掛川城 · Kakegawa-jo
The pioneer of wooden castle reconstruction — Kakegawa proved in 1994 that real timber and real joinery could bring a castle back, setting the standard for every wooden reconstruction that followed.
#42 — 100 Famous CastlesChild: ¥150
Last entry 16:30
Combined ticket includes the main tower (Tenshu), Ninomaru Palace (Ninomaru Goten), and Kakegawa Castle Museum. Children (elementary school age and under) ¥150.
Kakegawa offers two attractions in one ticket: the 1994 wooden main tower (a landmark in Japanese castle reconstruction) and the 1861 Ninomaru Palace (a genuine surviving original building). The tower is small but authentic in feel — climbing the steep wooden stairs inside a properly built wooden structure is a fundamentally different experience from concrete reconstructions. The palace gives you the residential side of castle life. Easy access from the shinkansen (12-minute walk) makes this an ideal stopover visit on the Tokaido corridor.
When Kakegawa rebuilt its main tower in 1994, it broke new ground in Japanese castle reconstruction — it was the first castle in postwar Japan to be rebuilt entirely in traditional wood using period-accurate construction techniques. No concrete, no steel frame: real wood, real joints, real craftsmanship. This set the template and the standard for wooden reconstructions at Ozu, Shiroishi, and others that followed.
While most castle palaces were demolished in the Meiji era or burned in WWII, Kakegawa's Ninomaru Goten (Second Bailey Palace) survives as a designated Important Cultural Property. Built in 1861 after an earthquake destroyed the previous building, it is one of the few remaining castle residential palaces in Japan — a place where the castle's domestic life rather than its military architecture is preserved.
Kakegawa's most famous lord, Yamauchi Kazutoyo, made one of the Sengoku period's most consequential decisions: after attending the Battle of Sekigahara (1600) on Tokugawa Ieyasu's eastern side, he received Tosa Province (Shikoku) as his reward. His domain moved to a much larger territory, and Kakegawa passed to other lords. The Yamauchi family had started as minor retainers — Sekigahara made them major daimyo.
Visitor Tip
Start at the Ninomaru Palace (ground level, Important Cultural Property) and walk through its original interior rooms, then climb the steps to the main tower. Inside the 1994 wooden tower, the steep wooden staircases are authentic to period castle construction — no elevator, remove shoes to enter. The tower is small but the craftsmanship of the 1994 wooden reconstruction is the attraction.
hirayamajiro
Hill-top flatland castle — built on Kakegawa Hill, a low natural rise above the surrounding town and rice paddies
renkaku
Compound style — main tower and subsidiary structures on the hilltop, with the Ninomaru Palace on the lower slope
Wooden reconstruction (1994) — Japan's first postwar wooden castle reconstruction, built using traditional techniques without modern structural steel or concrete. Modeled on Edo-period records and historical survey drawings of the original 1621 tower, which was destroyed by the 1854 Ansei Tokai earthquake.
nozurazumi — Natural stone stacking — rough stone walls on the hillside, partially original and partially restored alongside the 1994 wooden reconstruction
Stone walls step up the hillside beneath the main tower. Some of the original Edo-period stone walls survive and frame the approach to the reconstructed tower. The combination of original stone and reconstructed wood gives the site a coherent historical atmosphere.
A partial moat system survives on the north and east sides of the hill. The castle's primary defense was its elevated position rather than water moats, but the moat remnants add to the historical atmosphere.
Kakegawa Hill Elevation
The castle sits on a natural hill above the surrounding plain — modest in height compared to mountain castles, but sufficient to give defenders a commanding view over approach routes and to make direct assault costly.
Ninomaru Palace as Secondary Defense
The palace complex on the lower slope served as a buffer between the town and the main tower. Any attacker who breached the outer defenses would still face the elevated honmaru with its tower.
The Deadliest Gate in Japan
The attacking force crosses the moat and approaches the outer gate. Defenders hold fire, allowing the enemy to commit.
Historical Context — Kakegawa Castle
Kakegawa's defenses relied on the natural hilltop position combined with a gate system funneling attackers up a controlled approach. The most notable historical siege — Tokugawa Ieyasu's assault in 1569 — lasted three months before the castle fell, demonstrating that even a modest hirayamajiro could impose significant delay on an attacker. The siege ended by negotiation rather than direct assault.
The Imagawa clan establishes a fortification at Kakegawa. The site on the hill above the Tokaido highway is strategically valuable for controlling traffic between the Kanto and Kinki regions.
Tokugawa Ieyasu besieges Kakegawa Castle, which is held by朝比奈 Asahina Yasutomo on behalf of the Imagawa. The siege lasts three months before the castle surrenders through negotiation — a demonstration of both the castle's defensive capability and Ieyasu's preference for bloodless resolution when possible.
Yamauchi Kazutoyo becomes lord of Kakegawa after the reorganization that followed Hideyoshi's unification. He begins significant castle improvement works.
Yamauchi Kazutoyo sides with Tokugawa Ieyasu at Sekigahara. As a reward, he is granted the much larger Tosa Province (now Kochi Prefecture). The castle passes to a succession of other Tokugawa-allied lords.
The main tower is rebuilt in its definitive Edo-period form, a three-story structure visible for miles around.
The Ansei Tokai Earthquake destroys the main tower and many castle buildings. The tower is never rebuilt during the Edo period — the political and financial conditions of late Edo Japan made such reconstruction impractical.
The main tower is reconstructed entirely in traditional wood — the first such wooden castle reconstruction in postwar Japan. The project uses historical records and techniques validated by castle historians and traditional carpenters, setting a new standard for castle preservation in Japan.
Year-round. Spring cherry blossoms on the hilltop are attractive. Autumn for clear views. Weekday mornings have the thinnest crowds.
1.5–2 hours
Spend time in the Ninomaru Goten before climbing the main tower — the palace interior gives you a sense of castle domestic life that is rarer and arguably more historically interesting than another tower climb. Look at the ceiling details and sliding door paintings in the main reception rooms. Then climb the tower for the views and for the experience of being inside Japan's first modern wooden reconstruction.
Combined ticket includes the main tower (Tenshu), Ninomaru Palace (Ninomaru Goten), and Kakegawa Castle Museum. Children (elementary school age and under) ¥150.
Open year-round. Closed December 29 to January 3.
駿府城 · Sunpu-jo
📍 Shizuoka — Chubu
The castle that bookended Tokugawa Ieyasu's life — hostage child at one end, retired shogun who still ran Japan at the other.
浜松城 · Hamamatsu-jo
📍 Shizuoka — Chubu
Where Ieyasu lost everything and came back stronger — the 'Castle of Advancement' that shaped the future shogun through his darkest hour.
The nearest station is Kakegawa Station (JR Tokaido Main Line / Tokaido Shinkansen). It is approximately a 12-minute walk from the station. Parking: Paid parking available near the castle. Walking from the shinkansen station is recommended. Accessible with a JR Pass.
Adult admission is ¥410. Children: ¥150. Combined ticket includes the main tower (Tenshu), Ninomaru Palace (Ninomaru Goten), and Kakegawa Castle Museum. Children (elementary school age and under) ¥150.
Kakegawa offers two attractions in one ticket: the 1994 wooden main tower (a landmark in Japanese castle reconstruction) and the 1861 Ninomaru Palace (a genuine surviving original building). The tower is small but authentic in feel — climbing the steep wooden stairs inside a properly built wooden structure is a fundamentally different experience from concrete reconstructions. The palace gives you the residential side of castle life. Easy access from the shinkansen (12-minute walk) makes this an ideal stopover visit on the Tokaido corridor.
Kakegawa Castle is open 09:00 – 17:00 (last entry 16:30). Open year-round. Closed December 29 to January 3.
Plan on spending 1.5–2 hours at Kakegawa Castle. Spend time in the Ninomaru Goten before climbing the main tower — the palace interior gives you a sense of castle domestic life that is rarer and arguably more historically interesting than another tower climb. Look at the ceiling details and sliding door paintings in the main reception rooms. Then climb the tower for the views and for the experience of being inside Japan's first modern wooden reconstruction.