was a Japanese castle

Japanese castle

' were fortresses composed primarily of wood and stone. They evolved from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries, and came into their best-known form in the 16th century...

 that formed the administrative center of Hachinohe Domain

Hachinohe Domain

' was a tozama feudal domain of Edo period　Japan, located in Mutsu Province, Honshū. Its territory included 41 villages in Sannohe District, 38 villages in Kunohe District, and 4 villages in Shiwa District, with a total revenue of 22,000 koku...

, a feudal domain

Han (Japan)

The or domain was the name of the estate belonging to a warrior in Japan after the 17th century. The fiefs of the daimyos of the samurai class of Japan during the Edo period were called han.-Edo period:...

 of the Nambu clan, located in the center of what is now the city of Hachinohe

Hachinohe, Aomori

- Neighbouring municipalities :Aomori Prefecture*Sannohe District**Hashikami**Gonohe**Nanbu*Kamikita District**OiraseIwate Prefecture*Karumai-History:...

 in Aomori Prefecture

Aomori Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region. The capital is the city of Aomori.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Aomori prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. Nothing remains of the castle today.

History

Hachinohe Castle was constructed in 1627, but styled as a jin'ya

Jin'ya

During the Edo period of Japanese history, a was the administrative headquarters of a small domain or parcel of land held by the Tokugawa shogunate, as well as the residence of the head of the administration, and the associated grain storehouse. While larger domains had castles, certain smaller...

due to restrictions set by the Tokugawa Shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

, which permitted only one castle per domain. It had two sets of concentric moats, and a two-story central structure with a barracks, but no donjon. It became the headquarters of the new Hachinohe Domain in 1664. From 1827-1829, the 8th daimyō

Daimyo

is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

of Hachinohe, Nambu Nobumasa, constructed a new palace in the inner bailey, as well as a martial arts training school in the second bailey. In 1838, Hachinohe Domain was upgraded in rank by the Shogunate, and for the first time Hachinohe Castle was officially styled as a “castle”.

After the Meiji Restoration

Meiji Restoration

The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

, the new Meiji government ordered the destruction of all former feudal fortifications, and in compliance with this directive, all structures of Hachinohe Castle were pulled down in 1871, with the Shinto shrine erected inner bailey in its place. The site is now a public park, and nothing remains of the former castle aside from a monument and the local place names.

One gate built in 1797 from the palace has survived as a gate to the private residence of the Hachinohe Nambu clan, which received the title of viscount

Viscount

A viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...

 under the kazoku

Kazoku

The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan that existed between 1869 and 1947.-Origins:Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the ancient court nobility of Kyoto regained some of its lost status...

peerage system in the Meiji period

Meiji period

The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...

. This is an Aomori Prefecture Important Cultural Property

Important Cultural Properties of Japan

The term is often shortened into just are items officially already classified as Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs and judged to be of particular importance to the Japanese people....

.