Takaoka Castle

Takaoka Castle, located in Furumachi, Takaoka City, Toyama Prefecture (formerly Sekino in Imizu District, Etchū Province), was a flatland castle that no longer retains its original appearance. The castle site has been redeveloped into Takaoka Kojō Park, now a popular place for local residents to stroll and relax. It has been designated a National Historic Site of Japan and is recognized as one of the “100 Best Cherry Blossom Spots in Japan,” as well as the only representative from Toyama Prefecture among the “Japan’s Top 100 Castles.”

Construction of the castle began in 1609 (Keichō 14) under Maeda Toshinaga, the first lord of the Kaga Domain, after a fire destroyed the main buildings of his retirement residence, Toyama Castle, that same year. With permission from Tokugawa Ieyasu and Tokugawa Hidetada, Toshinaga chose Sekino as the site for his new castle, with its design overseen by Takayama Ukon. In September of that year, Sekino was renamed “Takaoka,” and Toshinaga moved into the not-yet-completed castle. It is said that high-quality timber from the residence of Toyotomi Hidetsugu at Fushimi Castle was used for some of the main structures.

However, Takaoka Castle served as a retirement castle for only a few years. Toshinaga passed away in 1614 (Keichō 19), and the following year, due to the “One Castle per Province” decree, the castle was ordered to be dismantled, with permission granted to build Komatsu Castle in Kaga Province instead. Some historical sources, however, suggest the demolition was only completed in 1638 (Kan’ei 15).

Despite its official abolition, the site retained military functions under the Kaga Domain, housing granaries, salt warehouses, a gunpowder storehouse, and guard posts, serving as a key base in the Etchū region. The castle’s appearance was preserved, with measures taken to prevent direct views from the surrounding streets, and even the arrangement of Zuiryū-ji Temple and Toshinaga’s mausoleum to the south considered defensive purposes.

In the late Edo period, most of the facilities within the castle were destroyed in the Great Fire of Takaoka in 1821 (Bunsei 4), but were later rebuilt and remained in use until the Meiji period. In 2006, Takaoka Castle was selected as one of the “Japan’s Top 100 Castles,” and in 2015 it was recognized as an Important Component of the Japan Heritage site “Takaoka — A Town Where the Culture of the Townspeople Linked to the Kaga Maeda Clan Flourished: People, Skills, and Spirit.”