The keep of Odawara Castle during cherry blossom season
By: Dave Hansche
I’ve written about several castles on this blog thus far, but it has occurred to me that I have overlooked a large rebuilt castle in a pleasant city about an hour away. I’ve visited Odawara Castle several times over the last few years, and yet I have never taken the time to actually write about it. It is a shame too, since Odawara Castle, and the Hojo clan that built it, each have an interesting story. The castle itself, while not completely accurate, is a great place to visit. The museum in the modern keep is nice, the grounds are beautiful – especially during cherry blossom season – and there are interesting events throughout the year to see.
The moat of Odawara Castle
There was likely a fortified residence or castle of some sort on the site of Odawara Castle as early as the Kamakura Period (1185-1333). In the early 1400s, the Omori clan took over the area and built a proper castle. They didn’t hold it for very long, however, as an offshoot of the Ise clan under Ise Moritoki conquered Odawara in 1495 and established an expanded Odawara Castle as the stronghold for a new clan, the Hojo. He renamed himself Hojo Ujitsuna and posthumously renamed his father Hojo Suon. You might remember Suon as the general who destroyed Oba Castle (more on that here). This new Later Hojo Clan saw itself as a spiritual successor of the original Hojo Clan (known as the Early Hojo) who were the power behind the first Shogunate. And they now controlled much of the same lands, including the ancient military capital of Kamakura, as the early Hojo. By the time Odawara Castle was surrendered to Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1590, this relatively new clan had become one of the largest and strongest clans of the Sengoku Era.
Odawara Castle keep from outside one of the reconstructed gates.
The later Hojo, as they are known to distinguish them from the Kamakura era Hojo, grew in power rapidly. In less than a century after the clan was founded, they were considered one of the five most powerful clans in Sengoku era Japan. Unfortunately for them, their end came just as fast. Toward the end of the Sengoku, as Toyotomi was completing the work of uniting Japan and putting an end to the constant warfare, the Hojo and Sanada clans were locked in a dispute over lands in modern Gunma prefecture around Numata Castle. Toyotomi stepped in and negotiated a peace, dividing the lands between the two clans with the intent of keeping peace with the Hojo while not alienating his long-time supporter, the Sanada. Hojo Ujimasa, the Hojo Daimyo at the time, accepted the deal and all was well. Or at least, it would have been, had the Hojo retainers gone along with it. Instead, Inomata Kuninori, the new Hojo lord of Numata Castle, decided he didn’t like his new holding. He attacked the Sanada forces holding the next castle up the valley, Nagurumi Castle. When word of this flagrant disregard for the peace he set up reached Toyotomi, he was understandably livid. He immediately declared war on the Hojo and marched all of his forces and allies to Odawara and laid siege to the castle.
Night time at Odawara Castle
During the three month siege, very little fighting actually happened, but the Toyotomi forces were not idle. Behind a dense forest on a hilltop overlooking the city, Toyotomi ordered the construction of a fortification, known as Ishigakiyama Ichiya Castle, or Ishigaki Mountain One Night Castle. It got its name because, one night as it was completed, the trees hiding it from the view of the castle defenders were all cut down. The Hojo defenders then woke the next morning to find a large fort looking down on them from the nearby hillside.
Lanterns made by local school children on display at the Odawara Lantern Festival
This sudden reveal combined with dwindling supplies caused the Hojo to finally surrender. Hojo Ujimasa and his brother were forced to commit ritual suicide and while Ujimasa’s son briefly became the new head of the clan, he died a year later in exile. The Later Hojo, who had so suddenly leapt onto the scene, had died out with little more than a whimper.
The entrance to the keep of Odawara Castle. The castle keep houses a museum with artifacts from the city’s past.
As for Odawara Castle, much of the grand fortification that the Hojo built was pulled down and the land was eventually given to Tokugawa Ieyasu, who then gave it to the Okubo Clan. The Okubo rebuilt Odawara Castle, but at a greatly reduced size.
Odawara Castle as seen from Odawara station.
Once the Edo period came to a close and the castles were decommissioned in the 1860s, Odawara Castle was torn down and eventually became the site of an Imperial Villa established by the Meiji Emperor. The Imperial family then returned the land to the city in the 1930s after the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake destroyed the villa.
A walking path on the grounds of Odawara Castle park.
The modern castle keep, based roughly on the smaller Edo period Castle, was built in 1960. It houses a local history museum, and there is a library on the grounds as well. Also in the castle park, behind the keep, is a small children’s amusement park with a couple of rides and some picnic areas. Odawara castle also has a number of events, like a samurai parade in late April and a lantern festival in late July/ early August. And as I mentioned, the castle is a popular spot for cherry blossom viewing, or sakura hanami.
Local citizens dressed as samurai for the annual samurai parade. This event is held over Golden Week in the last week of April/First week of May.
Overall, Odawara is definitely worth a visit. It is a beautiful castle with a rich history. It is easy to find, easy to get to, and a great place to be. If you’re in the Tokyo/Yokohama area and you have a day to spend, you should check it out.