Kuwana Castle Ruins

Kuwana, Japan, Japan

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Kuwana Castle Ruins are the remains of a flatland castle in Kuwana City, northern Mie Prefecture, famously known as “Ōgi‑jō” (Fan Castle) or “Asahi‑jō” because its layout resembled an open fan.

The site was originally fortified in the Muromachi period, but in the early 17th century Honda Tadakatsu, one of Tokugawa Ieyasu’s four great generals, rebuilt and expanded it after 1600, using the three rivers Kiso, Nagara, and Ibi to create extensive water moats that made the castle seem as if it was floating on water and gave it key control over traffic on the Tokaidō road between Osaka and Edo.

During the Edo period it was governed by a branch of the Matsudaira clan as the seat of Kuwana Domain, and after the Meiji Restoration in 1868 the castle was abandoned and its buildings largely dismantled, with the inner and second baileys later converted into Kyūka Park in 1928 while the site was designated a Mie Prefectural Historic Site in 1942.

Today the ruins are a 20‑minute walk from Kuwana Station and consist mainly of wide moats, earthen ramparts, and two reconstructed tower structures called yagura, with various festivals held throughout the year including cherry blossom, azalea, and iris festivals that make it a popular local park and seasonal attraction rather than a heavily restored castle complex.