En un regard
Le château en bref
The site owes its first fortification to the Ashina clan: tradition dates the Higashi-Kurokawa residence, built by Ashina Naomori, to 1384, and Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs remains cautious about this origin. The Ashina defeat by Date Masamune in 1589 opened a period of rapid transition. Gamō Ujisato, installed in 1590, began turning the site into a modern castle from 1592 and gave it the name Tsuruga; his keep is said to have had seven storeys, a figure municipal documents present with reservations. Uesugi Kagekatsu took possession in 1598, and the great earthquake of 1611 then damaged towers and walls. Katō Yoshiaki arrived in 1627, and around 1639 his son Akinari established most of the layout still legible today, with a five-storey keep and the outer enclosures to the west and north. From 1643, Hoshina Masayuki and his descendants governed the Aizu domain from here for 225 years. In 1868 the stronghold withstood a siege of about a month during the Boshin War before surrendering. The army ordered its demolition in 1874; only the masonry and moats remain. The present keep, in reinforced concrete, dates from 1965 and houses a museum; its red tiles, laid around 2010-2011, draw on evidence that this material was in use as early as the mid-17th century.
- Époque de construction
- 1384–1639
- Localisation
- Aizuwakamatsu, Préfecture de Fukushima
- Protection
- Site historique national (史跡 若松城跡), désigné le 28 décembre 1934, étendu le 29 octobre 1993
- Accès au public
- Ouvert au public
- État
- Restauré
- Usage actuel
- Parc public, Musée
