Ueda Castle

photo by くろふね · CC BY 3.0

photo by Suikotei · CC BY-SA 4.0

In 1600, 2,500 men held back a Tokugawa army of 38,000 for seven days.

The castle never had a main tower: its defences rely on the grassy earthworks and the two moats alone. When you arrive you follow them on foot around the whole perimeter of the park, as far as the yagura-mon that marks the entrance to the Sanada fortress.

Fortress of the Sanada clan, built by Sanada Masayuki between 1583 and 1585 on the plateau above the Chikuma River. In August 1585, with fewer than 2,000 men, Masayuki drove back a Tokugawa attack of more than 7,000 here; in 1600, with 2,500 defenders, he held up the 38,000 men of Tokugawa Hidetada for seven days, and Hidetada reached Sekigahara too late to fight. Dismantled after the Sanada defeat, the castle was rebuilt in 1626 by the new lord, Sengoku Tadamasa, with a different orientation from the original.

ℹ️ The park is always open and free. Yagura-mon and history museum: 8:30–17:00 (last entry 16:30), combined ticket 500 yen, single ticket 300 yen; closed on Wednesdays and from December to February, and in March open only at weekends and on public holidays.

🚉 Ueda · 16 min walk

Sources: kojodan.jp · city.ueda.nagano.jp

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