100 Fine Castles of Japan in Japan

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100 Fine Castles of Japan

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

Shuri Castle

Royal palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom in Naha, part of a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Seiden main hall burned in 2019 and reopens rebuilt on 2026/11/23.

Naha · Okinawa

Castle

Matsumae Castle

Japan's northernmost castle and its last traditional one, built 1850-1854 in southern Hokkaido as a defence against foreign pressure in the late Tokugawa era.

Matsumae · Hokkaido

Castle

Sunpu Castle

Historic castle rebuilt by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1585 on former Imagawa clan fortifications, now Sunpu Park with reconstructed towers and gates.

Shizuoka

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

Castle

Maruoka Castle

Fukui castle known as the Mist Castle, whose keep is claimed to be the oldest in Japan, now overlooking 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

Edo-era castle ruins by the Yoshino River, built by Hachisuka Iemasa with a keep on a 60-meter hill, demolished in the Meiji period and a park since 1905.

Tokushima

Castle

Uwajima Castle

Castle in Uwajima held by the Date clan, with a pentagonal moat layout that left blind spots for attackers, and damaged by earthquakes over the centuries.

Uwajima · Ehime

Castle

Yuzuki Castle Ruins

Medieval castle ruins in Matsuyama linked to the Kono clan, with double moats, listed among the Top 100 Castles for their rare early castle architecture.

Matsuyama · Ehime

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

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

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

Shuri Castle

Royal palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom in Naha, part of a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Seiden main hall burned in 2019 and reopens rebuilt on 2026/11/23.

Naha · Okinawa

Castle

Matsumae Castle

Japan's northernmost castle and its last traditional one, built 1850-1854 in southern Hokkaido as a defence against foreign pressure in the late Tokugawa era.

Matsumae · Hokkaido

Castle

Sunpu Castle

Historic castle rebuilt by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1585 on former Imagawa clan fortifications, now Sunpu Park with reconstructed towers and gates.

Shizuoka

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

Castle

Maruoka Castle

Fukui castle known as the Mist Castle, whose keep is claimed to be the oldest in Japan, now overlooking 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

Edo-era castle ruins by the Yoshino River, built by Hachisuka Iemasa with a keep on a 60-meter hill, demolished in the Meiji period and a park since 1905.

Tokushima

Castle

Uwajima Castle

Castle in Uwajima held by the Date clan, with a pentagonal moat layout that left blind spots for attackers, and damaged by earthquakes over the centuries.

Uwajima · Ehime

Castle

Yuzuki Castle Ruins

Medieval castle ruins in Matsuyama linked to the Kono clan, with double moats, listed among the Top 100 Castles for their rare early castle architecture.

Matsuyama · Ehime

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

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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