Akashi Castle Ruins

The Akashi Castle, also known as Kiharu Castle or Kinko Castle, was a Japanese fortress built during the Edo period in Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture. It stands on Mount Akamatsu, north of Akashi Station, and commands a strategic position overlooking the Seto Inland Sea and the San'yodo highway connecting the Kansai region to the western part of Japan. The castle was considered a backup to Himeji Castle and the final line of defense against western attacks.

The construction of Akashi Castle was ordered by Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada in 1617 and completed in just one year under the leadership of daimyo Ogasawara Tadazane. The castle was built quickly thanks to the 1615 decree requiring each clan to have its own castle, and some materials and buildings were reused from nearby fortresses. Despite the absence of a main tower, Akashi Castle became a large fortress with 20 yagura towers and 27 gates. It was passed down through various daimyos and shimpan clans before undergoing major repairs in 1739.

The castle was largely dismantled by the Meiji government in 1874 and its site became the Hyogo Prefectural Akashi Park. It sustained significant damage in the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake, causing some collapsed stone walls and damage to the yagura towers. Akashi Castle was recognized as one of Japan's Top 100 Castles by the Japan Castle Foundation in 2006.