A town with a castle, Amagasaki, Amagasaki Castle is thoroughly dissected.

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2024/03/10

Amagasaki Castle seen from the platform of Hanshin Amagasaki Station. And you can also see Amagasaki Castle from the living room of the ENN HYOGO share house. Let us introduce you to ENN HYOGO’s neighbor, Amagasaki Castle!

Why was Amagasaki Castle built?

Too big for a 50,000-goku daimyo!?

Amagasaki Castle Town was rich!

Amagasaki Castle is a symbol of peace!

The new Amagasaki Castle

新築シェアハウス兵庫

Why was Amagasaki Castle built?

After destroying the Toyotomi clan in the Osaka Summer Battle, the Tokugawa clan made Osaka the jurisdiction of the Shogunate and placed Osaka Castle as their political and military base in western Japan. However, there were still many warlords in Kyushu, Chugoku, Shikoku, and other areas that were hostile to the Tokugawa family. Therefore, Amagasaki Castle was built in Amagasaki, which was close to Osaka and had good transportation access from the old days, as a castle to protect Osaka Castle. The owner of the castle at that time was Ujitetsu Toda, who was famous as a castle builder because of the excellent workmanship of Amagasaki Castle. 1618 saw the construction of the castle, which served for more than 250 years before it was demolished in 1873 due to an ordinance to abolish castles.

Incidentally, the present Amagasaki Castle was rebuilt by Akira Abo, founder of the former Midori Denka (now EDION), an electronics retailer, at a private cost of approximately 1 billion yen, which was donated to Amagasaki City.

Too big for a 50,000-goku daimyo!?

It had a four-story castle tower and a three-story moat, and was about 3.5 times the size of Koshien Stadium at the time. The height of the castle tower was equivalent to an 8~9-story apartment building. In fact, Himeji Castle and Amagasaki Castle are the only two castles in Hyogo Prefecture with a castle tower. It seems that even though the castle tower (stone wall) was built, the shogunate did not permit the construction of buildings above it at that time.

Amagasaki Castle Town was rich!?

The castle town, which stretched on both east and west sides, was vast from the present Hanshin Deyashiki Station to Omono Station. When the Amagasaki Domain was established, the area along the sea from present-day Amagasaki City to Suma in Kobe was the domain of the Amagasaki Domain. There were many sake breweries, fishermen lived along the seashore, and a fish market existed until the Taisho era. The area was also a production center for cotton and other products, and the clan was quite wealthy.

Amagasaki Castle is a symbol of peace!

Even though the castle is for war, it has actually never been used for war. Of course, the present castle is not used for battles either, so Amagasaki Castle seems to be a castle that does not hurt people.

The new Amagasaki Castle

Amagasaki Castle has been newly reborn, but you can now enter the castle. There is an observation zone, an area where visitors can learn about the history of the castle, and an experience where visitors can become the lord of Amagasaki Castle, a samurai, or a princess. There is also an area where you can enter for free. I personally recommend the grassy park around the castle, which is a very relaxing and pleasant place to spend time.

On weekends, there are families with children, people walking their dogs, and it is still nice to have a park in the city!

I’d like to have a beer with my friends from share house ENN HYOGO here from noon….

It is well maintained and the quality is amazing! Thanks to the former chairman of Midori Denka for a very nice place!

参考：あまがさき観光局

Shuhei

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I’ve never seen such a spacious and open property around a share house! And I can’t believe there’s a historic building next door! I’m a little excited. I think the fastest route to the nearest station, Hanshin Amagasaki Station, is through the park. It is definitely nice to walk through the park on the way to school or work!