Takashima Castle

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Préfecture de Nagano

On the shore of Lake Suwa, in the heart of the city of Suwa, Takashima Castle owes its nickname of "the floating castle of Suwa" to its original setting: built on a spit of land jutting into the lake, it seemed to rest on the water, with the shores and several rivers serving as moats. It was raised between 1592 and 1598 by Hineno Takayoshi, a vassal of Toyotomi Hideyoshi who had worked on the Azuchi and Ōsaka building sites, and completed by his son. From 1601 the Suwa clan, the region's historic lords, resided there for nearly 270 years as daimyō of the Takashima Domain. The buildings were demolished after the abolition of the domains, and the former honmaru became a public park as early as 1876. The gradual silting of the lake erased the island effect, but part of the moats survives on the north and east sides. The three-storey keep, a corner turret and a gate were rebuilt in 1970; the keep houses a local history museum and an observation deck, and the park is popular in spring for its cherry trees.