Sōma-Nakamura Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

The castle stands on a natural hill once called Tenjinyama. Tradition links it to a visit by Sakanoue no Tamuramaro in 801, though this mention does not allow any structure to be dated. The firm history begins in 1611: Sōma Toshitane, seventeenth head of the family, launched the works in July and left Odaka in December to make Nakamura the centre of the domain. A university study by Okada Seiichi places this move within the choices of the warlord Sōma Yoshitane, namesake of the eighteenth head mentioned below, which suggests it should not be credited to a single actor. The castle remained the heart of a 60,000-koku domain for about 260 years. In 1643, Sōma Yoshitane, the eighteenth head, had the Sōma Nakamura shrine built here. The keep, at the south-west corner of the honmaru, was destroyed by lightning on 4 May 1670. Sōma Tadatane decided against rebuilding it in order to spare vassals and population, a decision his successors upheld. The new Meiji government had most of the buildings dismantled, with only the Sotoōte Ichinomon gate surviving. The earthworks, stone walls and moats were designated a historic site of Fukushima Prefecture on 4 February 1955, over 23 hectares, within what is now Baryō Park.