Ōzu Castle

Ōzu Castle (Ōzu-jō), located in today’s Ōzu City in Ehime Prefecture, was originally a castle of the Ōzu area in Kita District of Iyo Province. Throughout history, the castle has been known by several names, including Jizōgatake Castle, Hishi Castle, and Ōtsu Castle (the former name of Ōzu), reflecting its varied historical identities and transitions.

Although somewhat remote in location, Ōzu has long been a key transportation hub. The Ōzu Road and Uwajima Road intersected here, forming a crucial north-south route through Iyo; to the east, routes traversed the Shikoku Mountains to reach Tosa Province, while to the west it connected to the outer port of Yawatahama (modern Yawatahama City). These routes established Ōzu as a vital center for transport and logistics.

The castle was first built by the Utsunomiya clan of Iyo, situated at Jizōgatake where the Hijikawa and Kumekawa Rivers meet, which gave it its earliest name, Jizōgatake Castle. In the early Edo period, the renowned castle-builder and military commander Tōdō Takatora, among others, carried out large-scale renovations, establishing the complete system of an early modern Japanese castle. As a result, Ōzu Castle became both a practical stronghold and a symbolic political and military base of its era. With the formation of the Ōzu Domain, the surrounding castle town flourished, becoming the region’s political and economic center.

After the Meiji Restoration, Ōzu Castle gradually lost its original administrative functions. Thanks to long-standing preservation efforts by local residents, several structures survived. Among them, four yagura (turrets), including the Daidokoro Yagura and the Minamisumi Yagura, have been designated Important Cultural Properties of Japan, while the entire castle site has been listed as a Prefectural Historic Site of Ehime. Most notably, in 2004 (Heisei 16), through a successful fundraising campaign by local citizens, the four-story, four-tiered wooden tenshu (main keep) was reconstructed, faithfully restoring the architectural style of the Edo period. This achievement makes Ōzu Castle one of the rare examples in Japan where a castle keep has been authentically rebuilt in wood.