Odawara Castle, Kanagawa | Japan Travel Guide
Odawara Castle ( 小田原城 )
Description
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Constructed in the middle of the 15th century, Odawara Castle took pride in its impregnability. Currently, the castle ruins has become a park where you can see the restored castle tower gates, Tokiwagi Gate and Umade Gate. Flowers bloom all throughout the year on the wide grounds and the castle is famous for the cherry blossoms in late March.
Nearby Spots:
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Odawara Fishing Port
Hakone Hot Springs
Yumoto Onsen
Hakone Tozan Railway
The Hakone Open-Air Museum
Goura Onsen
Hakone Gora Park
Hakone Museum of Art
Hakone Komagatake Ropeway
Hakone Sightseeing Cruises
Kanagawa City Travel Guide:
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Kanagawa
Kanagawa Itineraries:
Kanagawa Tours & Activities
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Odawara Castle 小田原城 Drone Footage 4K Kanagawa, Japan
Odawara Castle 小田原城 Drone Footage 4K Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Odawara was a stronghold of the Doi clan during the Kamakura period, and a fortified residence built by their collateral branch, the Kobayakawa clan stood on the approximate site of the present castle. After the Uesugi Zenshū Revolt of 1416, Odawara came under the control of the Omori clan of Suruga.
They were in turn defeated by Ise Moritoki of Izu,[1] founder of the Late Hōjō clan in 1495. Five generations of the Late Hōjō clan improved and expanded on the fortifications of Odawara Castle as the center of their domains, which encompassed most of the Kantō region.
During the Muromachi period, Odawara Castle had very strong defenses, as it was situated on a hill, surrounded by moats with water on the low side, and dry ditches on the hill side, with banks, walls and cliffs located all around the castle, enabling the defenders to repel attacks by the great warriors Uesugi Kenshin in 1561 and Takeda Shingen in 1569. However, during the Battle of Odawara in 1590, Toyotomi Hideyoshi forced the surrender of the Late Hōjō clan through a combination of a three-month siege and bluff. After ordering most of the fortifications destroyed, he awarded the holdings of the Late Hōjō to Tokugawa Ieyasu.
After Ieyasu completed Edo Castle, he turned site of Odawara Castle over to one of his senior retainer, Ōkubo Tadayo, who reconstructed the castle in its present form on a considerably reduced scale, with the entire castle fitting inside what was the third bailey of the original Late Hōjō castle. Aside from an interruption from 1619–1685, during which time the Inaba clan extensively renovated the castle, the Ōkubo clan ruled over Odawara Domain from Odawara Castle until the Meiji Restoration.
Tokugawa Iemitsu, the 3rd Tokugawa Shōgun, visited Odawara Castle in 1634. The donjon built by the Inaba was destroyed in an earthquake in 1703, but was rebuilt by 1706.
The new Meiji government ordered the destruction of all former feudal fortifications, and in compliance with this directive, all structures of Odawara Castle were pulled down from 1870–1872, with the stone base of the former donjon becoming the foundation for a Shinto shrine, the Ōkubo Jinja, dedicated to the spirits of the generations of Ōkubo daimyō. In 1909, the Odawara Imperial Villa was constructed within the site of the former inner and second bailies. The Imperial Villa was destroyed by the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. Repair work was made to the stone walls from 1930–1931, but with very poor workmanship. In 1935, two of the remaining yagura (which had been destroyed in the 1923 earthquake) were restored, but on a half-scale.
In 1938, the castle site was proclaimed a national historic monument, with the area under historic preservation restrictions expanded in 1959, and again in 1976 based on further archaeological investigations.
In 1950, repairs were made to the stone base of the former donjon, which had been in ruins since the Great Kantō earthquake, and the area was made into the Odawara Castle Park, which includes an art museum, local history museum, city library, amusement park and zoo. The three-tiered, five-storied donjon, the top floor of which is an observatory was rebuilt in 1960 out of reinforced concrete to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the proclamation of Odawara as a city. However, the reconstructed donjon is not historically accurate, as the observation deck was added at the insistence of the Odawara City tourism authorities. Plans have been discussed since the late 1960s on a more accurate restoration of the central castle grounds to its late Edo period format. These plans resulted in the reconstruction of the Tokiwagi Gate (常磐木門?) in 1971, the Akagane Gate (銅門?) in 1997, and the Umade Gate (馬出門?) in 2009.
Monkeys of Odawara Castle Park 2017
Not only spot for monkeys...
There's also has history of castle owners' family drama...
Odawara was a stronghold of the Doi clan during the Kamakura period, and a fortified residence built by their collateral branch, the Kobayakawa clan stood on the approximate site of the present castle. After the Uesugi Zenshū Revolt of 1416, Odawara came under the control of the Omori clan of Suruga.
They were in turn defeated by Ise Moritoki of Izu,[1] founder of the Late Hōjō clan in 1495. Five generations of the Late Hōjō clan improved and expanded on the fortifications of Odawara Castle as the center of their domains, which encompassed most of the Kantō region.
During the Muromachi period, Odawara Castle had very strong defenses, as it was situated on a hill, surrounded by moats with water on the low side, and dry ditches on the hill side, with banks, walls and cliffs located all around the castle, enabling the defenders to repel attacks by the great warriors Uesugi Kenshin in 1561 and Takeda Shingen in 1569. However, during the Battle of Odawara in 1590, Toyotomi Hideyoshi forced the surrender of the Late Hōjō clan through a combination of a three-month siege and bluff. After ordering most of the fortifications destroyed, he awarded the holdings of the Late Hōjō to Tokugawa Ieyasu.
After Ieyasu completed Edo Castle, he turned site of Odawara Castle over to one of his senior retainer, Ōkubo Tadayo, who reconstructed the castle in its present form on a considerably reduced scale, with the entire castle fitting inside what was the third bailey of the original Late Hōjō castle. Aside from an interruption from 1619–1685, during which time the Inaba clan extensively renovated the castle, the Ōkubo clan ruled over Odawara Domain from Odawara Castle until the Meiji Restoration.
Tokugawa Iemitsu, the 3rd Tokugawa Shōgun, visited Odawara Castle in 1634. The donjon built by the Inaba was destroyed in an earthquake in 1703, but was rebuilt by 1706.
The new Meiji government ordered the destruction of all former feudal fortifications, and in compliance with this directive, all structures of Odawara Castle were pulled down from 1870–1872, with the stone base of the former donjon becoming the foundation for a Shinto shrine, the Ōkubo Jinja, dedicated to the spirits of the generations of Ōkubo daimyō. In 1909, the Odawara Imperial Villa was constructed within the site of the former inner and second bailies. The Imperial Villa was destroyed by the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. Repair work was made to the stone walls from 1930–1931, but with very poor workmanship. In 1935, two of the remaining yagura (which had been destroyed in the 1923 earthquake) were restored, but on a half-scale.
In 1938, the castle site was proclaimed a national historic monument,[2] with the area under historic preservation restrictions expanded in 1959, and again in 1976 based on further archaeological investigations.
In 1950, repairs were made to the stone base of the former donjon, which had been in ruins since the Great Kantō earthquake, and the area was made into the Odawara Castle Park, which includes an art museum, local history museum, city library, amusement park and zoo. The three-tiered, five-storied donjon, the top floor of which is an observatory was rebuilt in 1960 out of reinforced concrete to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the proclamation of Odawara as a city. However, the reconstructed donjon is not historically accurate, as the observation deck was added at the insistence of the Odawara City tourism authorities. Plans have been discussed since the late 1960s on a more accurate restoration of the central castle grounds to its late Edo period format. These plans resulted in the reconstruction of the Tokiwagi Gate (常磐木門?) in 1971, the Akagane Gate (銅門?) in 1997, and the Umade Gate (馬出門?) in 2009.
The reconstructed Odawara Castle was listed as one of the 100 Fine Castles of Japan by the Japan Castle Foundation in 2006.
The donjon was closed for renovation from July 2015 until April 2016. It reopened on 1 May 2016. Odawara City government donated all entry fees on the day of the re-opening to Kumamoto City government, to be put towards repairs to Kumamoto Castle that was damaged in the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes.[3]
recorder311 Stories 010 / わすれン！ストーリーズ 010
I was at my apartment in Odawara, Sendai. The doorframe of my front door became warped, so I needed the help of a neighbor to get me out. I do not want the earthquake experience to be looked upon with just sorrow and regret because I think this experience could improve and strengthen both me personally as well as the people in this town. For as long as I live, I want to keep reminding myself that I am the person I am now because of 3/11.
010: Teppei Kajika (Sonson Bentobako)
Whereabouts at the moment of the quake: Miyagino-ku, Sendai, Miyagi
Filmed by recorder311, June 11, 2011
*Sonson Bentobako: Four-piece band formed in Sendai, Miyagi.
recorder311 Stories
are stories recorded so that experiences of 3/11 and the day itself will never be forgotten.
center for remembering 3.11
sendai mediatheque
小田原のマンションにいました。 入口のドアが歪んでしまい、近所の人に助けてもらって外に出ました。 震災の経験が、自分やこの町を強くし、より良くしていくと思うので、「悲しい」「悔しい」だけで済ませたくありません。何歳になっても、3月11日があって今の自分がいると思って生きていきたいです。
009: カジカ哲平（かじか てっぺい）さん：ソンソン弁当箱
3月11日 午後2時46分の居場所：宮城県仙台市宮城野区
撮影日：2011年6月11日
撮影者：recorder311
※ソンソン弁当箱-宮城県仙台市で結成された４人組バンド
【わすれン！ストーリーズとは】
さまざまな人の3がつ11にちの体験とその日をわすれないためのストーリー。
３がつ１１にちをわすれないためにセンター
せんだいメディアテーク