A castle is more than its keep.
The keep is one building within a larger castle. Moats, walls, earthworks, gates and enclosures work together. Even a site without a keep can reveal how its defences were designed.
An illustrated journey through history
Castles
of Japan
Beyond the walls,
a hundred stories await.
White keeps, mountain ruins and walls above the sea.
Explore Japan’s 100 selected castles through photographs and their stories.
100castles & sites7volumesJA / ENtwo languages
A region at a time
Seven volumes. A hundred stories.
From northern chashi sites to Okinawan gusuku. Open a volume and start exploring.
A little knowledge, a closer look
Three ways to look at a castle.
Original or reconstructed?
Some structures survive from earlier centuries; others have been reconstructed or rebuilt. Knowing the difference adds meaning to what you see. Each entry explains what remains and what has been recreated.
Read the layout.
Enclosures are areas separated by defences such as moats or walls. The layout places them in relation to the terrain and to one another. Notice turns in the path, changes in height and the position of gates.
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100 castles
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No. 001HokkaidoRuins & historic sites
Nemuro Peninsula Chashi Sites
These coastal sites preserve chashi built by Ainu communities. Their ditches and earthworks offer a different view of fortified places, beyond the familiar Japanese castle keep.
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No. 002HokkaidoRuins & historic sites
Goryokaku
Five projecting bastions give this Western-style fort its star-shaped plan. Inside the moat and ramparts, the reconstructed Hakodate Magistrate’s Office recalls the administration of the treaty port.
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No. 003HokkaidoReconstructed buildings
Matsumae Castle
Also called Fukuyama Castle, Matsumae stands near the Tsugaru Strait. Its rebuilt keep and surviving Honmaru Gate tell different chapters of construction and preservation.
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No. 004AomoriOriginal keep
Hirosaki Castle
The Tsugaru clan’s castle retains an Edo-period keep, turrets and gates. Beyond its famous spring setting, its moats and enclosures reveal how the compact keep fitted into a much larger castle.
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No. 005AomoriRuins & historic sites
Ne Castle
Ne Castle was a medieval base of the Nanbu clan in the Hachinohe area. Reconstructed halls and workshops show how a castle could combine government, daily life and preparation for warfare.
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No. 006IwateRuins & historic sites
Morioka Castle
Large granite walls rise in terraces in central Morioka. Here the Nanbu castle is best understood through changes in level and masonry, rather than surviving towers.
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No. 007MiyagiRuins & historic sites
Taga Castle
Taga was an ancient administrative and military centre for northeastern Japan. Its government compound and reconstructed South Gate reveal a kind of castle that predates samurai strongholds.
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No. 008MiyagiRuins & historic sites
Sendai Castle
Founded by Date Masamune, Sendai Castle is also known as Aoba Castle. Its high walls and palace remains explain how a hill above the city became the domain’s political stage.
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No. 009AkitaRuins & historic sites
Kubota Castle
The Satake clan’s castle survives as Senshu Park. Its moats and earthworks reveal a defensive design that relied on neither extensive stone walls nor a keep.
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No. 010YamagataRuins & historic sites
Yamagata Castle
Now known as Kajo Park, this large flatland castle is closely associated with the Mogami clan. Moats, earthworks and reconstructed gates hint at an enclosure once far larger than the present park.
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No. 011FukushimaRuins & historic sites
Nihonmatsu Castle
Also called Kasumigajo, Nihonmatsu combines a mountain stronghold with a later domain centre below. Its summit platform and lower Minowa Gate reveal these different phases.
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No. 012FukushimaReconstructed buildings
Aizuwakamatsu Castle
Better known as Tsurugajo, this castle tells the story of Aizu. Its rebuilt red-tiled keep is a starting point for exploring stone walls, outer defences and successive alterations.
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No. 013FukushimaRuins & historic sites
Shirakawa Komine Castle
Stone walls and a reconstructed wooden three-storey turret rise on a small hill in Shirakawa. The site brings together evidence-based rebuilding and the repair of earthquake-damaged masonry.
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No. 014IbarakiRuins & historic sites
Mito Castle
Mito’s banks, moats and reconstructed gates trace the seat of the Mito Tokugawa family. They introduce an earth-built castle and the educational culture that developed beside it.
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No. 015TochigiRuins & historic sites
Ashikaga Clan Residence
Banna-ji Temple now occupies the Ashikaga clan’s former residence. The surrounding moat and banks preserve the outline of a warrior compound, while temple buildings tell its later religious history.
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No. 016GunmaRuins & historic sites
Minowa Castle
Built at the end of a ridge descending from Mount Haruna, Minowa is striking for its great ditches. Earthworks and reconstructed gates reveal a castle reshaped by rulers from the Nagano clan to Ii Naomasa.
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No. 017GunmaRuins & historic sites
Kanayama Castle
Kanayama is a mountain castle in Ota distinguished by its masonry. Ridge paths lead to stone-faced entrances and paved surfaces that show the variety of medieval castle building in the Kanto region.
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No. 018SaitamaRuins & historic sites
Hachigata Castle
Associated with Hojo Ujikuni, Hachigata is defended by cliffs above the Arakawa and the Fukazawa valley. Banks and ditches turn seemingly open ground into a readable sequence of enclosures.
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No. 019SaitamaRuins & historic sites
Kawagoe Castle
Kawagoe’s highlight is part of its main-enclosure palace, rather than a keep. Its imposing entrance and rooms bring the official life of an important domain close to the visitor.
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No. 020ChibaRuins & historic sites
Sakura Castle
Deep dry moats and banks preserve the outline of a castle guarding Edo’s eastern approaches. A walk through the green park reveals a large defensive complex shaped mainly from earth and terrain.
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No. 021TokyoRuins & historic sites
Edo Castle
Part of the Tokugawa shoguns’ castle survives in the Imperial Palace East Gardens. Massive walls, gates and the keep platform reveal the scale of the former complex in central Tokyo.
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No. 022TokyoRuins & historic sites
Hachioji Castle
Hojo Ujiteru’s castle extends across a substantial mountain landscape. Its palace-area masonry and upper stronghold reveal a deliberate division between residence and defence.
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No. 023KanagawaReconstructed buildings
Odawara Castle
Odawara changed from the Hojo clan’s regional stronghold into an Edo-period castle. Its rebuilt keep and reconstructed gates introduce changes in both scale and function.
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No. 024YamanashiRuins & historic sites
Takeda Clan Residence
This fortified residence served three generations of Takeda rulers: Nobutora, Shingen and Katsuyori. Around today’s Takeda Shrine, moats and banks recall government from a lowland residence rather than a summit castle.
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No. 025YamanashiRuins & historic sites
Kofu Castle
Early-modern masonry rises above central Kofu in Maizuru Castle Park. Its terraces tell a story distinct from the earlier Takeda residence elsewhere in the city.
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No. 026NaganoRuins & historic sites
Matsushiro Castle
First known as Kaizu Castle, this site later became the Sanada family’s seat. Walls and reconstructed gates and bridges reveal a lowland castle that incorporated the Chikuma River into its defences.
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No. 027NaganoRuins & historic sites
Ueda Castle
Founded by Sanada Masayuki, Ueda is known for two battles against Tokugawa forces. Its surviving turrets and walls also reflect Edo-period rebuilding, giving the site a history beyond the Sanada.
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No. 028NaganoRuins & historic sites
Komoro Castle
Komoro is known as an anajiro, a castle lower than its surrounding town. Ravines, walls and old gates in Kaikoen reveal a design closely adapted to the terrain.
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No. 029NaganoOriginal keep
Matsumoto Castle
Matsumoto is a flatland castle with an original keep reflected in its moat. Comparing its defensive towers with the later Moon-viewing Turret reveals a change in architectural purpose.
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No. 030NaganoRuins & historic sites
Takato Castle
The park famous for Takato cherry blossoms also preserves the terrain of a Takeda stronghold. Moats and banks around the main enclosure reveal a base controlling the surrounding valley.
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No. 031NiigataRuins & historic sites
Shibata Castle
Historic and reconstructed structures stand beside Shibata’s moat. Distinguishing the surviving gate and turret from later reconstructions adds depth to the familiar white-walled view.
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No. 032NiigataRuins & historic sites
Kasugayama Castle
Known as Uesugi Kenshin’s seat, Kasugayama is an extensive earth-built mountain castle. Summit enclosures, hillside terraces and the lower perimeter together reveal the scale of the complex.
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No. 033ToyamaRuins & historic sites
Takaoka Castle
Maeda Toshinaga’s retirement castle survives as Takaoka Kojo Park, with much of its moat system intact. Water boundaries and connecting earth bridges are the key to understanding it.
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No. 034IshikawaRuins & historic sites
Nanao Castle
The Noto Hatakeyama developed Nanao across both mountain and foothills. Terraced stone walls and ridge enclosures reveal a place of residences and government as well as warfare.
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No. 035IshikawaRuins & historic sites
Kanazawa Castle
The Maeda family’s castle combines surviving buildings with traditional timber reconstructions. Alongside white walls and lead-covered roofs, varied masonry reveals successive periods of construction.
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No. 036FukuiOriginal keep
Maruoka Castle
A compact keep with stone roof tiles rises above the Sakai Plain. Its timber structure tells both an Edo-period story and a later story of recovery after an earthquake.
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No. 037FukuiRuins & historic sites
Ichijodani Castle
This medieval stronghold combines a valley town with a mountain fortress behind it. Mansion sites, gardens and a reconstructed street reveal the lives of townspeople as well as warriors.
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No. 038GifuRuins & historic sites
Iwamura Castle
Layers of stone walls appear at the end of a mountain approach. The changing levels of the enclosures, rather than a keep, reveal the scale of this stronghold.
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No. 039GifuReconstructed buildings
Gifu Castle
Gifu Castle links a mountain stronghold with residences below, and is closely associated with Oda Nobunaga. Its 1956 reconstructed keep is closed for renovation as of September 2026.
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No. 040ShizuokaRuins & historic sites
Yamanaka Castle
This Hojo stronghold guarded the Hakone route with earthworks rather than a monumental keep. Its patterned ditches reveal careful defensive design in a castle built largely from earth.
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No. 041ShizuokaRuins & historic sites
Sunpu Castle
Moats and stone walls in central Shizuoka recall Tokugawa Ieyasu’s years as retired shogun. Reconstructed gates and turrets introduce a much larger castle landscape.
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No. 042ShizuokaReconstructed buildings
Kakegawa Castle
Kakegawa pairs a reconstructed wooden keep with a surviving Edo-period palace. After looking at the tower, explore the rooms where the domain was governed and its lord lived.
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No. 043AichiOriginal keep
Inuyama Castle
A surviving wooden keep stands above cliffs beside the Kiso River. The journey from the entrance inside its stone base to the upper timber floors is as revealing as the view.
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No. 044AichiReconstructed buildings
Nagoya Castle
The Owari Tokugawa castle is known for its golden roof ornaments and reconstructed Honmaru Palace. Its keep, palace and surviving turrets represent different periods of construction and preservation.
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No. 045AichiReconstructed buildings
Okazaki Castle
Best known as Tokugawa Ieyasu’s birthplace, Okazaki introduces the history of Mikawa. Moats and walls around the 1959 reconstructed keep reveal more of the former castle.
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No. 046AichiRuins & historic sites
Nagashino Castle
Two converging rivers and steep cliffs formed the main defences of this compact castle. The site of the 1575 siege shows how a river could serve as a moat.
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No. 047MieReconstructed buildings
Iga Ueno Castle
A white wooden keep stands above imposing walls beside the inner moat. The site combines Todo Takatora’s castle design with a keep built through local initiative in the 20th century.
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No. 048MieRuins & historic sites
Matsusaka Castle
Stone walls alone reveal the scale of this castle on a low hill. Known locally in Japanese as the Matsusaka Castle ruins, it preserves the stronghold developed by Gamo Ujisato.
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No. 049ShigaRuins & historic sites
Odani Castle
The Azai family held this ridge-top castle for three generations. Stonework and terraces among the trees preserve the layout even though its buildings have gone.
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No. 050ShigaOriginal keep
Hikone Castle
The Ii family’s castle brings together an ornate keep, surviving turrets, moats and a lord’s garden. Its elegant appearance sits alongside carefully controlled defensive approaches.
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No. 051ShigaRuins & historic sites
Azuchi Castle
Oda Nobunaga’s castle survives as stone approaches and hilltop remains. Broad steps and residence sites explain its planning as well as inviting questions about the lost keep.
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No. 052ShigaRuins & historic sites
Kannonji Castle
Stone-lined terraces spread across Mount Kinugasa at this Rokkaku stronghold. Its residences and defences offer a view of stone castle building before Azuchi.
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No. 053KyotoRuins & historic sites
Nijo Castle
Palaces and gardens preserve the shoguns’ presence in Kyoto. Although its keep is gone, Nijo retains exceptional buildings for understanding formal samurai life.
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No. 054OsakaReconstructed buildings
Osaka Castle
Famous as Hideyoshi’s castle, Osaka preserves walls and moats largely from Tokugawa rebuilding. The keep dates to 1931, making this a place to read several historical layers.
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No. 055OsakaRuins & historic sites
Chihaya Castle
This mountain stronghold is associated with Kusunoki Masashige. Deep valleys and narrow ridges, rather than a keep or monumental walls, explain its defensive strength.
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No. 056HyogoRuins & historic sites
Takeda Castle
Stone walls trace the mountain ridges so clearly that the castle’s shape remains visible without buildings. Beyond its cloud-sea photographs, the terraces and masonry reward a close look.
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No. 057HyogoRuins & historic sites
Sasayama Castle
A reconstructed wooden audience hall stands within moats and walls. Sasayama rewards attention to palace scale and protected entrances rather than a towering keep.
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No. 058HyogoRuins & historic sites
Akashi Castle
Two three-storey turrets stand above high walls. A keep platform was built, but no keep followed, leaving the turrets to define the castle’s skyline.
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No. 059HyogoOriginal keep
Himeji Castle
White-plastered keeps rise together above the hill at one of Japan’s great surviving wooden castles. Its graceful skyline contrasts with the intricate approach through successive gates.
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No. 060HyogoRuins & historic sites
Ako Castle
Ako once faced the sea, using moats and angled walls to defend a level site. With no keep ever built, gates, palace traces and gardens explain the domain’s stronghold.
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No. 061NaraRuins & historic sites
Takatori Castle
Massive stone walls rise through the forest at this mountain castle. Even without its buildings, the main and second enclosures retain the scale of a fortified summit.
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No. 062WakayamaReconstructed buildings
Wakayama Castle
White keeps crown Mount Torafusu at the Kishu Tokugawa castle. The present towers are postwar reconstructions, while walls, a historic gate and gardens reveal a longer history.
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No. 063TottoriRuins & historic sites
Tottori Castle
Different phases of castle building occupy Mount Kyusho and its foot. The site combines a steep mountain fortress with the broader stone precincts of an Edo-period domain castle.
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No. 064ShimaneOriginal keep
Matsue Castle
An original keep with dark wooden siding rises on Kamedayama near Lake Shinji. Surrounded by the castle town and waterways, this National Treasure rewards a close look at its timber structure and defensive features.
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No. 065ShimaneRuins & historic sites
Gassan Toda Castle
The Amago family’s stronghold in Izumo extended from residential areas at the mountain’s foot to fortified summit enclosures. Changes in its walls and climbing routes reveal alterations from the age of provincial warfare into the early modern period.
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No. 066ShimaneRuins & historic sites
Tsuwano Castle
High stone walls spread across Mount Reiki above the town of Tsuwano. The site reveals how a medieval mountain stronghold was transformed into a stone-built castle in the early modern era.
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No. 067OkayamaRuins & historic sites
Tsuyama Castle
Tsuyama Castle is an early modern fortress whose tall stone walls rise in successive layers around a hill. Although most buildings have disappeared, its stepped enclosures still convey the scale of the castle.
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No. 068OkayamaOriginal keep
Bitchu Matsuyama Castle
An original Edo-period keep stands beyond a mountain path north of Takahashi. Among Japan’s twelve surviving historic keeps, this mountain-castle example is notable for defences that combine bedrock, stone walls and plastered earthen walls.
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No. 069OkayamaRuins & historic sites
Kinojo Castle
Kinojo is a mountain fortress far older than the early modern castles associated with keeps. A long defensive wall encloses the hilltop, and the reconstructed West Gate helps convey the scale of this ancient installation.
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No. 070OkayamaReconstructed buildings
Okayama Castle
Okayama Castle is known as the Crow Castle for the dark keep beside the Asahi River. Its reconstructed keep, surviving Tsukimi Turret and stonework from different periods reveal a long history of change.
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No. 071HiroshimaReconstructed buildings
Fukuyama Castle
Fukuyama Castle presents a white face to the south and a dark one to the north. Its reconstructed keep stands alongside surviving gates and turrets.
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No. 072HiroshimaRuins & historic sites
Koriyama Castle
This sprawling mountain castle was a base of Mori Motonari. Its ridges retain a succession of levelled defensive enclosures.
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No. 073HiroshimaReconstructed buildings
Hiroshima Castle
Mori Terumoto built Hiroshima Castle on the Ota River delta. The moat, keep exterior and Ninomaru recall the origins of the castle town.
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No. 074YamaguchiReconstructed buildings
Iwakuni Castle
Iwakuni Castle stands above the Nishiki River. The modern keep and original keep platform offer two different views of its history.
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No. 075YamaguchiRuins & historic sites
Hagi Castle
The Mori clan’s castle ruins spread below Mount Shizuki. Although the keep is gone, moats and stone walls still trace its form.
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No. 076TokushimaRuins & historic sites
Tokushima Castle
The Hachisuka clan’s castle ruins surround a hill in central Tokushima. Walls built from local blue-green stone give the site a distinctive character.
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No. 077KagawaRuins & historic sites
Takamatsu Castle
Takamatsu is a coastal castle with moats fed by seawater from the Seto Inland Sea. Its turrets, gates and garden are preserved in Tamamo Park.
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No. 078KagawaOriginal keep
Marugame Castle
Marugame’s compact wooden keep rises above imposing stone walls. The climb gradually reveals successive layers of sweeping masonry and the town stretching beyond the keep.
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No. 079EhimeReconstructed buildings
Imabari Castle
Imabari is Todo Takatora’s coastal castle, with walls reflected in seawater moats. Its present keep is a modern interpretation built in 1980.
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No. 080EhimeRuins & historic sites
Yuzuki Castle
Yuzuki Castle survives within Dogo Park as the former base of the Kono clan. Moats and earthen banks reveal its medieval defences.
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No. 081EhimeOriginal keep
Matsuyama Castle
Matsuyama Castle occupies Mount Katsuyama above the city centre. Its surviving keep, linked defences and wide views reward the ascent.
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No. 082EhimeReconstructed buildings
Ozu Castle
Ozu Castle stands beside the scenery of the Hiji River. Its timber-reconstructed keep can be explored alongside surviving Edo-period turrets.
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No. 083EhimeOriginal keep
Uwajima Castle
Uwajima Castle retains a white, three-storey keep on its wooded hill. Its history links Todo Takatora with the Date family of Uwajima.
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No. 084KochiOriginal keep
Kochi Castle
Kochi preserves a keep connected to its main palace. The surviving inner compound reveals both the defensive and residential sides of castle life.
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No. 085FukuokaRuins & historic sites
Fukuoka Castle
The Kuroda clan’s castle ruins spread through Maizuru Park. The keep platform and extensive walls reveal the scale of the former stronghold.
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No. 086FukuokaRuins & historic sites
Ono Castle
Ono Castle is an ancient mountain fortress enclosing the ridges of Mount Shioji. Earthworks, stone walls and warehouse foundations preserve its character, rather than a later-style keep.
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No. 087SagaRuins & historic sites
Nagoya Castle (Saga)
This vast castle was built for Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s invasions of Korea. Around it lie the sites of camps established by daimyo summoned from across Japan.
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No. 088SagaRuins & historic sites
Yoshinogari
Yoshinogari is an extensive archaeological park exploring a Yayoi-period moated settlement. Research-based reconstructions stand alongside preserved remains.
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No. 089SagaReconstructed buildings
Saga Castle
Saga Castle explores the residence and government of the Saga lords through its wooden main palace. The history museum occupies a partial reconstruction based on the late-Edo palace.
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No. 090NagasakiReconstructed buildings
Hirado Castle
Hirado Castle stands on a hill projecting into the Hirado Strait. Its modern keep overlooks a site shaped by the surrounding sea.
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No. 091NagasakiReconstructed buildings
Shimabara Castle
Shimabara Castle is known for its white five-tiered keep and angular stone walls. The reconstructed keep houses displays about the region’s history.
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No. 092KumamotoReconstructed buildings
Kumamoto Castle
High stone walls and paired keeps define the castle developed by Kato Kiyomasa. Conservation and public access continue together after the 2016 earthquake.
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No. 093KumamotoRuins & historic sites
Hitoyoshi Castle
Hitoyoshi Castle is associated with the Sagara clan and protected by the Kuma and Mune rivers. Hillside enclosures and riverside walls reveal how it used the terrain.
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No. 094OitaRuins & historic sites
Oita Funai Castle
A moat, walls and turrets preserve this castle site in central Oita. Although its keep is lost, the layout remains legible on foot.
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No. 095OitaRuins & historic sites
Oka Castle
Oka Castle’s walls follow a precipitous hilltop in Taketa. With the buildings gone, the outlines of rock and masonry define the site.
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No. 096MiyazakiRuins & historic sites
Obi Castle
Obi Castle is best understood alongside the Ito clan’s castle town. Its surviving walls and enclosures are accompanied by a modern reconstruction of the main gate.
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No. 097KagoshimaRuins & historic sites
Kagoshima Castle
Also called Tsurumaru Castle, this was the seat of the Shimazu lords of Satsuma. It had no keep; walls, a moat and the reconstructed Goromon Gate define its frontage.
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No. 098OkinawaRuins & historic sites
Nakijin Castle
Nakijin was the stronghold of the Hokuzan kingdom before Ryukyu was unified. Curving walls follow the terrain, while sacred places remain within the castle.
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No. 099OkinawaRuins & historic sites
Nakagusuku Castle
Nakagusuku is a hilltop gusuku defined by sweeping limestone walls. Six enclosures and views towards the seas on both sides shape the experience.
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No. 100OkinawaRestoration in progress
Shuri Castle
Shuri was the royal centre of government, diplomacy and culture in the Ryukyu Kingdom. Conservation of its walls and archaeological remains continues alongside reconstruction of the fire-damaged main hall.
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