Okamoto Castle (Awa)

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Préfecture de Chiba

Okamoto Castle stood on a hill some sixty metres high overlooking Tokyo Bay, north of the former town of Tomiura, in present-day Minamibōsō. This late Sengoku-period hill castle became the main stronghold of the Satomi clan under Satomi Yoshiyori in the late 16th century; the Satomi tended to change their main castle each time the clan head changed. Its seaside location was no accident: the grounds enclosed a small harbour, and the castle served as a base for the fleet the Satomi pitted against the Hōjō on the other side of the bay. Measuring about 600 m east to west and 300 m north to south, the site is exceptionally large for the region. Enclosures cut into the tuff, ditches cutting across the ridges, artificial scarps and gateways can still be read on the ground. Excavations have yielded Chinese porcelain and other imported goods. Abandoned around 1590 in favour of Tateyama Castle, the site is almost entirely privately owned and partly farmed. It has been protected since 2012 as a National Historic Site together with Inamura Castle.