Despite its humble size, Uwajima Castle is famous for its elegant design and takes pride of place on the list of just 12 existing castles that remain intact from the Tokugawa period.
Along with the Uwajima Castle itself, part of the charm of visiting is the short hike up Shiroyama (castle mountain). You can enter from either the north or south gates and enjoy the natural beauty of Shiroyama as you walk through the trees, some of which are 300 years old.
The remaining stone walls, steps, and wells remind you of the ancient past, and the castle’s prestige and the view from the castle tower’s top level are not to be missed.
History Of Uwajima Castle
This flat mountain castle was constructed on the top of a small hill about 80 meters high. Sitting in the center of Uwajima, This early modern citadel was constructed between 1596 and 1601 by Takatora Todo, an engineering bigshot, and renowned master castle-builder. Originally, the castle sat next to the sea but now appears slightly inland due to reclaimed coastal land.
In 1615, Date Hidemune, the eldest son of everyone’s favorite eye patch waring daimyo, the legendary Date Masamune, entered the castle. He liked what he saw and decided to call it home, and from that point on, it was the home base of generations of the renowned Date family.
The castle tower that you see now was rebuilt after the Date family had moved in and put their name on the front door. However, the castle structure itself is of the same form as the original built by Takatora Todo.
Uwajima Castle Desiign
The Uwajiyama castle keep was rebuilt around 1666 by lord Date Munetoshi. Although not large in scale, it is impressive for its beautiful white walls, gables, and ornaments of the palace architecture.
Due to its elegant appearance, it is also sometimes called “Tsurushima Castle,” as a symbol of the Hei dynasty and the prestige of the Date clan.
Uwajima Castle has an unusual five-patterned shape
One unique and interesting feature of Uwajima Castle is still preserved today in its rope line (outer wall). It is a reminder of the ingenuity and construction techniques unique to a Todo Takatora-built castle.
When viewed from the sky, Uwajima Castle has an unequal pentagonal shape. This is to give the attacking samurai forces the illusion that the castle is a square and to create blind spots.
Takatora’s design intention reportedly did the trick, and the Tokugawa Shogunate’s secret agents mistakenly believed it to be a quadrangle.
Historic Gates Of Uwajima Castle
Note the two gates that stand at the trailhead.
The “Umitachimon” is the entrance to the mountain on the south side of Shirojama. It’s not sure when it was built, but it could possibly date back as far as the Keicho period (1596-1615).
The gates are Yakuimon-style, considered the main gate for samurai families, and is the biggest Yakuimon remaining in all of Japan.
Also, the historic buildings that were not originally part of the castle but were moved to the new location are not to be missed. The samurai residence of the Kuwari clan, which you will see at the trailhead on the northeastern side of the mountain, is one of just a few such structures in Uwajima City.
Shiroyama Folk Museum
Also, look out for the old Yamazatikura, located halfway up the mountain. It is an armory constructed in 1845 in the San-no-maru area and is now home to the Shiroyama Folk Museum, which exhibits folklore materials.
Enjoy observing plants on a walk around Shiroyama
Uwajima Castle is home to about 400 varieties of plants and trees and has been spared from fire for more than 300 years, which is why it is home to many large trees and rare plants.
Visitors often enjoy the stone overlayed with nature’s green, such as saxifrage growing in clusters on the stone walls and moss spreading along with the stone steps. Information boards with botanical explanations are placed throughout the area (mostly in Japanese), and it’s well worth allowing an extra 30 minutes to explore.
Entering Uwajima Castle Tower
Uwajima Castle tower is one of only 12 existing castles from pre-Meiji days is a three-story, three-tiered, all-nurikome structure with a series of large and small gables and long posts giving it an extremely elegant appearance.
As Uwajima castle was constructed after the feudal domain system was in place, the castle tower has fewer military characteristics. This is in stark contrast to the more defensively-minded stone walls that remain on the castle hill built during the waring stated period.
The floor size of each of the three stories reduces in a constant ratio, decreasing as you ascend to the upper floors. This gives the exterior a sense of stability.
The roof is interestingly decorated and features a sizable karahafu gable on top, two smaller staggered gables on the third floor, and one large staggered gable on the second, creating a sense of serenity in the continuous gables.
It is said that this gives the structure the appearance of a beautiful princess.
The entrance to the keep.
The area you see just after entering is now covered with a wooden floor and used for changing shoes, but originally this was the place where the lord would climb down from the basket.
The first floor of the keep has an inner chamber surrounded by a fabulously named samurai’s runway. Notice that to the west of the runway, there is a charm to ward off evil spirits in the region, and on the other side, there is a record listing all the master carpenters and their apprentices and where they have repaired the building.
Apparently, the long handrail on the 1st floor has not been restored and dates back to the castle’s initial build.
In the inner room, a wooden staircase leads you up to the second floor at a steep but not unreasonable slope of 41 degrees.
The 2nd Floor
As one ascends from the first floor to the second, the floor space does not feel much smaller than expected in a Japanese castle tower. This is because the inner rooms on the first and second floors are sized the same with a narrower warrior runway. Also, when you look within the staggered gable, notice that there is insufficient space to hide a warrior. This suggests that the staggered gables were added only for decorative purposes.
On the second floor, there are three windows with a lattice that can be removed and allow access to the roof for repair. As you take the stairs up to the 3rd and top floor, your legs will surely notice that the staircase is steeper and is now at 60 degrees, the steepest slope in the keep.
The third floor of Uwajima Castle Tower
The third floor of the lattice window of Uwajima Castle Keep is actually larger in area than the inner chamber on the second floor; as soon as you ascend to the third floor, take a look at the balustrade of the staircase. The balustrade is decorated in the manner of a shrine or temple and is one of the unique features of Uwajima Castle’s keep.
Check out the roof tiles outside the window from the third floor of the keep, and you will notice that they are decorated in a manner comparable to shrine and temple architecture at Uwajima Castle.
Momogawara (kawaratome) tiles are on the staggered gable roof. Peach tiles are found only at Inuyama Castle and Uwajima Castle among the 12 existing castle towers.
On the ceiling of the third floor of Uwajima Castle, there is an opening to the attic that allows access to the roof through.
And now it’s time to enjoy the amazing view.
From the top floor of the keep, you can see the old castle town of lord Date and a great view of the Uwakai sea and nearby Uwajima Port.
Uwajima Castle Details
Historical Remains: Edo period existing castle tower, gate, stone wall
Form of Terrain: Sea Castle (Flat Mountain Castle)
Elevation: 74 m
Number of levels of the keep: 3 stories and three floors
Kind of keep: Existing keep (From The Edo Period)
Height of keep: 15.3 m
Height of keep tower stone wall: 4 m
Size of keep in total floor space: 300 m2
Castle Notes: The tower was first built in 1601 by Takatora Todo and was rebuilt from 1662 to 1671 by Munetoshi Date
Built by: Takatora Todo
Main renovators: Takatora Todo, Munetoshi Date
Main castle lords: Todo clan (70,000 koku), Tomita clan, Date clan (100,000 koku)Designated Cultural
