Kawate Castle, Medieval Japanese castle in Gifu, Japan

Kawate Castle is a medieval fortified site in Gifu with stone foundations and earthen ramparts located next to a local high school. The remains display the typical defensive features of the period with their characteristic layout of fortifications.

Toki Yoriyasu, the third shugo of the Toki clan, built Kawate Castle in 1353 to replace the cramped Nagamori Castle, and it remained the clan's base until the 11th head, Toki Yorinari. The castle burned in 1494 during the Funada no Ran, a succession dispute, and was abandoned in 1530 when Saitō Dōsan moved to Inabayama Castle. Its earthen ramparts were later dug away for the construction of Kanō Castle.

The castle was a residential palace rather than a fighting fortress, with shrines and temples inside its grounds and a palace-style main hall. After the Ōnin War, court nobles fleeing Kyoto settled in Kawate under Toki protection, and the town's prosperity was likened to "Yamaguchi in the west, Kawate in the east."

The site is easy to locate as markers and remains are visible throughout the modern city. Visitors should wear comfortable shoes since the terrain with earthen mounds is somewhat uneven.

The castle site lies between the old Kisogawa river (now the Sakaigawa) and the Aratagawa, a natural fortress. The Shrine of Ishigiri in Shimokawate served as its guardian shrine against the northeast, while the Shinmei Shrine in Nishikawate was worshipped inside the castle grounds.