Takasaki Castle

Takasaki Castle, a flatland-style Japanese castle, has been under the rule of various clans throughout history. The last daimyo to reside in the castle were the branch of the Matsudaira clan at the end of the Edo period. However, after the Meiji restoration in 1873, most of the castle structures were either destroyed or sold off. During World War II, a majority of the castle grounds were occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army. Today, the Takasaki city hall and city library are located on what used to be part of the castle grounds. Several surviving structures, including one of the castle's yagura towers and a gate, were in private ownership and were purchased and relocated back to the castle grounds by the city in 1970-80s. The hall where Tokugawa Tadanaga, a daimyo of the early Edo period, committed suicide is now located on the grounds of the nearby Buddhist temple, Chosho-ji.