Aizuwakamatsu Castle, Japanese castle in Aizuwakamatsu, Japan
Aizuwakamatsu Castle, also called Tsuruga Castle, is a hirayama-style castle at the southern end of the old castle town, with the honmaru at its centre ringed by the Ni-no-maru, San-no-maru, Kita-demaru and Nishi-demaru. The present keep is a reinforced-concrete exterior reconstruction of 1965: white walls, dark tiled roofs with upturned eaves, a railed balcony on the top tier, and a stone base of irregular grey blocks. Its roof tiles were returned to the red colour used before the Meiji demolition in 2011.
Ashina Naomori built Kurokawa Castle here in 1384, and the Ashina held it until Date Masamune took it in 1589. Gamō Ujisato rebuilt it as a modern castle in 1592 and renamed it Tsuruga Castle; the Katō rebuilt the keep after the 1611 earthquake. Besieged for over a month in 1868, it was surrendered that November and demolished by 1874; the concrete keep dates from 1965.
The castle is also called Tsuruga Castle, the name it received in 1593 when Gamō Ujisato's seven-story keep was completed; locals still use it. The tea room Rinkaku, a Fukushima Prefecture Important Cultural Property, was moved back to the inner bailey in 1990 and hosts tea ceremonies.
The castle stands in Otemachi, at the southern end of the old castle town, and the grounds are entered from the north side, where the town still spreads. Buses from Aizuwakamatsu Station stop at Tsurugajo Nishi-guchi or Tsurugajo San-no-maru-guchi, about five minutes on foot; the San-no-maru area outside the historic site holds a stadium, a municipal pool and the Fukushima Prefectural Museum. Free volunteer guides can be booked through the city tourism association for a tour of the outer circuit.
The reconstructed tower uses modern reinforced concrete instead of the original wooden framework, which is noticeable when walking through due to the even stability of the floors. Despite this change, the outer form follows the historical model and preserves the traditional appearance.
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