Wakae Castle, Medieval castle ruins in Higashiōsaka, Japan

Wakae Castle was a flatland castle in what is now Higashiosaka, its centre a square main enclosure about 130 m east-west by 130 m north-south, ringed by a water-filled inner moat 15-30 m wide and some 3.5 m deep, with abatis stakes set on its shoulder. Excavations found stone walls, foundation stones and a brick-lined storehouse inside, plus roof tiles suggesting a tiled corner turret at the south-west. Outer moat traces near Wakae Kagami Shrine and Wakae Elementary School hint at an outer perimeter of roughly 560 by 580 m.

Wakae Castle first appears in records in 1460, when Hatakeyama Yoshinari entered it after being driven from Kyoto; he lost the ensuing battle to Hatakeyama Masanaga, who took the castle. In 1477 Yoshinari attacked and captured it, and the castle was abandoned soon after. In the 1570s it was held by Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, who was forced to take his own life there in 1573; Oda Nobunaga later used it as a base against Ishiyama Hongan-ji. It was demolished around 1580–1581.

Ikeda Norimasa, one of the three Wakae magistrates, was a Christian; in 1576 he built a church with a priest's residence at Wakae, and converts among the Honganji followers increased. The Jesuit Luís Fróis listed Wakae with Okayama and Sanga as the outstanding Christian settlements of Kawachi. The church vanished after the castle's demolition, but the place names "Kurusu" in Wakae-Kitamachi and "Daiusu" (Deus) in Wakae-Minamimachi survive.

This location is accessible on foot from Wakae-Iwata Station on the Kintetsu Nara Line, making it relatively easy to reach. Visitors should expect uneven terrain and open ground, so bringing sun protection and weatherproof gear is advisable.

Wakae's Christian past survives in two place names: the character name "Kurusu" in present-day Wakae-Kitamachi and "Daiusu" (from Deus) in Wakae-Minamachi. Ikeda Norimasa, one of the three Wakae commanders, was a Christian and built a church with a priest's residence here in 1576, and the Jesuit Luís Fróis listed Wakae with Okayama and Sanga as Kawachi's main Christian communities.