Wakimoto Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

On hills overlooking the Sea of Japan, at the base of the Oga Peninsula and about a hundred metres above sea level, Wakimoto Castle ranks among the largest medieval fortifications of Tōhoku: the height on which it stands covers nearly 150 hectares. Its foundation remains unknown. The municipal brochure, drawing on the finds, concludes that it existed by the 15th century at the latest. The Agency for Cultural Affairs credits Andō Chikasue, who unified the Andō around 1570, with reworking a stronghold that was already in place; a specialist guide mentions major works in 1577, a date not confirmed by the national record. The Andō, who came from Tsugaru, then wielded notable influence over the northern Sea of Japan, as the Chinese and Japanese ceramics of the 15th and 16th centuries unearthed here attest. The abandonment is poorly dated: the national record places it between 1590, when Hideyoshi brought the north to heel, and 1602, when the Satake founded Kubota; other accounts simply refer to the early Edo period. The terrain is organised into three zones, Uchidate, 馬乗場 (or Furudate) and Kabutogasaki, associated with nearby temples and a settlement at the foot of the hill. The site was designated in 2004, after topographic surveys begun in 1993 and excavations started in 2000.