Shirakawa Komine Castle

photo by Sengoku40 · CC BY-SA 3.0

photo by くろふね · CC BY 3.0

Timber from Inariyama, where fighting took place in 1868: bullets remain in the tower's beams.

Founded in 1340 by Yūki Chikasugu on a hill, the castle was enlarged between 1629 and 1632 under Niwa Nagashige into the form it still has today. Almost all its structures were burned during the Boshin War of 1868, and only the stone walls remained until 1991, when the three-storey tower was rebuilt in wood, partly using logs felled on nearby Mount Inariyama, where fighting had taken place: the marks of the bullets are still visible in the timber of the floors and pillars. The 2011 earthquake brought the walls down in ten places, for about 45 metres on the south side of the keep alone; restoration using traditional techniques was completed in 2019.

Shirakawa Castle, historically the gateway between Tōhoku and the rest of Japan. It is a National Historic Site and one of the 100 Famous Castles of Japan.

ℹ️ Free entry to the tower and park; the gates are open 8:30–17:30 from April to September and 8:30–16:30 from October to March, and the tower keeps similar hours. The castle history museum (adults 300 yen, students/disabled visitors 100) is open 9:00–16:30, last entry 16:00. 10 minutes' walk from JR Shirakawa Station.

🚉 Shirakawa · 10 min walk

Sources: ja.wikipedia.org · densho-road-fukushima.com

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