Aoba Castle (Sendai Castle)

The construction of Sendai Castle began under the first daimyō of Sendai Domain, Date Masamune. Work on the castle, including the San-no-Maru bailey and numerous gates, was completed by Date Tadamune in 1637. After completion, the castle served as the headquarters of the Date clan and the administrative center of Mutsu Province under the Tokugawa shogunate. However, over the years, the castle was repeatedly destroyed by earthquakes. In the 1870s, it was partially dismantled by the Meiji government and was used as a base for the Sendai Garrison by the Imperial Japanese Army. A large fire in 1882 further destroyed many of the remaining structures. During World War II, some structures of the castle were destroyed by the United States. In 1961, the Sendai City Museum was built on the site of the San-no-Maru enclosure. Over the next decades, the stone base, some walls, and some wooden structures were rebuilt. In 2003, the castle ruins were designated a National Historic Site.