Aizu-Wakamatsu’s Tsurugajō Castle: Where the Samurai Era Ended

Guideto Japan

Travel History Architecture## A Stunning Contrast of Red and White

Tsurugajō, the pride of Aizu-Wakamatsu, is the only castle in the country with red roof tiles, which contrast beautifully with its white plaster walls. Originally built as a fortification during the Middle Ages, it was expanded into a full-fledged castle, complete with a keep, during the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the sixteenth century. The castle was renamed Tsurugajō and the castle town was given the name Wakamatsu. The keep originally had black walls and black roof tiles, and the castle’s name, evoking white cranes (tsuru), apparently has no connection with its original appearance.

The castle’s red roof was adopted in 1648, after tiles coated with an iron-rich glaze were introduced to deal with cracking caused by freezing due to the region’s snowy winters. This was done for both esthetic and practical reasons and helped make the castle one of the most prominent in Tōhoku, the northern region of the main island of Honshū.

The castle structures were demolished in 1874 by order of the new Meiji government. The castle was rebuilt in 1965 as a five-level, six-story ferroconcrete structure, funded by donations from citizens who wished to see it rise again. The roof was refurbished in 2011, with its former red tiles replacing the black ones installed when the castle was rebuilt.

The 22.8-hectare Tsurugajō Castle Park provides recreation for citizens and is a go-to spot for sightseers. The main keep houses a local history museum tracing the castle’s history and documenting, in video and in print, the lives of local notables, including bacteriological researcher Noguchi Hideyo. The castle’s uppermost floor offers panoramic views of the city below.

Other sights not to be missed include Kurogane Gate, Hoshii Turret, and the south barracks, which were faithfully reconstructed using wood joinery techniques, based on Edo-period architectural drawings and photos taken in the 1870s, early during the Meiji era. The buildings contain reproductions of military equipment, and digital displays explain the castle’s history.

After seeing the castle, visitors should not miss the Rinkaku teahouse in the park. This teahouse, erected by the son of renowned tea master Sen no Rikyū (1522–91), was reassembled here after having been transferred to another location to save it from destruction when the castle was torn down. Enjoying matcha green tea in the atmospheric Japanese garden is a popular activity among foreign visitors.

Symbol of the Indomitable Aizu Samurai Spirit

Lords of the castle prior to the Edo period (1608–1868) included powerful samurai Date Masamune (1567–1636), Gamō Ujisato (1556–95), and Uesugi Kagekatsu (1556–1623). In 1643, Hoshina Masayuki (1611–73), the fourth son of the shōgun Tokugawa Hidetada (1579–1632) was appointed lord of the castle. He took the surname Matsudaira and his descendants continued to rule the domain until the shogunate ended in 1868. The family is indelibly linked with the Battle of Aizu, the last major clash in the civil war between shōgun loyalists and imperial forces.

In early 1868, soon after the last shōgun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu (1837–1913), had transferred power back to the emperor, dissatisfaction with this transition among former vassals and clans supporting the shōgun led to civil war with the new government. Matsudaira Katamori (1836–93), ninth daimyō of the Aizu domain and loyal to the shogunate, was reviled as an enemy of the imperial court, and the domain was invaded by the imperial forces. Nearly 5,000 samurai and their families barricaded themselves in the castle, which was mercilessly bombarded by the attackers. During the month-long siege, allies of the Aizu domain capitulated one after the other, and in the end, to save the inhabitants of his domain from being annihilated, Katamori also surrendered unconditionally.

Today’s castle park occupies the former castle grounds, which are bounded by a water moat and high stone walls. Those stone walls, pockmarked with bullets from the attacks, bear silent witness to the stronghold’s tenacity.

When visiting the Sazaedō, an unusual structure that is a popular attraction on Mount Iimori, tourists should also take time to stop by the site of the Byakkotai White Tiger Brigade’s last stand on the same promontory. Escaping from the castle under siege at the height of the civil conflict, this group of 20 young samurai warriors fled to the top of the mountain. Observing the town going up in flames, they assumed that the castle had fallen and gave up trying to return. Rather than be taken prisoner, they committed ritual suicide. This tragedy has been immortalized in countless novels and films, and the spot remains a place of pilgrimage even today.

Conveying the unquenchable Aizu spirit, Tsurugajō’s scenery is always stunning: blooming cherry trees in spring, brilliantly colored leaves in autumn, and snowy scenes in winter white. Under the soaring castle keep, the site is a fitting memorial to the proud, loyal warriors of Aizu.

Tsurugajō (Castle Keep Museum)

Address:1-1 Ōtemachi, Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture
Hours:8:30 am to 5:00 pm (last entry 4:30 pm)
Open:Year-round
Entrance fees:Adults, ¥410; children aged 6 through 15, ¥150. Combined ticket including entry to the Rinkaku teahouse ¥520
For details, visit the .

(Originally published in Japanese. Reporting and Text by Nippon.com.)