Japanese Castle guide in Japan castle Historical site Statue Introduction.

[Castle name]
Mito Castle
It was lived by one of the three families of Tokugawa. At the end of the Edo period, Tengu Party War happened there.

[Description]
Mito Castle used to stand in Sannomaru, Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture. It was lived by one of the three families of Tokugawa.
It was built by Baba Sukemoto in the Heian period.

At that time, it was called Baba Castle. In the23 year of the Oei period (1416), it was robbed by Edo Michihusa. The Edo family ruled it through the Warring States period. It followed the Satake family, which extended its territory in Hitachi Province, but sometimes the families had conflict.

In the 18th year of the Tensho period (1590), in the Hojo Conquest of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Edo Shigemichi fought for the Hojo family while Satake Yoshishige followed Hideyoshi.

After the Hojo family surrendered, the Satake family received Hitachi Province. Satake Yoshishige and his son Yoshinobu attacked Baba Castle and expelled the Edo family. The winner the Satake family moved from Ota Castle to Baba Castle to rule Hitachi Province. They renamed it Mito Castle.

In the 5th year of the Keicho period (1600), Yoshinobu didn’t clarify his position in the Battle of Sekigahara. After that, he was forced to move to Kubota Castle in Akita, Dewa Province for his ambiguous attitude.

※Statsue of Tokugawa Nariaki

Mito Castle came to be ruled by sons of Tokugawa Ieyasu: the fifth Takeda Nobuyoshi, the 10th Tokugawa Yorinobu, and the 11th Tokugawa Yorifusa. The area was ruled by one of the three families of Tokugawa until the end of the Edo period.

※Statsue of Tokugawa Yorifusa

At the end of the Edo period, the domain split into progressive Tengu Party and conservative Shosei Party. In the 1st year of the Genji period (1864), Tengu Party started a battle on Tsukuba Mountain. It is called Tengu Party War. This domestic battle lasted until the Meiji Restoration. In 1868, in Mito Castle, Tengu Party attacked Shosei Party, which was besieged in Kodokan, and many buildings inside the castle burned out.

Now, there are many schools stand on where the castle stood. In the third castle keep, Kodokan, which was a school of Mito Domain, still exists.

[Address,access]
Sannomaru, Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture 310-0011

[Map]