Kofu Castle
Yesterday, I took the train to Kofu. One of the places I visited was Kofu Castle, also known as Maizuru, which is located across the street from Kofu Train Station.
Kofu Castle was built by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1583 after he defeated Takeda shingen's heir, Katsuyori, in 1582. Next to Edo Castle, Kofu Castle was the strongest castle in the Kanto region. Until Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu became lord of Kofu Castle, it was also considered to be the residence of the lord closest to the shogun. From 1724 to the end of the Edo Period, the lord of Kofu Castle changed on a rotating basis with around 200 lords having held the title by the end of Edo Period. I have seen reference in some English materials/websites mistakenly claiming that this Kofu Castle (Maizuru Castle) was run by the Takeda. While Kofu was a castle town of the Takeda they actually ruled from the Tsutsujigasaki Yakata.
I visited this castle park in December 2017, and I remember it was crisp and quiet. Yesterday the temperature got up to 95F in Kofu!
A small shrine
The park is beautifully kept.
It's always nice to be able to read the explanations in English.
This small building is the public toilet, and made to fit in with the other castle buildings.
(If you are interested in Japanese Castles, check out my Castle Page to see the castles I've visited.)
4 comments:
The castle grounds and buildings are very well-kept. I am grateful they have built public toilets that fit into the scenery. Another thing to appreciate is all the explanations in English that keep popping up. Over-tourism is often seen as a problem, but when the number of foreign visitors increases, various services, like signage in foreign languages also increase. Good!
1583. It never ceases to amaze me how very old the buildings/castles in Japan (and Europe and everywhere but America!) are!
That must have been very confusing for the people living nearby, to have their Lord change that often!
All you can say is that you went to Kofu in the intense heat and it was amazing.
Thank you for sharing so many photo.
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