Honjō Castle, Feudal castle ruins in Yurihonjo, Japan

Honjō Castle is a hirayama-style castle on a low hill, built in three concentric baileys: the honmaru (main enclosure) at the highest point, with the ninomaru and sannomaru as terraces formed by earthworks rather than stone walls, each ringed by a moat. The honmaru held a two-story yagura (turret) as a substitute for a keep, and the residence stood in the sannomaru.

Mogami retainer Tateoka Mitsushige took the Yuri district after the Keichō Dewa campaign and in 1613 built Honjō Castle on Ozaki hill, moving from Akōzu Castle. The shogunate dispossessed the Mogami in 1622 and had the castle demolished; Rokugō Masanori then received a 20,000-koku domain and rebuilt a smaller castle. In 1868 the domain joined the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei, and Shōnai forces attacked; lord Rokugō Masakane set the castle on fire and fled. It was abolished in 1869.

The castle was also called Tsurumai-jō (Dancing Crane Castle) and Ozaki-jō. Two primary schools in central Yurihonjō, Tsurumai Elementary and Ozaki Elementary, take their names from these aliases. The name was written 本城 until the generation of Rokugō Masakatsu, when it became 本荘.

You enter the castle grounds through Honjo Castle Park, which protects original moats and earthworks while displaying a reconstructed gate that shows what the entrance once looked like. The layout is clearly marked, making it easy to walk through and follow the defensive lines.

The two primary schools in central Yurihonjō, Tsurumai Elementary and Ozaki Elementary, are named after the castle's alternate names, Tsurumai-jō and Ozaki-jō. The castle had no keep; a two-story yagura in the main bailey served as a substitute.