is a castle in the city of Shirakawa

Shirakawa, Fukushima

is a city in Fukushima, Japan. It is located in the southern portion of the prefecture.The 2003 estimated population was 48,297 and the density in that year was 410.44 persons per km². The total area was 117.67 km²...

, Fukushima

Fukushima Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Fukushima.-History:Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Fukushima 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...

. It may be also called simply by the name of .

In English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, its literal meaning could be translated as "Small Peak Castle". Along with the Morioka Castle

Morioka Castle

is a castle in the city of Morioka, Iwate, Japan. Monument selected by the country. It was the place of residence of the Nanbu family of Morioka Han. It is also generally called , but strictly saying this indicates another castle.- General information :...

 and the Aizuwakamatsu Castle

Aizuwakamatsu Castle

, also known as Tsuruga Castle is a traditional castle in northern Japan, at the center of the city of Aizuwakamatsu, in Fukushima Prefecture.- History :The castle was constructed by Ashina Naomori in 1384, and was originally named...

, it may be considered as one of the three most important castles of the Tōhoku region

Tohoku region

The is a geographical area of Japan. The region occupies the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region consists of six prefectures : Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata....

 of Japan.

It is currently situated inside the Shiroyama Park, where public displays of flowers happen during the year. The park and the castle are located close to the Shirakawa Station (of the Tōhoku Main Line), approximately a 7 minute walk.

History

The construction of the Komine Castle was started in 1340 by Chikatomo Yūki, in a small hill then called . In 1627, it was under the control of Nagashige Niwa, who transferred 100,000 blocks of stone from the neighbouring Tanagura Castle (in Tanagura, Fukushima

Tanagura, Fukushima

is a town located in Higashishirakawa District, Fukushima, Japan.As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 15,959 and a density of 99.86 persons per km². The total area is 159.82 km².-External links:*...

) in the year of 1628. This was done to aid in the expansion of the Komine Castle, then renamed Shirakawa Castle. Said renovation was finished four years later, in 1632. During most of the Edo Period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

, the castle was ruled by the Matsudaira clan.

The Komine Castle became the stage of a battle during the Boshin War

Boshin War

The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....

 in 1868, where the allied forces loyal to the Emperor Meiji

Emperor Meiji

The or was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 3 February 1867 until his death...

 sieged the castle and defeated the local forces united under Matsudaira Katamori

Matsudaira Katamori

was a samurai who lived in the last days of the Edo period and the early to mid Meiji period. He was the 9th daimyo of the Aizu han and the Military Commissioner of Kyoto during the Bakumatsu period. During the Boshin War, Katamori and the Aizu han fought against the Meiji Government armies, but...

 of Aizu

Aizu

is an area comprising the westernmost third of Fukushima Prefecture in Japan. The principal city of the area is Aizuwakamatsu.During the Edo period, Aizu was a feudal domain known as and part of Mutsu Province.-History:...

, in the Battle of Aizu

Battle of Aizu

The Battle of Aizu was fought in northern Japan in autumn 1868, and was part of the Boshin War.Aizu was known for its martial skill, and maintained at any given time, a standing army of over 5000. It was often deployed to security operations on the northern fringes of the country, as far north as...

. This caused a fire to spread and destroy most of the Komine Castle, leaving it in ruins.

After this incident, the only remains of the castle were the moat

Moat

A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...

 and part of the stone wall

Wall

A wall is a usually solid structure that defines and sometimes protects an area. Most commonly, a wall delineates a building and supports its superstructure, separates space in buildings into rooms, or protects or delineates a space in the open air...

s. However, between 1991 and 1994, a great reconstruction plan was undertaken and most of the wooden structure of the castle was rebuilt, including the donjon

Keep

A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...

and the main gate.

External links

• http://www.uraken.net/museum/castle/shiro05.html (In Japanese) - Shirakawa/Komine Castle