Odawara Castle Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Odawara Castle 小田原城
Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Reconstructed keep of Odawara castle
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Type	Hirayama-style Japanese castle
Site information
Open to the public	yes
Site history
Built	1447, rebuilt 1633, 1706
In use	Kamakura period-1889
Battles/wars	Siege of Odawara (1561) Siege of Odawara (1569) Siege of Odawara (1590)

Odawara Castle in spring

The main Akagane Gate

A historical painting showing Odawara Castle

A map of Odawara Castle

Odawara Castle (小田原城, Odawara-jō) is a famous Japanese castle located in the city of Odawara, in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It's a reconstructed castle, meaning parts of it have been rebuilt over time.

The main tower, called a donjon or keep, was rebuilt in 1960 using strong concrete. It stands on the original stone foundation of the old tower. The original tower was taken down between 1870 and 1872 during the Meiji Restoration period. There have been forts and castles on this site since the Kamakura period (1185–1333).

Odawara Castle is considered one of the 100 Fine Castles of Japan. This list was created by the Japan Castle Foundation in 2006.

History of Odawara Castle
The Remains of the Hōjō Clan's Odawara Castle
See also

History of Odawara Castle

Odawara was an important place for the Doi clan during the Kamakura period. Later, a fortified home was built by the Kobayakawa clan on the same spot where the castle is now.

The Hōjō Clan's Stronghold

After a revolt in 1416, the Omori clan took control of Odawara. But in 1495, a powerful leader named Ise Moritoki (who later became Hōjō Sōun) defeated them. He founded the Later Hōjō clan. For five generations, the Hōjō clan made Odawara Castle their main base. They made the castle bigger and stronger. It became the center of their lands, which covered most of the Kantō region.

During the Sengoku period (a time of many wars in Japan), Odawara Castle was very well-protected. It was built on a hill, surrounded by moats filled with water on one side. On the hill side, there were dry ditches, along with high banks, strong walls, and steep cliffs. These defenses helped the castle survive attacks. For example, it successfully fought off Uesugi Kenshin in 1561 and Takeda Shingen in 1569.

In 1587, the Hōjō clan made the castle's defenses even stronger. They knew a big conflict with Toyotomi Hideyoshi was coming. However, during the Battle of Odawara in 1590, Hideyoshi managed to make the Hōjō clan surrender without actually attacking the castle. He did this by surrounding the castle for three months and using clever tricks. After the surrender, Hideyoshi ordered most of the castle's defenses to be destroyed. He then gave the land to his top general, Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Odawara Castle in the Edo Period

After Ieyasu built Edo Castle, he gave Odawara Castle to one of his trusted followers, Ōkubo Tadayo. Tadayo rebuilt the castle, but it was much smaller than the Hōjō clan's huge fortress. The new castle fit inside what used to be just one part of the old castle.

However, Tadayo's successor, Ōkubo Takachika, lost control of the castle in 1614. For a few years, the castle was managed by different lords. In 1623, Odawara became a direct territory of the Tokugawa shogunate. A palace was built inside the castle for Shōgun Tokugawa Hidetada to retire, but he chose to stay in Edo.

Later, the Inaba clan took over Odawara. Under their rule, the castle was greatly improved. In 1686, the Ōkubo clan returned to Odawara. The castle suffered a lot of damage during the 1703 Genroku earthquake. Most of its buildings were destroyed. The main tower was rebuilt by 1706, but the rest of the castle took until 1721 to fix. More damage happened during earthquakes in 1782 and 1853.

During the Boshin War (a civil war in Japan), the lord of Odawara, Ōkubo Tadanori, allowed the pro-Imperial forces to pass through Odawara without a fight. This helped the new Meiji government take power.

Odawara Castle in Modern Times

After the Meiji Restoration, the new government ordered all old feudal castles to be destroyed. So, all the buildings of Odawara Castle were taken down between 1870 and 1872.

In 1893, the stone base of the old main tower became the foundation for a Shinto shrine. In 1901, an Imperial Villa (a residence for the emperor) was built on the castle grounds. However, this villa was destroyed by the powerful 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. The earthquake also caused many of the castle's stone walls to collapse.

Repairs were made to the stone walls in the 1930s. In 1934, two of the castle's towers (called yagura) were rebuilt, but only at half their original size.

In 1938, the castle site was declared a National Historic Site. This means it's a protected area because of its historical importance. More archaeological digs in 1959 and 1976 helped expand the protected area.

In 1950, the stone base of the old main tower was repaired. The area became the Odawara Castle Park. This park now includes an art museum, a local history museum, a city library, an amusement park, and a zoo.

The three-tiered, five-storied main tower was rebuilt in 1960. It was made of reinforced concrete to celebrate Odawara becoming a city 20 years earlier. However, this rebuilt tower is not exactly like the original. An observation deck was added at the top for tourists.

Since the 1960s, there have been plans to restore the castle grounds more accurately to how they looked in the late Edo period. Because of these plans, several gates have been rebuilt:

The Tokiwagi Gate (常磐木門) in 1971.
The Akagane Gate (銅門) in 1997.
The Umadashi Gate (馬出門) in 2009.

From July 2015 to April 2016, the castle tower was updated to make it more resistant to earthquakes. Its exhibits were also modernized. When the castle reopened, Odawara City donated all the entry fees from that day to Kumamoto City. This money helped repair Kumamoto Castle, which was damaged in the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes.

Odawara Castle is still recognized as one of the 100 Fine Castles of Japan.

The Remains of the Hōjō Clan's Odawara Castle

Hachimanyama kokaku Higashi Compound
Dry moat between Honmaru and Ninomiya-jinja Shrine
Earthen wall of Honkuruwa(Shiroyama)
Earthen wall of Komine
Higashi moat of Komine1
Higashi moat of Komine2
Higashi moat of Komine3
Earthen wall and small compound between Higashi moat and Nakabori moat of Komine
Nakabori moat of Komine
Kōrinjiyama Nishi moat
Eathen wall of Sannomaru gaikaku Compound
Sannomaru gaikaku Compound
Earthen wall of Sōgamae (Renjōin part)