Inuyama Castle Keep

A Keep Built in Stages over Three Decades

The Inuyama Castle Keep (犬山城天守) is the keep of Inuyama Castle, on a low hill in Inuyama, Inuyama City, Aichi Prefecture, overlooking Mino across the Kiso River, which in 1952 was designated a National Treasure.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records three roofs over four storeys with two basement levels, a traditional tile roof, and single-storey annexes on the south and west, owned by the Inuyama Castle Hakutei Library.

According to the Agency, Inuyama was a hilltop castle on the front line of Owari facing Mino, and the present castle was built on this site by Ogasawara Yoshitsugu in 1601.

How the Keep Grew

According to the Agency, the castle began as Kinoshita Castle, established by Oda Hirochika in 1469; in 1535 Oda Nobuyasu moved it to Sankojiyama. Investigation during the dismantling repair of 1965 showed that a two-storey tower was built first, a lookout added on top, and cusped gables added at the lookout's base, among other major changes.

The first tower dates from Ogasawara Yoshitsugu's time after Sekigahara, the lookout from around 1620 under Naruse Masanari, and the later changes a decade or more after that under Naruse Masatora.

What to Look For

According to the Agency, the entrance is in the south face of the stone base; one climbs through two cramped basement levels to the first floor. This is trapezoidal, ringed by a corridor two bays wide, with four rooms inside, the principal one a raised shoin-style room with an alcove, shelves and decorative doors, though the raised floor and fittings date from around 1804 to 1818.

Inuyama Castle describes the keep as the oldest surviving castle keep in Japan, with a sweeping view of the Nobi plain from the top floor.

Visiting the Inuyama Castle Keep

Inuyama Castle is open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (last entry 4:30 p.m.), closed 29 to 31 December. Admission is 1,000 yen for adults and 200 yen for schoolchildren; entry may be limited when crowded.

Enquiries go to the Inuyama Castle office.