Tsurugajo Castle: From Construction to Reconstruction, With Sources
Tsurugajo, the symbol of Aizuwakamatsu, began as a Nanboku-cho-period fort, withstood a month of government bombardment during the Boshin War, was torn down in the early Meiji era, and was rebuilt in the Showa era. Here is how the castle's appearance changed across those centuries, with sources.
Tsurugajo, also called Wakamatsu Castle, traces back to Higashi-Kurokawa fort, built in 1384 by Ashina Naomori, and was developed into a proper castle complex by Gamo Ujisato at the end of the Sengoku period. In the Edo period it became the seat of the 230,000-koku Aizu domain under Hoshina Masayuki and the Matsudaira family, and in the closing days of the shogunate it became one of the fiercest battlegrounds of the Boshin War.
This article traces how the castle changed, from its construction, through demolition in the Meiji era, to the 1965 reconstruction of the keep and the 2011 restoration of its red roof tiles, with sources.
From Higashi-Kurokawa fort to "Tsurugajo": Gamo Ujisato's castle
Building on a 1384 fort, Gamo Ujisato completed a stone-walled keep in 1593 and named it Tsurugajo.
Higashi-Kurokawa fort and the Ashina clan
Tsurugajo's predecessor was Higashi-Kurokawa fort, built in 1384 by Ashina Naomori. A castle town known as Kurokawa Castle developed under the Ashina clan's rule, but in 1589 Date Masamune defeated the Ashina at the Battle of Suriagehara and took Aizu, bringing the area under Date control.
Gamo Ujisato and the birth of Tsurugajo
Gamo Ujisato, who took Aizu from Date Masamune in 1590, built a full early-modern castle complex with stone walls and moats by 1593, renamed the town from Kurokawa to Wakamatsu, and named his new watchtower-style keep Tsurugajo. The groundwork for the castle town's development as an economic center was laid in this same period.
Earthquake and rebuild: the five-story keep of the Kato era
After a 1611 earthquake damaged the keep, lords Kato Yoshiaki and Akinari rebuilt it as a five-story tower-style keep.
The Aizu earthquake and damage to the keep
A major earthquake centered on the Aizu basin struck in 1611, cracking Tsurugajo's stone walls and tilting its keep. The lord at the time was Gamo Hideyuki, and no thorough repair took place until Kato Yoshiaki arrived from Iyo-Matsuyama in 1627.
The Kato clan's rebuild into a five-story keep
Kato Yoshiaki, who arrived from Iyo-Matsuyama, and his son Akinari carried out a major reconstruction of the earthquake-damaged castle. The keep was rebuilt from a watchtower style into a tower style, and the castle's layout was reoriented to face north, strengthening its defenses. The keep standing today is a reconstruction of this Kato-era design.
From the Boshin War siege to today's reconstruction
The castle withstood a month-long siege in 1868, was torn down in 1874, and had its keep rebuilt in 1965.
The Boshin War and the month-long siege
In 1868, Aizu domain, at the center of the former shogunate's side in the Boshin War, held Tsurugajo against government forces from August onward. The castle withstood a month of heavy bombardment before the domain surrendered and handed it over in September. That endurance is why Tsurugajo became known as an impregnable stronghold.
Demolition, reconstruction, and the return of red tiles
The Meiji government had every building torn down by 1874, though the stone walls survived, and the site was designated a national historic site, the Wakamatsu Castle ruins, in 1934. In 1965 the keep's exterior was rebuilt based on old photographs from the early Meiji era, and in 2011 the roof tiles were replaced with the same red tiles used at the end of the Edo period, bringing the keep closer to its historical appearance.
FAQ
Why does the castle have two names, Tsurugajo and Wakamatsu Castle?
Both refer to the same castle. Wakamatsu Castle follows the place name, and it is the name used in the site's official historic-site designation, Wakamatsu Castle ruins, but Gamo Ujisato himself named the keep he built Tsurugajo, and that is the name used in everyday and tourism contexts.
Is today's keep built of wood?
No. The 1965 reconstruction is built of concrete, with its exterior recreated from photographs taken in the early Meiji era. The interior now houses the Wakamatsu Castle Tenshukaku local history museum.
Why does Aizu use red roof tiles?
Aizu domain lord Hoshina Masayuki ordered the development of an iron-rich glazed tile that could withstand the region's cold winters and snow. The red tile later spread across the Tohoku region, but Tsurugajo is now the only castle keep in Japan still using it.
What else is worth seeing around the castle town?
Higashiyama Onsen, said to have been used by the domain's lords for hot-spring recuperation, still sits in the hills east of the castle. Looking at Aizuwakamatsu's castle town through the lens of daily life for the lord and his retainers, rather than defense alone, opens up a different view of the city.