Japanese Castle guide in Japan castle Historical site Statue Introduction.

[Castle name]
Hachioji Castle
Hachioji castle was where Ujiteru Hojo, who was defeated by Toyotomi troops, resided. One of Japan’s 100 famous castles.

[Explanation]
Hachioji Castle was located in Musashi no Kuni (current Hachioji in Tokyo prefecture). It was a branch castle of Odawara castle, which was owned by Hojo-shi, and it was a military base. It was built on mount Fukasawa which its height is 445m, and it is a typical mountain castle.

There is a main palace on the mountainside, and residential area as well as Negoya (small-scale castle town) area were built. The castle was so big that it is said that it was not completed when it was destroyed.

In the castle town, in addition to Kajiya town where smiths lived, there was also a commercial area that moved from Takiyama castle town. There were also Jofukuji castle, Odano castle, and Hatsuzawa castle as the outer castles for protection.

In 1571 Ujiteru, the 3rd son of Ujiyasu Hojo, started building the castle and it became their base in 1587. Ujiteru was based at Takiyama castle in Oishi-shi at that time, but he was attacked by Shingen Takeda while on his way to the attack of Odawara, and realized the weakness of Takiyama castle, and decided to build Hachioji castle surrounding it with stone walls.

In 1590, Hachioji castle was attacked by Hideyoshi Toyotomi who was aiming to achieve the unification of the country. It was a large army that Kagekatsu Uesugi, Toshiie Maeda, and Masayuki Sanada were in. At that time, Ujiteru’s vassal was at Odawara castle, and there were only about 3000 people who barricaded themselves inside Hachioji castle.

Toyotomi started the attack from the north and the east main gate in the fog from the night before, and they defeated the protection forces by the next morning. More than 1000 people had died at the war, and the castle was destroyed within that day.

It is said that the waterfall was red with blood because people continued to commit suicide after the defeat. Including this battle at Hachioji-castle, Hojo-shi was defeated, and Ujiteru Hojo ended up committing seppuku with Ujimasa Hojo. After that Ieyasu Tokugawa became the lord of the Kanto region, and Hachioji castle was demolished by him.

The castle is now registered as one of Japan’s 100 famous castles, and the excavation and remodeling still continue.

※The ruins of Honmaru palace

[Address,access]
3 Motohachiojimachi, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 193-0826

[Map]