Maizuru Castle Park
Maizuru Castle Park is a park and historical site in Kofu, Yamanashi, Japan. It contains the ruins of Kōfu Castle (甲府城, Kōfu-jō), also called Maizuru Castle, which is about 400 years old and has been designated as a Yamanashi Historical Site. Maizuru Castle Park is a place of rest and relaxation for the people of Yamanashi Prefecture.
| Kofu Castle | |
|---|---|
甲府城 | |
| Kofu, Japan | |
 Kōfu Castle with Cherry Blossoms | |
| Type | Hirayama castle (平山城) |
| Site information | |
| Open to the public | yes |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1583 |
| Built by | Tokugawa shogunate, Hashiba Hidekatsu |
| In use | 1583–1873 |
History
After the Takeda family succumbed, Kai Province became the fiefdom of Oda Nobunaga. When Oda died it came under the governance of Tokugawa Ieyasu. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified the country, he ordered the castle's construction. It was begun in 1583 and later completed by Toyotomi's brother-in-law, Asano Nagamasa, and his son.
After the Battle of Sekigahara, Kōfu Castle fell into the hands of the Tokugawa family to whom it belonged until the end of the Tokugawa shogunate.[1]
In the early Edo period, Tokugawa Tsunatoyo became the heir of the fifth Shōgun and moved to Edo Castle.Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu then became the Lord of Kōfu Castle. Under his command the castle was fully repaired and the town was developed. However, Yanagisawa was transferred and became the Lord of Yamato Kōriyama Castle. In the Kyōhō period which followed, Kai Province within which Kōfu Castle was situated came under the control of a retainer stationed in Kōfu. During this period, the honmaru of the palace and the Akagenenmon gate were destroyed by a large fire in 1727.[1]
Later in the Meiji period the castle was abandoned; around 1877, major buildings were destroyed. Thereafter the castle area was used as an industrial testing facility. In 1897 it was decided the Yakatakuruwa and Shimizukuruwa Enclosures should be dismantled to make way for Kōfu Station.
In 1904 the area around the honmaru was opened to the public as Maizuru Castle Park. In 1930 the Government Offices and Assembly Hall moved to the dismantled lot of the Gakuyakuruwa Enclosure. The western and southern moats were completely buried; the appearance of the castle ruins became almost the same as they are seen today.
There is a fair amount of reconstruction of the important castle features on site by the city of Kofu. An authentic replica of Inari Yagura tower was completed in 2004, which functions as a museum that features many artifacts from the castle's original buildings. Other reconstructions include the Inari Yagura and Yamanote Gomon gate, and reconstructed towers and a park.
References
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-05-19. Retrieved 2007-04-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
Literature
- Benesch, Oleg and Ran Zwigenberg (2019). Japan's Castles: Citadels of Modernity in War and Peace. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 374. ISBN 9781108481946.