Obata Castle Ruins boasts incredibly high defensive capabilities for a flatland castle, featuring a network of moats and pathways that resemble a maze.
Historic Sites
📷
No image
📷
No image
📷
No image
📷
No image
Loading...
Highlights
Walk along the maze-like moat paths
Experience the high earthworks and deep moats
Explore the remains of the main enclosure, wells, and watchtowers
Learn about the castle's structure from the Sengoku period
By car: Approximately 20 minutes from Mito IC on the Joban Expressway.
By bus: Approximately 30 minutes by bus from JR Mito Station to Ibaraki-machi Yakuba (Ibaraki Town Hall), get off at Okunoya bus stop, and then walk for about 40 minutes. Show route
Op.Hours
Open 24 hours a day
Cld.Days
Open every day
Fee
Free
INFO
Please be mindful of the surrounding environment when visiting and take your trash with you.
Obata Castle Ruins is the site of a flatland castle built during the Sengoku period (Warring States period) in Ibaraki-machi, Higashiibaraki District, Ibaraki Prefecture.
Now a well-maintained castle park, visitors can explore the remaining structures, such as stone walls and moats.
It's believed that Obata Castle came under the influence of the Edo clan of Mito Castle sometime after the Bunmei era (around 1481).
The current castle grounds are believed to have been developed during the Genki-Tensho period (1570s), playing a crucial role as a base for attacking the Ojou clan of Fuchu Castle.
Letters from 1585 mention Otsuka Yasaburo and Obata Magonjiro as castle commanders of Obata Castle. Around this time, local lords around the swamp were reportedly mobilized on a rotational basis to strengthen the castle's defenses.
In December 1590, due to the power of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Satake Yoshinobu of Ota Castle (Hitachi-Ota City) seized Mito Castle from the Edo clan, leading to the demise of the Ojou clan of Fuchu Castle.
It is believed that Obata Castle also fell at this time.
It is said that afterwards, until 1620, it became a directly governed territory of Satake Yoshinobu, managed by his retainer Wada Akitsugu. However, it is believed that Obata Castle concluded its centuries-long historical role around the time of its fall in 1590 or with the relocation of the Satake clan.
Obata Castle is a remarkably unusual structure for an earthen castle on level ground, featuring high earthworks and deep moats designed to enable attacks on enemies from the elevated enclosures above.
Visitors can walk along the moat paths and experience the castle's structure as it was in its time.
Remnants such as the remains of the main enclosure, wells, and watchtowers evoke the atmosphere of the past, making it a must-see spot for history buffs.
Obata Castle Ruins is a perfect place for history enthusiasts, as well as for those enjoying a leisurely stroll or hike.
With ample parking and restrooms available, visitors can explore with ease.
Favorite
