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The stone walls and the museum in the 1954 mock keep, seen across the south moat (September 2012).
t-mizoCC BY 2.0Wikimedia Commons

Toyama · Toyama

Toyama Castle

富山城

Toyama, Toyama

CastleFlatland castle (hirajiro)Next 100 Fine Castles No. 139

What makes this castle distinctive

A castle keep that was never built in the Edo period finally went up in 1954, at an expo held nine years after the city burned in the war.

Why?

In 1661 the Toyama domain won the shogunate's permission to build a keep, but money ran short and, as far as researchers can tell, it was never built before the end of the shogunate. Today's keep is a reinforced-concrete mock keep put up for an industrial expo in 1954, celebrating the city's recovery from the 1945 air raid. The building itself is now a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, valued as a landmark of Japan's postwar rebuilding.[9][10][5][13]

Three things not to miss

01
The stone walls and the museum in the 1954 mock keep, seen across the south moat (September 2012).t-mizoCC BY 2.0Wikimedia Commons

The 1954 mock keep (Toyama Municipal Folk Museum)

Where
The southwest corner of Toyama Castle Park, on the stone walls at the old main entrance to the honmaru (main enclosure)
What to look at
The three-tiered, four-story keep joined to a smaller two-tiered turret, and the observation deck on the 4th floor
Why it's interesting
Toyama Castle most likely had no keep in the Edo period, so this one is not a copy of anything that stood here. It was newly designed using surviving keeps such as Hikone and Inuyama as models. Built as a symbol of the city's recovery after the war left it in ashes, it now houses a museum on the castle's history.[1][9][10][13]
Can you see it?
Visible from outsideThe exterior can be seen at any time. The museum inside charges admission, and the 4th-floor observation deck is reached by stairs only.
02
The bent passage of the Iron Gate site, the old main entrance to the honmaru, below the museum (December 2009). Large mirror stones are set into the far wall.ぺ有家音CC0Wikimedia Commons

The giant mirror stones at the Iron Gate site

Where
Below the museum, in the bent passage of the honmaru's main entrance, where the Iron Gate (Kanemon) once stood
What to look at
Six stones far bigger than the rest, set into the walls (kagami-ishi, or mirror stones), and the marks carved into some stones
Why it's interesting
Mirror stones were placed to make a castle look grand. The largest here is 2.8 m tall and 2.7 m wide. Researchers think Maeda Toshinaga built this entrance around 1605 and Maeda Toshitsugu, the first lord of the Toyama domain, rebuilt it in its present form around 1661. More than 150 carved masons' marks of about 90 kinds have been found across the park.[10][15][14]
Can you see it?
Visible from outsideFree to see from within the park.
03
Chitose Gomon (November 2025), the main gate of the Chitose Goten residence built in 1849, brought back into the castle grounds in 2008.旭日桜花CC BY-SA 4.0Wikimedia Commons

Chitose Gomon, the gate that survives from the Edo period

Where
The east side of the honmaru in Toyama Castle Park
What to look at
The shape of the gate and its roof tiles; originally it was roofed with red-glazed tiles
Why it's interesting
This was the main gate of Chitose Goten, the retirement residence of the 10th lord, Maeda Toshiyasu. Ink writing on its ridge beam confirms it was built in 1849. Sold off and moved out of the castle in the Meiji era, it escaped the wartime fires, and the park describes it as the only castle building surviving from the Edo period. It was brought back into the castle grounds in 2008.[16][17]
Can you see it?
Visible from outsideFree to see from outside. Original red tiles from the gate are displayed in the 2nd-floor lobby of the museum.

At a glance for visitors

Nearest station
10 min walk from Toyama Station, South Exit
Climb
No climb
Time neededEditors' estimate
About 30–40 minutes for the park alone; allow 1–1.5 hours with the museum.
Admission
Adults 210 yen (170 yen for groups of 20+); free for high school students and younger. Prices differ during special exhibitions.
Hours
9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30)
Access
Open to visitors

Toyama Castle Park is open every day and free to walk around. Entry to the museum in the mock keep requires a ticket.

Checked:

View on mapOpen in Google MapsToyama Municipal Folk Museum (official site, Japanese)Toyama Castle Park (Japanese)

The story of this castle

01
Historical record

The "floating castle" on a great river

Toyama Castle stood right on the south bank of the old Jinzu River, which then made a wide bend just north of the castle and was about 200 m across. The castle drew river water into its moats on all sides, and seen from across the river it seemed to float on the water, earning it the nickname "Ukishiro" (floating castle). The small Matsukawa River north of the castle today is what remains of that old course of the Jinzu.[18][19]

02
Historical record

Built by Jinbo Nagamoto, held by Sassa Narimasa

The leading theory is that the castle was built around 1543 by Jinbo Nagamoto, who ruled western Etchu Province (today's Toyama Prefecture), on the border with the rival Shiina clan to the east. In 1560 Uesugi Kenshin attacked and Nagamoto fled to Masuyama Castle, and the castle then changed hands again and again among the Uesugi side, the Ikko-ikki (armed Buddhist leagues) and the Jinbo. From around 1581, Sassa Narimasa, a general of Oda Nobunaga, used it as his base to bring all of Etchu under control.[19][20][9]

03
Historical record

Surrounded by Hideyoshi, surrendered without a fight

In 1585 Narimasa, now at odds with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, found the castle surrounded by a huge army led by Hideyoshi himself and surrendered without a fight. The castle was then dismantled by Maeda Toshinaga so it could no longer serve as a stronghold. From around 1605 Toshinaga rebuilt the castle and town on a large scale and lived there in retirement, but in 1609 a great fire burned almost the whole castle.[20][19][21]

04
Scholarly interpretation

Home of 13 generations of the Toyama Maeda

In 1639 the Kaga domain split off 100,000 koku to create the Toyama domain, and its first lord, Maeda Toshitsugu, moved into Toyama Castle. In 1661 he repaired the castle with the shogunate's permission, and it remained the seat of 13 generations of the Toyama Maeda family until the Meiji era. Only the gateways were built of stone; the rest of the enclosures were ringed with earthen ramparts (dorui). The permit even allowed a keep, but repeated fires, floods and an earthquake drained the domain's finances, and researchers believe the keep was never built.[9][19][21][12]

05
Historical record

Swallowed by the city, except the core

After the Meiji Restoration the buildings were sold off and torn down, and the outer kuruwa (enclosures) turned into city streets. In the 1920s a plan to run a road straight through the castle site was dropped after calls to preserve it. The August 1945 air raid burned every tree and building on the site, and the moats were filled in one after another with rubble and new roads; only the south moat still holds water. What survives is the honmaru and part of the west enclosure, now Toyama Castle Park.[11][10][6]

06
Historical record

From recovery symbol to cultural property

In 1954 the Toyama Industrial Exposition was held on the castle site to celebrate the completion of postwar reconstruction, and a mock keep was built to mark it. During the expo it served as an exhibition hall called the "Palace of Beauty," and afterward it opened as Toyama's first museum. Rather than tearing it down and rebuilding, the city chose to strengthen it against earthquakes from 2003. It was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in 2004 and reopened in 2005 as a museum devoted to the castle's history.[1][10][13][6]

People of this castle

Timeline

  1. around; leading theory

    Jinbo Nagamoto builds Toyama Castle[19][20]

  2. Sassa Narimasa surrenders to Toyotomi Hideyoshi; the castle is dismantled[20]

  3. A great fire destroys almost all of Maeda Toshinaga's castle[21]

  4. The Toyama domain is created and Maeda Toshitsugu moves in[9]

  5. The August air raid burns every tree and building on the site[11]

  6. A mock keep is built for the Toyama Industrial Exposition and becomes the city museum[1][13]

  7. The museum building is registered as a Tangible Cultural Property[5][1]

Buildings and remains

The keep today

Mock keep

A reinforced-concrete mock keep (three tiers, four stories) built in 1954 for the Toyama Industrial Exposition. Toyama Castle is believed never to have had a keep in the Edo period, so this is not a restoration. Registered Tangible Cultural Property.

The site today

The honmaru and part of the west enclosure remain as Toyama Castle Park, with the museum in the mock keep, the Sato Memorial Art Museum and a Japanese garden. The second and third enclosures are now city blocks, and only the south moat survives.

Main buildings

Modern reconstructionRegistered Tangible Cultural Property

Toyama Municipal Folk Museum (mock keep)

Mock keep built in 1954 to a new design modeled on surviving keeps elsewhere. Strengthened against earthquakes 2003–2005.[1][5][13]

Original, relocated

Chitose Gomon (gate)

Main gate of Chitose Goten, built 1849. Sold and moved out in the Meiji era, then brought back into the castle grounds in 2008.[17][16]

Original

Stone walls of the Iron Gate site (mirror stones)

Thought to have been built around 1605 and rebuilt around 1661. Parts collapsed in the 1858 earthquake.[15][22]

Modern reconstruction

Stone walls on the east side of the honmaru

New stone walls built from 2008 on, where there were originally earthen ramparts. Not a historical restoration.[6]

Key facts

Type
Castle
Setting
Flatland castle (hirajiro)built on flat ground, defended by moatsEditorial article
Period
Medieval (c.1185–1570s), Early modern (1570s–1871)Editorial article
Keep (tenshu)
Mock keepa keep-shaped building where no keep existed, or where its appearance is unknownEditorial article
Built by
Jinbo Nagamoto, Mizukoshi KatsushigeJapan Castle Foundation
Built
1543Japan Castle Foundation
Main lords
Maeda clan, Jinbō clanJapan Castle Foundation
Abandoned
1871Wikipedia (ja)
Remains to see
Stone walls, Moats, Earthen ramparts, Baileys / enclosures (kuruwa), Fortified gateways (koguchi)Editorial article
Designation
Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Toyama Municipal Folk Museum building) (2004)Editorial article
Selection
Next 100 Fine Castles No. 139Japan Castle Foundation

Visiting

Access

Open to visitors

Toyama Castle Park is open every day and free to walk around. Entry to the museum in the mock keep requires a ticket.

Address

1-62 Honmaru, Toyama, Toyama 930-0081 (Toyama Municipal Folk Museum)[2][3]

Checked: 2026-10-03

Nearest stations and how to get there

Toyama Station, South ExitJR Hokuriku Shinkansen, JR Takayama Line, Ainokaze Toyama Railway

about 10 min walk · No climb

About 10 minutes' walk south from the South Exit. The museum says the sidewalks on the way have no steps.[3][23]

Checked: 2026-10-03
Kokusai Kaigijo-mae stop, Toyama City Tram (Toyama Chiho Railway)City tram loop line

about 2 min walk · No climb

2 minutes' walk from the tram stop.[3][23]

Checked: 2026-10-03

Hours and admission

Toyama Municipal Folk Museum (in the mock keep)
Hours
9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30)
Closed
New Year holidays (December 28 – January 4) and occasional closures for exhibition changes and maintenance
Admission
Adults 210 yen (170 yen for groups of 20+); free for high school students and younger. Prices differ during special exhibitions.[2][4]
Checked: 2026-10-03

By car / parking

There is no dedicated museum lot. Use the paid underground Castle Park parking (330 yen for the first hour, then 110 yen per 30 minutes) or nearby coin parking. Tour buses can use the Castle Park bus lot by reservation.[3]

Checked: 2026-10-03
Grounds opening hours
The park is open every day (no opening hours are listed)[23]Checked: 2026-10-03
Time neededEditors' estimate
About 30–40 minutes for the park alone; allow 1–1.5 hours with the museum.
Steps, slopes and footing
A flat park in the city center with no major slopes. The museum's observation deck (4th floor) is reached by stairs only.[2][3]
Wheelchairs and strollers
The museum has a ramp and an elevator, so the exhibition rooms up to the 2nd floor are step-free; the 4th-floor observation deck is stairs only. There is a multipurpose toilet (wheelchair accessible, baby-changing table, ostomate facilities). The underground Castle Park parking has accessible spaces and an elevator up to the park.[2][3]Checked: 2026-10-03
Toilets and rest
Toilets, including a multipurpose toilet, inside the museum[1][2]
English signs / audio guide
English signage and audio guides are not confirmed.
Seasons
In spring the cherry trees along the Matsukawa River north of the castle are in full bloom. The Japanese garden, laid out in 2015, is also lovely with fresh green, autumn colors and snow. The museum keep is lit up at night.[16]
Photography
Not confirmed
Works, closures and restrictions
The museum is closed October 5–9 and October 27–30, 2026. From October 10 to December 6 a special exhibition runs; admission during this period is 500 yen for adults (400 yen for groups of 20+), free for high school students and younger, and includes the permanent exhibition.[4][8]Checked: 2026-10-03

Around the castle

Museum

Toyama Sato Memorial Art Museum

City art museum inside the castle park, focused on East Asian antique art, with tea rooms where matcha is served. Open 9:00–17:00; adults 210 yen (special exhibitions extra).[2]

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 travelers looking for a castle within walking distance of Toyama Station, anyone interested in how Japanese cities rebuilt after the war, and those who enjoy hunting for giant stones and masons' marks in castle walls.

What makes it interesting

It is more interesting to see the keep not as a copy of an old one, but as the castle the people of 1954 imagined. Then feel the size of the mirror stones at the Iron Gate site below the museum, and see a genuine Edo-period building at Chitose Gomon.

Before you go

Today's keep is a 1954 mock keep, and Toyama Castle is believed never to have had one in the Edo period. The site is a city park, and only the honmaru, part of the west enclosure and the south moat remain. The museum sometimes closes for exhibition changes, so check its closure calendar before you go.

Ways to enjoy it

From the 4th-floor observation deck you can look out over Toyama; the museum notes that during the 1954 expo visitors could see all the way to the Tateyama mountains. Across the south moat, enjoy the stone walls and keep reflected in the water. At the mirror stones, stand next to one to get a feel for its size.

Photos

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Open questions

Sources

  1. 1
    富山市郷土博物館の概要富山市郷土博物館officialChecked:
  2. 2
    ご利用案内富山市郷土博物館・富山市佐藤記念美術館officialChecked:
  3. 3
    交通アクセス富山市郷土博物館・富山市佐藤記念美術館officialChecked:
  4. 4
    令和8年度 郷土博物館休館案内富山市郷土博物館officialChecked:
  5. 5
    富山市郷土博物館(富山城)とやまの文化遺産(富山県)heritageChecked:
  6. 6
    富山城(補助資料)Wikipedia日本語版otherChecked:
  7. 7
    続日本100名城 一覧公益財団法人日本城郭協会jokakuChecked:
  8. 8
    郷土博物館 企画展案内(2026年10月10日〜12月6日)富山市郷土博物館officialChecked:
  9. 9
    富山城址の変遷 2/12富山市郷土博物館officialChecked:
  10. 10
    富山城址の変遷 10/12富山市郷土博物館officialChecked:
  11. 11
    富山城址の変遷 9/12富山市郷土博物館officialChecked:
  12. 12
    富山城に天守閣はあったのか(2)富山市埋蔵文化財センターmunicipalChecked:
  13. 13
    富山城址の変遷 11/12富山市郷土博物館officialChecked:
  14. 14
    富山城に天守閣はあったのか(1)富山市埋蔵文化財センターmunicipalChecked:
  15. 15
    鏡石の解体から富山市埋蔵文化財センターmunicipalChecked:
  16. 16
    富山城址公園 概要・見どころ富山城址公園パークマネジメント共同企業体officialChecked:
  17. 17
    幕末期の富山城瓦 (2)千歳御門の赤瓦富山市埋蔵文化財センターmunicipalChecked:
  18. 18
    地理編富山市埋蔵文化財センターmunicipalChecked:
  19. 19
    江戸時代編1富山市埋蔵文化財センターmunicipalChecked:
  20. 20
    戦国時代編2富山市埋蔵文化財センターmunicipalChecked:
  21. 21
    富山城の焼失富山市埋蔵文化財センターmunicipalChecked:
  22. 22
    江戸時代編2富山市埋蔵文化財センターmunicipalChecked:
  23. 23
    アクセス富山城址公園パークマネジメント共同企業体officialChecked:
  24. 24
    List of Japan's 100 Fine Castles and the Next 100公益財団法人日本城郭協会jokakuChecked:
  25. 25
    Wikipedia「富山城」Wikipedia日本語版wikipediaChecked:
  26. 26
    Wikidata Q911975WikidatawikidataChecked:

Listing status

  1. Candidate foundChecked
  2. Confirmed as a castle siteChecked
  3. Basic informationChecked
  4. In-depth articleChecked
  5. Photo rights checkedChecked
  6. Visit info checkedChecked

Castles nearby

Etchu Imaizumi Castle2.3 km · Not yet confirmedOyama Castle2.6 km · Not yet confirmedShinjo Castle4 km · Not yet confirmedShiratori Castle4.2 km · Not yet confirmedYasuda Castle4.5 km · Not yet confirmedOta Hongo Castle4.5 km · Not yet confirmed

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