Imabari Castle is located in the center of the city of Imabari and faces the
Seto Inland Sea, which forms part of its defenses. The area of Imabari is situated in the center of ancient
Iyo Province and is strategically located as the connection point between
Shikoku and
Honshu through the narrow channels of the
Geiyo Islands. During the
Heian period, the area was a stronghold of
Sumitomo no Fujiwara, who rebelled against the authority of the Emperor in Kyoto, and afterwards was dominated by the Murakami clan, a maritime clan who engaged in shipping or as pilots for vessels through the complex channels and rocky straits, but who also occasionally acted as pirates or as the mercenary naval force for a powerful warlord. During the
Sengoku period, the Murakami clan owed fealty to the
Mōri clan, to whom they provided aid at the
Battle of Miyajima, but their military activities were suppressed by
Toyotomi Hideyoshi. After the
Battle of Sekigahara,
Tokugawa Ieyasu installed his general
Tōdō Takatora as
daimyō of the 200,000
koku Imabari Domain. Tōdō was expected to control the narrows in the Seto Inland Sea and to offset
Fukushima Masanori, whom Toyotomi Hideyoshi had installed in
Hiroshima Castle on the opposite side of the Seto Inland Sea. Tōdō first resided at
Kokufu Castle located on the top of
Mount Karako, several kilometers from Imabari. However, due to its inconvenient location and restricted geography, he decided to build a new castle and
castle town on the coast. Tōdō was also known as an excellent castle designer, and constructed both
Uwajima Castle and
Ōzu Castle. The new Imabari Castle was completed in 1608, six years after construction began. The castle consisted of three concentric enclosures, each surrounded by a water moat that was connected to the sea. The second enclosure also had a small anchorage area surrounded by walls so that the castle could be accessed directly by sea. The
inner bailey had a five-story
tenshu, but this structure was later dismantled and relocated to
Tanba Kameyama Castle, which had also been built by Tōdō Takatora. In 1609, just after the completion of Imabari Castle, Tōdō Takatora was transferred to
Tsu Domain. He was replaced at Imabari in 1635 by a cadet branch of the
Hisamatsu-Matsudaira clan headed by
Matsudaira Sadafusa who was a nephew of
Tokugawa Ieyasu, and his descendants ruled Imabari for the rest of the
Edo period. After the
Meiji Restoration, most of the buildings associated with the castle were destroyed, and the land was sold to local
Shinto shrine. Only one
yagura at the north corner of the Ninomaru enclosure was left, as it was used as an armory by the local army garrison, but when a fire broke out in 1871, the gunpowder inside ignited and exploded and the building was destroyed. In 1980, the Imabari City government constructed a new tenshu out of
reinforced concrete. Two
yagura were also reconstructed based on old photographs, one in 1985 and ten others in 1990. In 2006, the castle was selected as one of
Japan's Top 100 Castles by the Japan Castle Foundation in 2006. In 2007, a large gate, along with five smaller
yagura were reconstructed, and a statue of Tōdō Takatora was installed in the second enclosure. The castle is located a 20-minute walk from the
JR Shikoku Imabari Station. ==Features==