Yonezawa Castle Ruins

Yonezawa, Japan, Japan

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Yonezawa Castle Ruins, now known as Matsugasaki Park, are the remains of a hilltop castle in the heart of Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, originally built in the early 13th century and later developed into a major regional stronghold that became the seat of the powerful Uesugi clan from 1597 until the Meiji Restoration. The castle was first established by Nagai Tokihiro, passed to the Date clan in the Muromachi period (the site is said to be the birthplace of Date Masamune), and was significantly expanded by figures such as Gamo Ujisato and the Uesugi, including the famous advisor Naoe Kanetsugu, before being reduced in size and importance after the Battle of Sekigahara when the Uesugi domain was moved from Aizu to Yonezawa and their territory shrank from 1.2 million koku to 300,000 koku. After the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate, the castle buildings were dismantled, and in 1874 the former grounds were opened as Matsugasaki Park, one of Japan’s earliest public parks, preserving the castle’s moats, sections of stone walls, and the layout of the inner and outer baileys while creating a peaceful urban space for recreation and festivals.