I visited this castle in December 2017, (and I took better pictures that time). The admission fee is 200 yen.
Historical information from J-Castle:
Hikuma Castle was first built on this site around 1514 by a vassal of the Imagawa clan, Inoo Noritsura. In 1568, Tokugawa Ieyasu attacked Sakai Tadatsugu and took control of the castle. Ieyasu started construction of Hamamatsu Castle in 1570 and Hikuma Castle became a minor extension of its vast territory. In 1577 Ieyasu renamed his new castle Hamamatsu Castle. Legend says, the name was changed from "Hikuma" because the characters give the impression of "pulling a horse along" which you might do after losing a battle. Ieyasu spent 17 years here and engaged in some of his most well known battles from this castle before moving to Sunpu Castle in 1586.
There were many helpful signs with English translation.
The inside of the castle is a museum, with some English.
View from the top.
A small shrine -
3 comments:
that's quite an incline to get up there -- it looks very important, elevated like that. I always like it when they house a museum inside a building like that. It enriches the experience.
Japan has so much to offer, I wonder if you'll ever run out of castles to explore!
I would definitely like to visit this castle.
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