Utsunomiya Castle Ruins
Utsunomiya Castle Ruins: Utsunomiya Castle was the main castle of the Utsunomiya clan which ruled the area for many centuries from the Heian Period on.
Japan Castles: Utsunomiya Castle Ruins, Utsunomiya 宇都宮城
Utsunomiya Castle Ruins, Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture
The Utsunomiya Castle Ruins in Utsunomiya in Tochigi Prefecture are a short walk from Matsugamine Catholic Church.
Utsunomiya Castle Walls & Reconstructed Turret, Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture
Utsunomiya Castle Moat, Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture
History
Utsunomiya Castle was the main castle of the Utsunomiya clan which ruled the area for many centuries from the Heian Period to the conquest of the city by Hideyoshi Toyotomi in the late 16th century.
A fortress was believed to have been built by the Fujiwara on the site in the early 11th century. During the Warring States (Sengoku Period) the castle was enlarged and defended by high earthen ramparts and a moat.
With the victory of Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara and the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, the castle passed to the control of Honda Masazumi (1566-1637). He was, however, later exiled to Dewa Province in present-day Akita Prefecture, after he was falsely accused of attempting to assassinate the shogun in the castle's palace using a collapsing ceiling.
Utsunomiya Castle Wall, Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture
Utsunomiya Castle eventually became a gigantic castle with eight turrets in pre-Meiji times, covering a large area surrounded by moats. The Edo shoguns stayed there on 19 occasions when travelling to Nikko.
During the Boshin War (1868), the civil war leading to the Meiji Restoration and the establishment of modern Japan, the castle was largely destroyed in battles between Imperial and Tokugawa forces.
By 2007, two turrets of the old castle had been reconstructed, along with a section of the old moat and the connecting walls.
The reconstruction has its critics and the castle we see today is perhaps not the most realistic reworking of a traditional Japanese castle.
Nevertheless the surrounding park and castle walls make for a leisurely stroll and the large interior enclosed by the walls is used for a variety of events.
The two turrets can be entered and one of them, the Fujimi Yagura (Turret) stands at a height of 7.9 meters. Its name suggests that Mt. Fuji was once visible from here.
Utsunomiya Castle Museum, Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture
Inside a turret at Utsunomiya Castle, Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture
Museums
The main entrance gate is flanked by two rooms with exhibits relating to the castle and the history of Utsunomiya.
There is a scale model of what the castle would have looked like in its Edo Period heyday and reproductions of early maps of the castle. Photographs and wall panels explain the traditional techniques used in the reconstruction of the fortress.
Pottery fragments and roof tiles are also on display in glass cases. A wheeled float used in the Furusato Miya Festival held in Utsunomiya in August can also be seen.
The elevator to the top of the castle walls is also here.
Also within the castle walls is the Seimeikan Museum, a small free museum dedicated to the history of Utsunomiya from ancient times to the present day.
There are more pottery fragments from the Yayoi and Jomon periods, scale models of ancient dwellings, historical documents as well as black and white photographs of the city after it was badly damaged in US air raids in World War II.
Reproduction of an Edo Period map of Utsunomiya Castle showing the palace buildings where the shoguns stayed on their way to Nikko, Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture
Festival float at Utsunomiya Castle, Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture
Access - how to get to Utsunomiya Castle Ruins
Utsunomiya Castle Park
1-15 Honmaru-cho
Utsunomiya
Tochigi 320-0817
Tel: 028 638 9330
Utsunomiya Castle Park is a 10 minute walk from Tobu-Utsunomiya Station and the entertainment district around Orion Shopping Street.
Scale model of the original Utsunomiya Castle, Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture
Utsunomiya Castle illuminated at night, Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture
More Japanese Castles.
