Koriyama Castle

Koriyama Castle was once the residence of Hashiba Hidenaga, the half-brother of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, in 1585 during the Toyotomi administration, and was the center of his domain of 1,000,000 koku of Yamato, Kii, and Izumi.

In the Edo period (1603-1867), the Koriyama clan’s government office was located here. It is now designated as a national historic site.

The first sighting of Koriyama Castle dates back to the latter half of the 10th century, when records show that the Koriyama Shu built a castle in the Ganjin area.

The castle was improved by Junkei Tsutsui during the reign of Nobunaga Oda, and greatly expanded during the reign of Hideyoshi Toyotomi as a residence of 1 million koku.

Because of the scarcity of good quality stone in Nara, stone Jizo, tombstones, and pagodas of temples were also used as stone wall stones.

The stone walls of Koriyama Castle include a stone that is said to be the foundation stone of the Rajomon Gate of Heijo-kyo Capital and a stone Buddha from a Buddhist site called “Touto” (a national historic site) dating from around the 8th century.

After the Meiji Restoration, many of the buildings were destroyed, but recently the Otemon Gate, turrets, and castle tower have been restored and maintained, adding even more style to the castle ruins.

In spring, the castle is a popular spot for cherry blossom viewing with its 1,000 cherry trees in full bloom, and has been selected as one of the 100 best cherry blossom viewing spots in Japan.

From the observatory of the castle tower, you can see not only the cityscape of Yamatokoriyama, but also the Daigokuden of Heijo-kyo, Yakushiji Temple, and Wakakusa Mountain.