Inuyama Castle is located on a hill overlooking the Kiso River in what is now the city of Inuyama. Due to its location next to a river, Inuyama castle is compared to Baidicheng, a castle located on the hill beside the Yangtze river in Chongqing, China. Inuyama Castle is often claimed without any historical justification as the "oldest castle in Japan"; however, Inuyama Castle is one of 12 castles to have retained its Edo period donjon intact. This main tower is small but due to its complex form, it shows different silhouettes depend on the angle. Among the 12 remaining main towers, the donjon at Inuyama Castle is designated as a National Treasure of Japan, as are Matsumoto Castle, Hikone Castle and Himeji Castle.
History
The precise year Inuyama Castle was completed is uncertain. The castle guidebook claims it was completed in 1440. According to the Heian periodEngishiki a Shinto shrine, the Haritsuna Shrine was moved to make way for the castle. The structure was rebuilt several times in the Muromachi period and the current configuration was largely the work of Oda Nobunagu, Oda Nobunaga's uncle in 1537. Although the antiquated architectural style of the watchtower atop the tenshu has in the past led many historians to believe this to be the oldest extant tenshu in Japan, that honor goes to Maruoka Castle, built in 1576. Construction on the current main tenshu at Inuyama began in 1601, and continued through 1620. Inuyama Castle was the final obstacle against Oda Nobunaga's unification of Owari Province. After Nobunaga had defeated the Imagawa clan at the Battle of Okehazama in 1560, his cousin, Oda Nobukiyo, seized Inuyama Castle with the support of Saito Yoshitatsu on Mino Province. Nobugana recaptured the castle in 1564. After Nobunaga's death, Toyotomi Hideyoshi appointed Ishikawa Sadakiyo as castellan of Inuyama. Ishikawa rebuilt the defenses of the castle in line with contemporary designs and the current shape of the donjon is a result of this reconstruction. After the Battle of Sekigahara, the victorious Tokugawa Ieyasu expelled the Ishikawa clan and turned the castle over to Owari Domain. Under the Tokugawa shogunate, the castle was governed by the Naruse clan, who ruled as daimyō of Inuyama Domain as vassals of the Owari Tokugawa clan until the Meiji restoration. The new Meiji government seized Inuyama Castle in 1871 and destroyed all of its auxiliary buildings except for the donjon; however, after the castle was damaged in the Great Nōbi earthquake, and it was returned to the Naruse family in 1895, on the condition that they repair and maintain it. The castle was thus unique in Japan in that it was privately owned. In 2004, ownership of the castle was turned over to a non-profit foundation set up by the Aichi Prefecture's Board of Education. It was long believed that the donjon of Inuyama Castle was moved to the castle from Kanayama Castle in 1599, until such theory was disproved as a result of examination through a large scale restoration work, involving the dismantling of the donjon, carried out between 1961 and 1965.
Castle Rulers
The castellans of Inuyama Castle are listed below in order with their dates of reign in parentheses. There were no castellans from 1612-1617 and 1869-1895.
Pre-Naruse Clan
Oda Nobuyasu
Oda Nobuyuki
Ikeda Nobuteru
Oda Nobufusa
Nakagawa Sadanari
Ikeda Nobuteru
Katō Yasukage
Takeda Kiyotoshi
Hijikata Katsuyoshi
Nagao Yoshifusa
Miwa Gorōemon
Ishikawa Mitsuyoshi
Ogasawara Yoshitsugu
Hiraiwa Chikayoshi
Naruse Clan
Naruse Masanari
Naruse Masatora
Naruse Masachika
Naruse Masayuki
Naruse Masamoto
Naruse Masanori
Naruse Masanaga
Naruse Masazumi
Naruse Masamitsu
Naruse Masao
Naruse Masakatsu
Naruse Masatoshi
Related exhibits
Entry fee for the castle is 550 yen. For an additional 50 yen, you can buy combination ticket including Shiro to the machi museum, Karakuri tenjikan, Dondenkan.
