Nagoya Castle (Hizen)

Nagoya Castle was located in present-day Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture (former Chinzei Town and Yobuko Town of Higashi-Matsuura District) and in Genkai Town, Higashi-Matsuura District. It was originally built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi as a key military base before launching the Bunroku Campaign. The castle is renowned for its scale and historical significance, and today it is designated as a Special Historic Site of Japan and was selected in 2006 as one of the Japan’s Top 100 Castles (No. 87).

Nagoya Castle stood in a small bay in the northeastern part of Matsuura District, which had been a trading hub of the Matsuura clan since ancient times. Hideyoshi chose this site to construct a large-scale fortress as a forward base for his invasion of the Korean Peninsula. Built on the ridges of Hado Cape at an elevation of about 90 meters, the castle covered a total area of 170,000 square meters, in the style of a hirayama (hilltop) castle. It featured a five-story tenshu (main keep) and a palace, while within about a 3-kilometer radius, as many as 120 military residences for daimyo were established. A prosperous castle town flourished, and at its peak, the population exceeded 100,000, making it a true “military city” of the time.

However, with Hideyoshi’s death and the termination of the overseas invasion plans, Nagoya Castle lost its strategic value and was soon abandoned. It is said that some structures were relocated to Karatsu Castle, while its stone walls were deliberately dismantled during the Edo period after the Shimabara Rebellion to prevent it from becoming a rebel stronghold. Today, remnants of stone walls remain, making it one of the few castle sites that were both intentionally destroyed and later preserved.

The place name “Nagoya” was historically often written as 「名古屋」, and even during the Meiji era, maps and official documents used this form. However, since it shared the same name as Owari’s famous Nagoya Castle, whose renown grew from the Edo period into modern times, the local name was officially changed to 「名護屋」 during the Taishō era for administrative clarity and cultural preservation.

At present, the official designation is “Nagoya Castle Ruins and Encampment Sites”, which includes not only the castle ruins but also the remains of samurai residences, roads, and waterworks that formed part of this military city. Scholars such as Hori Sonotaka have even suggested the broader name “Hizen Nagoya Military City Ruins” to capture its full scope.

Nagoya Castle also returned to the public eye as a filming location for Akira Kurosawa’s 1985 movie Ran, once again drawing attention to this historic site.