Japan Castle Atlas
The people who built, defended and ruled Japan's castles. Follow a name across all the castles connected to it.
1819–1857
阿部正弘
Lord of Fukuyama who became a senior councilor (roju) of the shogunate at 25 and its chief councilor soon after. He led the shogunate's response from Commodore Perry's arrival in 1853 to the 1854 Treaty of Kanagawa that opened Japan to the United States.
1 connected castles1658–1715
阿部正邦
A daimyo who moved from Utsunomiya to Fukuyama in 1710. From then until the Meiji era, the Abe family ruled the Fukuyama domain.
1 connected castles
1562–1600
赤松広秀(斎村政広)
The last lord of Takeda Castle. He arrived from Tatsuno in Harima in 1585 with a 20,000-koku domain, and the stone walls seen today are thought to date from his rule.
1 connected castles
1458–1541
尼子経久
A warring-states warlord of Izumo. After losing his post as deputy governor, he retook Gassantoda Castle and used it as the base from which the Amago clan grew powerful.
2 connected castles
1428–1481
朝倉孝景(初代)
The first head of the Asakura family of Ichijodani, who used the upheaval of the Onin War to become the warlord ruling all of Echizen Province. A later, fourth-generation head had the same name.
2 connected castles1533–1573
朝倉義景
The fifth and last Asakura head at Ichijodani. He welcomed and entertained the future shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki at Ichijodani, but lost his war with Oda Nobunaga; in 1573 the Asakura were destroyed and the town of Ichijodani was burned.
1 connected castles
1586–1632
浅野長晟
Son of Asano Nagamasa. Moved from Wakayama to become lord of Hiroshima in 1619, after which the Asano family ruled Hiroshima until the Meiji era.
1 connected castles
1547–1611
浅野長政
A warlord who served Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Placed in charge of Kai Province with his son Yoshinaga in 1593, he completed Kofu Castle, which Hashiba Hidekatsu and Kato Mitsuyasu had begun.
8 connected castles
1610–1672
浅野長直
First Asano lord of Ako. He moved from Kasama in Hitachi in 1645 with a 53,500-koku domain and spent thirteen years from 1648 building Ako Castle.
3 connected castles
1273–1331
足利貞氏
Head of the Ashikaga clan in the Kamakura period and father of Ashikaga Takauji, founder of the Muromachi shogunate. He rebuilt Banna-ji's burned main hall in 1299.
1 connected castles?–1199
足利義兼
Second head of the Minamoto-descended Ashikaga clan. He built the family residence at Ashikaga and founded Banna-ji with a private Buddhist hall inside it.
2 connected castles
1545–1573
浅井長政
Third lord of the Azai family of northern Omi. He married Oda Nobunaga's sister Oichi but later fought Nobunaga alongside the Asakura and was destroyed at Odani Castle.
2 connected castles
1567–1636
伊達政宗
A warlord of northeastern Japan and the first lord of the Sendai domain. Right after the Battle of Sekigahara he renamed the area from Chiyo to Sendai, built Sendai Castle on Aobayama hill, and laid out the castle town.
8 connected castles
1635–1709
伊達宗利
Second lord of the Uwajima domain and a grandson of Date Masamune. He carried out a major renovation of Uwajima Castle in 1661–1672 and built the surviving keep around 1666.
2 connected castles1600–1658
伊達忠宗
Second lord of the Sendai domain and son of Date Masamune. He added the Ninomaru (second enclosure) at the foot of the hill below the mountaintop main enclosure, and from then on the Ninomaru was the center of domain government.
2 connected castles
1573–1644
土井利勝
An early Edo-period daimyo. He became lord of Sakura in 1610 and began building Sakura Castle the following year.
7 connected castles
1836–1908
榎本武揚
A shogunate naval commander who, after the shogunate fell, sailed with its fleet to Ezo and fought the new government from Goryokaku (the Battle of Hakodate). After surrendering, he went on to serve the Meiji government as an official and naval officer.
1 connected castles
1834–1874
江藤新平
A politician from the Saga domain who became Japan's first Minister of Justice in the Meiji government and laid the foundations of the court system. He left the government in the political crisis of 1873 and the following year led one side of the Saga Rebellion (Saga War), which was defeated.
1 connected castles
?–764
藤原朝狩(藤原恵美朝狩)
A Nara-period aristocrat and son of the powerful statesman Fujiwara no Nakamaro. As governor in Mutsu he carried out a major rebuilding of Tagajo in 762, and the work is recorded on the Tagajo Stele.
3 connected castles
?–1600
福原直高
A retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and brother-in-law of Ishida Mitsunari. In 1597 he moved to Funai in Bungo Province and began building Funai (Niage) Castle at the mouth of the Oita River.
2 connected castles1561–1624
福島正則
A warrior who served Toyotomi Hideyoshi from childhood and one of the famed "Seven Spears of Shizugatake." He sided with Tokugawa at Sekigahara and in 1600 became lord of Aki and Bingo provinces, based at Hiroshima Castle.
4 connected castles
?–1600
古田重勝
The third lord of Matsusaka Castle, after Gamo Ujisato and Hattori Kazutada. He is said to have completed the castle.
4 connected castles
1556–1595
蒲生氏郷
A daimyo and son-in-law of Oda Nobunaga who came to Aizu in 1590 after Toyotomi Hideyoshi reorganized the northeast. He rebuilt the castle with stone walls and moats, raised a keep, named it Tsurugajo, and renamed the town from Kurokawa to Wakamatsu.
10 connected castles
1558–1639
蜂須賀家政
Son of Hachisuka Masakatsu. He became lord of Awa in 1585 and built Tokushima Castle on Iyama (Shiroyama), the site chosen by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He is regarded as the founder of the Tokushima domain.
4 connected castles1586–1620
蜂須賀至鎮
Son of Hachisuka Iemasa and the first lord of the Tokushima domain. He married an adopted daughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu and died young.
1 connected castles
1491–1545
畠山義総
Seventh head of the Noto Hatakeyama. He stabilized their rule over the province, and under him Nanao Castle and its town flourished. The Japan Castle Foundation lists him as the castle's lord.
1 connected castles1835–1869
土方歳三
Vice-commander of the Shinsengumi, the shogunate's police force in late-Edo Kyoto. In the Boshin War he fought across Japan as a commander of the former shogunate forces and was killed in the Battle of Hakodate.
1 connected castles
?–1519
伊勢宗瑞(北条早雲)
Founder of the Hojo clan of Odawara. His move into Odawara began a century in which five generations of the Hojo dominated the Kanto region.
7 connected castles
?–1597
北条氏邦
A son of Hojo Ujiyasu of Odawara. He married into the local Fujita family and expanded Hachigata Castle into the Hojo base for ruling the northern Kanto.
5 connected castles
?–1590
北条氏照
Third son of Hojo Ujiyasu, third head of the Hojo clan of Odawara. He moved his base from Takiyama Castle and built Hachioji Castle.
8 connected castles
1572–1647
本多成重
Became lord of Maruoka Castle in 1613 and, in 1624, the first lord of the independent Maruoka domain, separate from Fukui. Sakai City's research attributes the present keep to his time.
1 connected castles
1575–1631
本多忠政
A hereditary Tokugawa vassal who moved from Kuwana in Ise to become lord of Himeji in 1617. He extended the third enclosure, the Nishinomaru and other areas, completing the castle as it appears today.
1 connected castles
?–1603
本多利久
A warrior who served Toyotomi Hidenaga. He became lord of Takatori Castle in 1585 and turned the mountain fort into a castle with a large and a small keep and many turrets.
2 connected castles
1543–1611
堀尾吉晴
A warrior who served Toyotomi Hideyoshi. After the Battle of Sekigahara his family became lords of Izumo and Oki, and he built Matsue Castle.
8 connected castles
1611–1673
保科正之
A son of the second shogun Hidetada and lord of the Aizu domain, who served as guardian and adviser to the fourth shogun, Ietsuna.
4 connected castles
1586–1641
細川忠利
Lord of Kokura in Buzen who took over Higo in 1632 after the Kato family was removed. From then until the Meiji Restoration, Kumamoto Castle belonged to the Hosokawa. Skilled in both arts and arms, he invited the swordsman Miyamoto Musashi to spend his last years in Kumamoto.
1 connected castles1810–1864
堀田正睦
Lord of Sakura in the last decades of the shogunate. He served twice as a senior councilor (roju) and is known for leading Japan toward opening to the world.
1 connected castles
1778–1858
市川一学
A military scholar and Confucian scholar of the Takasaki domain, counted among the three great military scholars of the late Edo period. He designed Matsumae (Fukuyama) Castle.
1 connected castles
1845–1908
市川量造
A local official in Matsumoto who, in the early Meiji era, saved the castle keep from demolition by turning it into an exhibition hall.
1 connected castles
1561–1602
井伊直政
A leading general of Tokugawa Ieyasu. When Ieyasu took over the Kanto region in 1590, Naomasa was given Minowa Castle, and in 1598 he moved his castle to Takasaki. He later founded the Hikone domain.
5 connected castles
1815–1860
井伊直弼
Thirteenth lord of Hikone. As the shogunate's chief minister (tairo) he dealt with the difficult issues around opening Japan to the world, and was assassinated in Edo.
1 connected castles1590–1662
井伊直継
Ii Naomasa's eldest son. He became lord after his father's death and began building Hikone Castle on Mt. Hikone in July 1604.
2 connected castles
1609–1682
池田光政
Grandson of Ikeda Terumasa, builder of Himeji Castle. As lord of Tottori he expanded Tottori Castle for a 320,000-koku domain, and later became lord of Okayama.
3 connected castles
1602–1632
池田忠雄
Son of Ikeda Terumasa and Tokuhime, a daughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu. He succeeded his brother Tadatsugu as lord of Okayama Castle in 1615.
2 connected castles1565–1613
池田輝政
The daimyo who became lord of Himeji after the Battle of Sekigahara. He began a complete rebuilding of the castle in 1601 and by 1609 had finished the linked keep complex centered on the five-tier main keep. Today's keeps date from his time.
7 connected castles
1526–1603
生駒親正
A warlord who served Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Given the whole of Sanuki Province in 1587, he began building Takamatsu Castle on the shore the following year.
7 connected castles
1538–1615
今川氏真
Son of Imagawa Yoshimoto. After his father was killed at Okehazama, he was driven from Suruga by the Takeda and in 1568 took refuge in Kakegawa Castle, held by his senior retainer Asahina Yasutomo.
2 connected castles1597–1634
稲葉正勝
Lord of Odawara in the early Edo period. Arriving in 1632, he began the major rebuilding that turned the castle into a stone-walled Edo-period fortress.
2 connected castles?–1593
石川数正
Once a senior retainer of Tokugawa Ieyasu, he left Ieyasu in 1585 to serve Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and in 1590 was sent to Matsumoto, where he began building the castle and its town.
2 connected castles1554–1643
石川康長
Son of Ishikawa Kazumasa and the second lord of Matsumoto Castle. He continued his father's work and built the keep that still stands today.
1 connected castles
1409?–1494
岩松家純
A Muromachi-period warrior descended from the Nitta clan. In 1469 he built Kanayama Castle, moved in, and reunited the divided Iwamatsu family.
2 connected castles
1590–1619
亀井政矩
A daimyo who moved from Shikano Castle in Inaba to Tsuwano in 1617 with a 43,000-koku domain. The Kamei family then ruled Tsuwano for 11 generations until the Meiji Restoration.
1 connected castles
1562–1611
加藤清正
A daimyo of Higo (Kumamoto) renowned as a master of stone-wall building. At Nagoya Castle he was in charge of the most important part: the keep's stone base.
9 connected castles
1563–1631
加藤嘉明
A warrior from Mikawa Province and one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's 'Seven Spears of Shizugatake'. Rewarded after the Battle of Sekigahara with a 200,000-koku domain in Iyo, he began building Matsuyama Castle in 1602.
3 connected castles
1880–1949
川崎克
A member of the House of Representatives from Iga, elected 11 times. He spent his own fortune to build the present keep of Iga Ueno Castle, completed in 1935.
1 connected castles
1561–1625
吉川広家
A warlord from a branch of the Mori clan. After the Battle of Sekigahara he was given Iwakuni, where he built Iwakuni Castle on Shiroyama and became the first lord of Iwakuni.
6 connected castles1547–1581
吉川経家
A Mori-side commander and lord of Fukumitsu Castle in Iwami. In 1581 he defended Tottori Castle against Hashiba Hideyoshi's starvation siege.
6 connected castles1829–1867
吉川経幹
Lord of Iwakuni in the final years of the shogunate. During the first shogunate expedition against Choshu he mediated between the two sides and averted war, and this work led to Iwakuni's recognition as an official domain in 1868.
1 connected castles
?–1364
河野通盛
A warrior of the late Kamakura and Nanbokucho periods who served as governor (shugo) of Iyo. He is said to have moved the Kono clan's base from Kono-go (today's Hojo district of Matsuyama) to Yuzuki Castle.
2 connected castles
1546–1604
黒田官兵衛(孝高・如水)
A warrior born in Himeji, Harima Province, famed as Toyotomi Hideyoshi's strategist. His formal name was Yoshitaka, and after taking the tonsure he called himself Josui. After Sekigahara he moved to Chikuzen with his son Nagamasa and took part in building Fukuoka Castle.
1 connected castles1568–1623
黒田長政
Eldest son of Kuroda Kanbei and first lord of the Fukuoka domain. He played a major part in the Tokugawa victory at Sekigahara, received almost all of Chikuzen Province, and built Fukuoka Castle from 1601.
5 connected castles
?–1336
楠木正成
A warrior from Kawachi in the late Kamakura and early Nanboku-cho periods. He fought the Kamakura shogunate on the side of Emperor Go-Daigo and built Chihaya Castle in 1332.
8 connected castles
1619–1662
京極高和
Became lord of Marugame in 1658 after the Yamazaki line died out. The Kyogoku family then ruled Marugame until the Meiji era.
2 connected castles
1539–1599
前田利家
A warlord born in Arako, Owari Province (today's Aichi Prefecture), who served Oda Nobunaga. Granted Noto in 1581, he became lord of Kanazawa Castle in 1583 and built its keep and high stone walls. He was the founder of the Maeda family of Kaga.
10 connected castles
1562–1614
前田利長
Eldest son of Maeda Toshiie and second head of the Maeda family of Kaga. He sided with the Tokugawa around the Battle of Sekigahara, and after retiring he built Takaoka Castle in 1609 and founded the town of Takaoka.
7 connected castles1594–1658
前田利常
Third head of the Maeda of Kaga. Adopted by his elder brother Toshinaga, he succeeded him in 1605. After the great fire of 1631 he moved the castle's center from the main enclosure to the second enclosure, largely fixing the layout of Kanazawa Castle as it is today.
4 connected castles
?–1590
間宮康俊
A Hojo commander who is said to have fought Toyotomi forces around the Third Bailey and the Daisaki outwork during the 1590 battle at Yamanaka, and to have died there.
2 connected castles?–1590
松田康長
A retainer of the Hojo clan of Odawara who commanded Yamanaka Castle when Toyotomi forces attacked in 1590.
1 connected castles
1575–1614
松平家乗
A daimyo of the Ogyu-Matsudaira family who became lord of Iwamura in 1601 and founded the Iwamura domain. Ena City attributes the castle remains seen today to the Ogyu-Matsudaira rebuilding.
2 connected castles1601–1666
松平直政
A grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. In 1638 he moved from Matsumoto in Shinano to Matsue and became the first Matsudaira lord of the Matsue domain.
2 connected castles
1596–1662
松平信綱
A senior councilor of the Tokugawa shogunate who became lord of Kawagoe in 1639 and extensively rebuilt the castle.
3 connected castles
1604–1676
松平定房
Became lord of the 30,000-koku Imabari domain in 1635, the first of the Matsudaira (Hisamatsu) lords, whose family ruled Imabari until the Meiji era.
1 connected castles
1759–1829
松平定信
A grandson of the eighth shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune. He became lord of Shirakawa at 26 and later, as senior councilor to the 11th shogun Ienari, led the Kansei Reforms.
1 connected castles1587–1668
松平定行
A daimyo and nephew of Tokugawa Ieyasu. He moved from Kuwana in Ise to Matsuyama in 1635 with a 150,000-koku domain, and his descendants, the Matsudaira (Hisamatsu) family, ruled Matsuyama until the Meiji Restoration.
1 connected castles
1568–1640
松平康重
A hereditary Tokugawa vassal and the first lord of Sasayama Castle. He moved to Yakami in Tanba in 1608 and entered the new Sasayama Castle when it was completed in 1609.
2 connected castles1622–1695
松平頼重
A grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu and elder brother of Tokugawa Mitsukuni of Mito. He became lord of Takamatsu in 1642, the first of 11 generations of Matsudaira lords who ruled for 228 years.
3 connected castles
1574–1630
松倉重政
A daimyo who ruled Shimabara. From 1618 he spent about seven years building Shimabara Castle and its town, and also carried out land surveys and public works. He suppressed Christianity, and the Shimabara Rebellion broke out under his son Katsuie.
2 connected castles1829–1866
松前崇広
Lord of the Matsumae domain in the late Edo period. Given special orders by the shogunate to build a castle against foreign ships, he completed the new Fukuyama (Matsumae) Castle in 1854. He later served as a senior councilor (roju) of the shogunate.
3 connected castles1548–1616
松前慶広
Fifth head of the Kakizaki clan, which ruled southern Ezo. Recognized as a daimyo by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, he changed the family name to Matsumae and became the first lord of the Matsumae domain.
2 connected castles
1646–1713
松浦棟
The fifth lord of the Hirado domain. After being appointed a commissioner of temples and shrines for the shogunate, he set about rebuilding a castle in Hirado, which had been without one for about a century, and began work in 1704.
2 connected castles
1584?–1645
宮本武蔵
Celebrated swordsman of the early Edo period. Edo-period local histories say he laid out the street plan of Akashi's castle town when the castle was built.
1 connected castles
1548–1610
溝口秀勝
A warlord who fought under the Niwa family and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In 1598 he was given a 60,000-koku domain in Shibata, began building Shibata Castle, and became the first lord of the Shibata domain.
5 connected castles1564–1651
水野勝成
A warlord and cousin of Tokugawa Ieyasu. In 1619 he became daimyo of a 100,000-koku domain in Bingo, built Fukuyama Castle and its town, and served as the first lord of the Fukuyama domain.
2 connected castles
1623–1689
水谷勝宗
Second lord of the Bitchu Matsuyama domain. From 1681 he spent three years rebuilding Bitchu Matsuyama Castle, giving the surviving keep its present form.
3 connected castles
1546–1614
最上義光
The 11th head of the Mogami family and first lord of the Yamagata domain. He built the castle on which today's Yamagata Castle is based, along with a castle town of merchant and craft districts. After holding off the Uesugi army in the Keicho Dewa campaign of 1600, he became a daimyo with 570,000 koku.
4 connected castles
1497–1571
毛利元就
A warlord who rose from local lord of Yoshida in Aki Province to dominate much of western Honshu. He expanded his home castle, Koriyama, over an entire mountain.
9 connected castles
1570–1634
森忠政
Youngest brother of Mori Ranmaru, who died in the Honnoji Incident. In 1603 he became lord of all Mimasaka Province, worth 186,500 koku, and spent 13 years building Tsuyama Castle and its town.
5 connected castles
1819–1871
毛利敬親
13th lord of the Choshu (Hagi) domain in the final years of the shogunate. He pushed modernization, deciding to build the Hagi reverberatory furnace and the Ebisugahana shipyard, and in 1863 moved the domain government from Hagi Castle to Yamaguchi.
2 connected castles1553–1625
毛利輝元
Grandson of Mori Motonari. Under Toyotomi rule he governed eight provinces in western Honshu and was one of the Five Elders. After serving as nominal commander of the losing Western Army at Sekigahara, he was reduced to two provinces, Suo and Nagato, and built Hagi Castle.
6 connected castles1814–1871
鍋島直正
Became the 10th lord of Saga at 17 and pushed through reforms to rescue the domain's finances, along with modernization based on Western technology. When the second enclosure burned in 1835, he decided to rebuild the main enclosure and completed the Honmaru Palace in 1838.
3 connected castles?–1561
長野業政
A lord of the Nagano clan based at Minowa Castle, also written Narimasa with a different character. Backed by the Uesugi, he is said to have united the local warriors known as the Minowa-shu and led the clan at its height.
3 connected castles1443–1514
長尾景春
A late Muromachi warrior and retainer of the Yamanouchi Uesugi, holders of the Kanto deputy post, who later rebelled against his lords. He is said to have built Hachigata Castle in 1476.
3 connected castles
1842–1925
長岡安平
A landscape designer active from the Meiji to the Taisho era and a pioneer of modern parks in Japan. He designed Iwate Park on the neglected site of Morioka Castle.
1 connected castles
1570–1612
中川秀成
First lord of the Oka domain. He moved from Miki in Harima to Oka Castle in 1594 and rebuilt what had been an earthen clifftop fort into a castle enclosed by stone walls.
3 connected castles
?–1338
南部師行
A warrior of the Northern and Southern Courts period. He accompanied Kitabatake Akiie to the north and, as the official in charge of Nukanobu District, is said to have built Ne Castle as a base for the Southern Court.
3 connected castles1546–1599
南部信直
Head of the Sannohe branch of the Nanbu clan and first lord of the Morioka domain. Confirmed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi as lord of seven districts, he decided to move his seat from Sannohe to Kozukata (Morioka).
3 connected castles1576–1632
南部利直
First lord of the Morioka domain, who built Morioka Castle with his father Nobunao and consolidated control over the Nanbu lands.
3 connected castles
1567–1625
成瀬正成
A warrior who served Tokugawa Ieyasu and later became a senior retainer assigned by the shogunate to the Owari domain. In 1617 the second shogun, Hidetada, granted him Inuyama Castle, beginning the Naruse family's rule there until the end of the shogunate.
2 connected castles
?–1582
仁科盛信
The fifth son of Takeda Shingen and the last Takeda commander of Takato Castle. In 1582 he held the castle against a huge army under Oda Nobutada and died in the fighting.
2 connected castles
1622–1701
丹羽光重
First lord of the Nihonmatsu domain. Moving from Shirakawa in 1643 with a 100,700-koku domain, he repaired the castle's stone walls and other works and laid out the castle town, creating the basic shape of today's Nihonmatsu.
3 connected castles
1535–1585
丹羽長秀
A senior retainer of Oda Nobunaga. In 1576 he was put in overall charge of building Azuchi Castle.
4 connected castles1571–1637
丹羽長重
A daimyo who moved from Tanagura in 1627 to become the first lord of the Shirakawa domain. On shogunate orders he spent about four years from 1629 rebuilding Komine Castle, walling its main and second enclosures in stone.
5 connected castles
1534–1582
織田信長
The Sengoku warlord who unified Owari province. In 1567 he seized Inabayama Castle, renamed it Gifu Castle, and for about ten years, until moving to Azuchi in 1576, used it as his base for unifying Japan.
19 connected castles?–1547
織田信康
An uncle of Oda Nobunaga, said to have founded Inuyama Castle around 1537 by moving his base from Kinoshita Castle.
3 connected castles1596–1667
小笠原忠真(忠政)
Builder of Akashi Castle and first lord of the Akashi domain, known as Tadamasa when he built it and later renamed Tadazane. Both Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu were his great-grandfathers. He moved to Kokura in Buzen in 1632.
2 connected castles?–1583
お市の方
Oda Nobunaga's sister and the wife of Azai Nagamasa. She raised her three daughters, Chacha, Hatsu and Go, at Odani Castle.
1 connected castles1659–1703
大石良雄(内蔵助)
Chief retainer of the Asano house of Ako. After lord Asano Naganori was forced to commit seppuku and the house abolished in 1701, he led the former retainers in the December 1702 raid on the Kira mansion, an event retold ever since as Chushingura.
1 connected castles
1555–1615
奥平信昌
Lord of Nagashino Castle (then named Sadamasa). In 1575 he held the castle against Takeda Katsuyori's great army with 500 men. He later married Ieyasu's eldest daughter, Kamehime, and built Shinshiro Castle.
4 connected castles?–742
大野東人
A Nara-period official and military commander. The Tagajo Stele records that he established Tagajo in 724. As inspector-general and commander of the frontier garrison in Mutsu Province, he pushed the imperial court's control of northeastern Japan.
3 connected castles1432–1486
太田道灌
A warrior of the Muromachi period who built Edo Castle in 1457, the starting point of the castle's history.
7 connected castles?–1575
おつやの方(岩村城の女城主)
An aunt of Oda Nobunaga and wife of Iwamura's lord Toyama Kagetou. After her husband's death, she is said to have run the castle herself with Nobunaga's young son Gobomaru as adopted heir, earning the name 'the woman lord'.
1 connected castles
1495–1552
六角定頼
Head of the Rokkaku family, governors (shugo) of Omi Province. He led the family at the height of its power and was deeply involved in shogunate politics. Kannonji Castle is thought to have been rebuilt with extensive stone walls from around his time onward.
2 connected castles1521–1598
六角義賢(承禎)
Son of Rokkaku Sadayori, later known by his Buddhist name Shotei. In 1568, as Oda Nobunaga invaded Omi, he and his son Yoshiharu left Kannonji Castle without a fight.
1 connected castles?–1556
斎藤道三
A Sengoku-period ruler of Mino who developed Inabayama Castle and the town of Inokuchi, drove out his lord Toki and took control of the province. He married his daughter to Oda Nobunaga.
4 connected castles?–1616
坂崎直盛
A warrior who arrived in Tsuwano in 1601 as a 30,000-koku lord after Sekigahara, and rebuilt the Yoshimi clan's mountain fort as an early modern castle with high stone walls.
3 connected castles
1547–1611
真田昌幸
A Sengoku-period warlord who built Ueda Castle in 1583 and twice held it against large Tokugawa armies, in 1585 and 1600.
5 connected castles
1566–1658
真田信之
Eldest son of Sanada Masayuki and first lord of the Matsushiro domain. At Sekigahara he sided with the Tokugawa, apart from his father and brother, and in 1622 he moved from Ueda to Matsushiro.
3 connected castles
1570–1633
佐竹義宣
Once a daimyo in Hitachi Province (today's Ibaraki Prefecture), he was moved to Akita in Dewa Province after the Battle of Sekigahara and became the first lord of the Akita domain. He built Kubota Castle on Shinmeiyama hill and laid out its castle town.
4 connected castles
1552–1614
仙石秀久
A warlord who served Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He became lord of the 50,000-koku Komoro domain in 1590, rebuilt Komoro Castle as a stone-walled castle, and laid out the town around it.
4 connected castles1578–1628
仙石忠政
An early Edo-period lord of Ueda. He moved from Komoro to Ueda in 1622 and rebuilt Ueda Castle, which had been left demolished.
1 connected castles?–1583
柴田勝豊
Nephew of Shibata Katsuie, one of Oda Nobunaga's leading generals. Given Toyohara in Echizen, he is said to have moved his base and built Maruoka Castle in 1576. He left Maruoka in 1582 to become lord of Nagahama Castle in Omi.
3 connected castles1547–1587
新発田重家
An Echigo warlord who served Uesugi Kenshin and Kagekatsu. Unhappy at being denied rewards, he rebelled against Kagekatsu and held out from Shibata Castle for several years before the castle fell and he was killed in 1587.
3 connected castles生没年不詳
志賀親次
A retainer of the Otomo clan of Bungo and lord of Oka Castle. In 1586, at 18, he held Oka against a large Shimazu army that had invaded Bungo.
1 connected castles1827–1880
武田斐三郎
A scholar of Western (Dutch) learning from the Ozu domain in Iyo. He taught at the Hakodate magistrate's school and designed Goryokaku and the Benten Point battery; after 1868 he taught at army schools.
1 connected castles
1494–1574
武田信虎
Governor of Kai Province and father of Takeda Shingen. In 1519 he moved his residence to Tsutsujigasaki and built the Takeda residence, founding what became the city of Kofu.
3 connected castles1521–1573
武田信玄
A Sengoku-period daimyo of Kai Province (today's Yamanashi) who expanded into Shinano (today's Nagano), taking over and strengthening castles along the way.
14 connected castles1562–1615
竹中重利
A warlord from the family of the strategist Takenaka Hanbei. After the Battle of Sekigahara he took over Funai, finished the incomplete castle with a four-tiered keep in 1602, and laid out the castle town and harbor. First lord of the Funai domain.
3 connected castles
1548–1609
田中吉政
A retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. After Ieyasu moved to the Kanto region in 1590, he became lord of Okazaki Castle and greatly expanded the castle and town.
5 connected castles1556–1630
藤堂高虎
A warrior from Omi Province renowned as a master castle builder. Trusted by Tokugawa Ieyasu, he received Iga, part of Ise and other lands in 1608 and greatly rebuilt Iga Ueno Castle.
17 connected castles1579–1632
徳川秀忠
The second shogun of the Edo (Tokugawa) shogunate. When Fukuyama Castle was built, he had a turret from the Matsunomaru section of Fushimi Castle in Kyoto moved to Fukuyama; it survives today as Fushimi Yagura.
6 connected castles1543–1616
徳川家康
The first shogun of the Tokugawa (Edo) shogunate. He moved to the Kanto region in 1590, made Edo Castle his base, and began the expansion that turned it into a vast castle.
32 connected castles
1800–1860
徳川斉昭
The ninth lord of the Mito domain. As part of his domain reforms he founded Kodokan, a domain school, in the castle's third enclosure. He was the father of the last shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu.
2 connected castles
1606–1634
徳川忠長
Son of the second shogun Hidetada and younger brother of the third shogun Iemitsu. He became lord of Sunpu Castle in 1624, after Ieyasu's death.
1 connected castles1603–1661
徳川頼房
The eleventh son of Tokugawa Ieyasu and founder of the Mito Tokugawa line. He made Mito Castle his seat and expanded the castle and its town.
4 connected castles
1602–1671
徳川頼宣
The tenth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu. He arrived in Wakayama in 1619 as the first lord of the Kishu domain, one of the three senior branches of the Tokugawa family.
3 connected castles1601–1650
徳川義直
The ninth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu and first lord of the Owari domain. He took up residence at Nagoya Castle, founding the Owari Tokugawa, the senior of the three branch houses of the shogun's family.
1 connected castles
1837–1913
徳川慶喜
The fifteenth and last Tokugawa shogun. In 1867, at the Ninomaru Palace of Nijo Castle, he announced his intention to return governing power to the imperial court.
1 connected castles1540–1575
鳥居強右衛門
A foot soldier serving Okudaira Nobumasa, lord of Nagashino. During the 1575 siege he slipped out to ask for help at Okazaki Castle, and was captured and crucified on his way back.
1 connected castles1566–1628
鳥居忠政
A daimyo and retainer of the Tokugawa. He became lord of Yamagata in 1622 after the Mogami family was dispossessed, and his major rebuilding gave Yamagata Castle roughly the shape it has today.
6 connected castles1540?–1591
豊臣秀長(羽柴秀長)
Younger brother of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who supported Hideyoshi's unification of Japan in both war and government. Asago City says he took Takeda Castle in 1577 during his invasion of Tajima and, as its warden, ordered a major rebuilding.
7 connected castles
1537–1598
豊臣秀吉
The warlord who carried on Oda Nobunaga's work and unified Japan. In 1583 he began building Osaka Castle on the site of the Osaka Hongan-ji temple.
32 connected castles
1586–1631
津軽信枚
Second lord of the Hirosaki domain. He carried out his father Tamenobu's plan, completed Hirosaki Castle and moved there from Horikoshi Castle.
2 connected castles1550–1608
津軽為信
A warlord of the late Warring States and early Edo periods and the first lord of the Hirosaki domain, also known as Oura Tamenobu. He planned Hirosaki Castle.
4 connected castles1765–1833
津軽寧親
Ninth lord of the Hirosaki domain, who built the keep of Hirosaki Castle that survives today, in 1810.
2 connected castles
生没年不詳(18世紀後半に活動)
ツキノエ
Chief leader of the Ainu of Kunashir Island in the late 18th century. He had ties with Russian traders and was involved in the aftermath of the 1789 Kunashir-Menashi conflict.
1 connected castles1562–1615
筒井定次
A daimyo who moved from Koriyama in Yamato to Iga in 1585 and built Iga Ueno Castle as an early modern castle. He was stripped of his domain in 1608.
4 connected castles1589–1650
植村家政
From a family of long-serving Tokugawa retainers, he rose as an aide to the shoguns and in 1640 became the first lord of the Takatori domain.
1 connected castles
1556–1623
上杉景勝
Uesugi Kenshin's nephew and adopted son. He won the succession war after Kenshin's death (the Otate Rebellion), became master of Kasugayama Castle, and was transferred to Aizu by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1598.
10 connected castles1530–1578
上杉謙信
A Sengoku-period warlord who ruled Echigo (today's Niigata Prefecture). He made Kasugayama Castle his home and led campaigns into Hokuriku, the Kanto region and Shinano. He was born Nagao Kagetora.
16 connected castles1572–1655
宇喜多秀家
Son of Ukita Naoie and one of the most powerful lords under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He began building Okayama Castle in 1590, and its keep is said to have been finished in 1597.
4 connected castles
1554–1626
脇坂安治
A warlord from Omi Province and one of the 'Seven Spears of Shizugatake'. He moved from Sumoto on Awaji Island to Ozu in 1609 and was lord of Ozu Castle until his transfer to Iida in Shinano in 1617.
3 connected castles1805–1877
山田方谷
A scholar who served the Bitchu Matsuyama domain in the last years of the shogunate. Under lord Itakura Katsukiyo he rescued the domain's finances, and in the Boshin War he chose to surrender the castle without a fight.
1 connected castles1622–1685
山鹿素行
Confucian scholar and military theorist of the early Edo period. Exiled to Ako, he spent more than eight years in Oishi Tanomonosuke's mansion in the castle's second enclosure, and is said to have redesigned the Ninomaru gateway.
1 connected castles?–1578
山中鹿介(幸盛)
A retainer of the Amago clan who kept fighting to restore the family after Gassantoda Castle was surrendered to the Mori in 1566.
1 connected castles1545/1546–1605
山内一豊
A vassal of Toyotomi Hideyoshi who was lord of Kakegawa for about ten years from 1590. He built its first keep and main gate and developed the town and flood control on the Oi River, later becoming lord of Tosa (Kochi).
7 connected castles1594–1648
山崎家治
Became lord of western Sanuki (about 50,000 koku) in 1641 and rebuilt the abandoned Marugame Castle. Its high stone walls today date from the Yamazaki era.
5 connected castles1658–1714
柳沢吉保
Chamberlain to the fifth shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. His ancestors came from Kai, and after becoming lord of Kofu Castle in 1704 he did more than anyone to develop the castle and its town.
2 connected castles1506–1578
由良成繁
Lord of Kanayama Castle. Born into the Yokose family, he changed the family name to Yura around 1565. Switching sides between the Uesugi and the Hojo, he came to control the surrounding Nitta, Kiryu and Tatebayashi areas.
2 connected castles
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