100 Fine Castles of Japan in Japan

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100 Fine Castles of Japan

The Japan Castle Foundation's "100 Famous Castles of Japan" (日本百名城, Nihon Hyaku-Meijo) represents one of the most comprehensive cultural preservation initiatives in Japanese history. The Japan Castle Foundation published its list of the country's top 100 castles in 2006 to highlight notable fortresses and encourage visits.

Seasonal Nature

Cosmos and Kochia Festa

About 150,000 cosmos and 3,600 kochia bushes cover a hill in the park at Suita in Osaka each October, with pink muhly grass and red buckwheat behind them.

3–30 Oct 2026Suita · Osaka

Castle

Kakegawa Castle

Kakegawa Castle served as a strategic fortress for the Tokugawa vassal clans along the Tokaido highway connecting Kyoto and eastern Japan.

Kakegawa · Shizuoka

Festival

Benkei Matsuri

Tanabe in Wakayama holds a two-day festival for Benkei, the warrior monk it claims as its own, with a play at the shrine and 600 dancers in wooden clogs.

2–3 Oct 2027 · Dates not yet confirmedTanabe · Wakayama

Castle

Maruoka Castle

Maruoka Castle, known as the Mist Castle, features a historic tenshu claimed to be the oldest castle keep in Japan and now overlooks a public park popular for cherry blossoms.

Sakai · Fukui

Castle

Kagoshima Castle

Built in 1601 by the Shimazu clan, this castle was notably small by design, with only its moat, walls, and the recently reconstructed Otemon Gate remaining.

Kagoshima

Historic Site

Tokushima Castle Ruins

This Edo-era castle overlooked the Yoshino River with a central keep atop a 60-meter hill before Meiji-period demolition; the grounds reopened as a park in 1905.

Tokushima

Castle

Uwajima Castle

A historical castle in Uwajima city with an innovative pentagonal moat system, damaged by earthquakes during its centuries of use and occupation by the Date clan.

Uwajima · Ehime

Castle

Yuzuki Castle Ruins

A medieval fortress in Matsuyama designated a Top 100 Castle, preserving rare early Japanese castle architecture that influenced later fortifications throughout the country.

Matsuyama · Ehime

Castle

Aoba Castle (Sendai Castle)

Fortress without a traditional keep, reflecting Tokugawa political order and built as a luxurious residential palace to demonstrate authority and wealth.

Sendai · Miyagi

Castle

Odawara Castle

Late fifteenth-century stronghold that served as the seat of the Hojo clan, rebuilt in the 1960s as a museum and observation point.

Odawara · Kanagawa

Castle

Marugame Castle

Seventeenth-century castle with distinctive 20-meter stone walls, rebuilt in 1640 and completed in 1670, ranked among Japan's Top 100 Castles.

Marugame · Kagawa

Castle

Matsue Castle

Original wooden fortress built 1607-1611, one of Japan's few surviving castles and one of the Three Great Lake Castles in its architectural category.

Matsue · Shimane

Historic Site

Morioka Castle Ruins

Castle ruins built in 1597 at a strategic river confluence, serving as a northern sentinel monitoring trade routes for over 700 years.

Morioka · Iwate

Castle

Bitchu Matsuyama Castle

Mountain castle built in 1240 and rebuilt in 1331 on its current location, retaining its tenshu, Niju yagura, and section of defensive walls.

Takahashi · Okayama

Castle

Hirosaki Castle

A Japanese castle built in 1611 that remains the only surviving Edo-period castle keep in the entire Tohoku region, originally featuring a five-story tower.

Hirosaki · Aomori

Castle

Himeji Castle

Iconic castle with brilliant white exterior, designated UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Treasure, fully restored to its original appearance in 2015.

Himeji · Hyogo

Castle

Nagoya Castle

Castle constructed in 1612 as the center of a major Edo-era post station, destroyed in World War II bombing but reconstructed since 1957.

Nagoya · Aichi

Castle

Akashi Castle Ruins

Built in just one year starting 1617, this fortress commanded the Seto Inland Sea with 20 towers and 27 gates as a backup to Himeji Castle.

Akashi · Hyogo

Seasonal Nature

Cosmos and Kochia Festa

About 150,000 cosmos and 3,600 kochia bushes cover a hill in the park at Suita in Osaka each October, with pink muhly grass and red buckwheat behind them.

3–30 Oct 2026Suita · Osaka

Castle

Kakegawa Castle

Kakegawa Castle served as a strategic fortress for the Tokugawa vassal clans along the Tokaido highway connecting Kyoto and eastern Japan.

Kakegawa · Shizuoka

Festival

Benkei Matsuri

Tanabe in Wakayama holds a two-day festival for Benkei, the warrior monk it claims as its own, with a play at the shrine and 600 dancers in wooden clogs.

2–3 Oct 2027 · Dates not yet confirmedTanabe · Wakayama

Castle

Maruoka Castle

Maruoka Castle, known as the Mist Castle, features a historic tenshu claimed to be the oldest castle keep in Japan and now overlooks a public park popular for cherry blossoms.

Sakai · Fukui

Castle

Kagoshima Castle

Built in 1601 by the Shimazu clan, this castle was notably small by design, with only its moat, walls, and the recently reconstructed Otemon Gate remaining.

Kagoshima

Historic Site

Tokushima Castle Ruins

This Edo-era castle overlooked the Yoshino River with a central keep atop a 60-meter hill before Meiji-period demolition; the grounds reopened as a park in 1905.

Tokushima

Castle

Uwajima Castle

A historical castle in Uwajima city with an innovative pentagonal moat system, damaged by earthquakes during its centuries of use and occupation by the Date clan.

Uwajima · Ehime

Castle

Yuzuki Castle Ruins

A medieval fortress in Matsuyama designated a Top 100 Castle, preserving rare early Japanese castle architecture that influenced later fortifications throughout the country.

Matsuyama · Ehime

Castle

Aoba Castle (Sendai Castle)

Fortress without a traditional keep, reflecting Tokugawa political order and built as a luxurious residential palace to demonstrate authority and wealth.

Sendai · Miyagi

Castle

Odawara Castle

Late fifteenth-century stronghold that served as the seat of the Hojo clan, rebuilt in the 1960s as a museum and observation point.

Odawara · Kanagawa

Castle

Marugame Castle

Seventeenth-century castle with distinctive 20-meter stone walls, rebuilt in 1640 and completed in 1670, ranked among Japan's Top 100 Castles.

Marugame · Kagawa

Castle

Matsue Castle

Original wooden fortress built 1607-1611, one of Japan's few surviving castles and one of the Three Great Lake Castles in its architectural category.

Matsue · Shimane

Historic Site

Morioka Castle Ruins

Castle ruins built in 1597 at a strategic river confluence, serving as a northern sentinel monitoring trade routes for over 700 years.

Morioka · Iwate

Castle

Bitchu Matsuyama Castle

Mountain castle built in 1240 and rebuilt in 1331 on its current location, retaining its tenshu, Niju yagura, and section of defensive walls.

Takahashi · Okayama

Castle

Hirosaki Castle

A Japanese castle built in 1611 that remains the only surviving Edo-period castle keep in the entire Tohoku region, originally featuring a five-story tower.

Hirosaki · Aomori

Castle

Himeji Castle

Iconic castle with brilliant white exterior, designated UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Treasure, fully restored to its original appearance in 2015.

Himeji · Hyogo

Castle

Nagoya Castle

Castle constructed in 1612 as the center of a major Edo-era post station, destroyed in World War II bombing but reconstructed since 1957.

Nagoya · Aichi

Castle

Akashi Castle Ruins

Built in just one year starting 1617, this fortress commanded the Seto Inland Sea with 20 towers and 27 gates as a backup to Himeji Castle.

Akashi · Hyogo

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