuro Festival is held in autumn (October 3 in 2026).[8][12]
Photography
Not confirmed
Works, closures and restrictions
On Saturday, October 3, 2026, entry to the turret is restricted 12:00–14:30 for the 19th Oni Kojuro Festival (last entry before then 11:30). Volunteer guides are available on weekends and holidays from April to November, about 9:00–15:00 (ask at the management office).[12][9]Checked: 2026-10-03
The thatched house of a Katakura retainer north of the castle, along the Sawabata River that served as the outer moat. An ink inscription dated 1730 was found during repairs. Designated by Miyagi Prefecture. Adults 200 yen.[13][9]
Checked: 2026-10-03
Editors' guide
An editorial guide based on sources and confirmed information — not a first-hand visit report.
Who will enjoy it
Good for fans of Date Masamune and Katakura Kojuro, and anyone who wants to walk inside a castle rebuilt in wood with traditional methods. It is within walking distance of the station and especially pleasant in cherry blossom season.
What makes it interesting
Inside the turret, look at the bracket-free timber joinery and thick clay walls. Outside, compare the rough stones under the turret with the dressed stones toward the main gate, and look at the huge pillars of Ote Ninomon.
Before you go
Today's turret and gates are 1995 wooden reconstructions; the stone walls and banks date from the Edo period. There is no dedicated castle parking, so use nearby lots. Entry to the turret may be restricted on festival days.
Ways to enjoy it
From the third-floor railing, look out over the town and the Zao mountains, the southern gateway to the Sendai domain that the Katakura watched over. Seeing the castle model in the museum before walking the honmaru helps you picture the enclosures that are now park.
Photos
Visitor reviews
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Open questions
That Gamo Satoshige rebuilt Shiroishi with stone-based turrets, and when the castle was first built, rest on tradition; records are scarce.
The claims that it is among the largest postwar wooden keep reconstructions in height and floor area, and the first to rebuild rough nozura stonework, come from the castle's official website.
The Japan Castle Foundation's list gives the designation as a city Tangible Cultural Property, while Shiroishi City describes the site as a city Historic Site (1982).
News reports say the 2021 and 2022 Fukushima-oki earthquakes also damaged the walls, but this could not be confirmed from official sources. Park hours, toilets, accessibility and photo rules could not be confirmed either.
小池 隆CC BY 3.0Wikimedia Commons
