Mito Castle
茨城県
Stronghold of the Satake clan, then seat of the Mito Tokugawa — one of the Three Houses of the Edo shogunate — at the heart of Mito's history
Founded
1214
Type
Castle
Visited
Want to go
Access
About 8 min walk from JR Mito Station
2-9-22 Sannomaru, Mito, Ibaraki
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Info
Castle
Founded 1214
812 years
Overview
A Hachimangu shrine on an elevated site in Mito, revered by successive domain lords as Mito Castle's guardian shrine.
Enshrining Emperor Ojin (Homutawake), worshipped for lasting martial fortune, safe childbirth, and child-rearing.
The main hall built in 1573 is designated an Important Cultural Property.
The hall's carvings showcase Azuchi-Momoyama period ornate decoration, conveying the era's arc…
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Origins
Founded in 1592 when Satake Yoshinobu relocated Baba Hachimangu from Hitachiota to within Mito Castle.
Positioned as the Satake clan's tutelary deity and Mito Castle's guardian shrine.
After the Satake were transferred to Akita in 1602, it continued as Mito's guardian shrine.
When Tokugawa Yorifusa …
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100 Famous Japanese Castles
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A Book That Took 250 Years: Tokugawa Mitsukuni and the Grand Dream of the Dai Nihon Shi
Tokugawa Mitsukuni, the 'Water Mito Lord' of TV fame, was inspired by China's Shiji to begin compiling Japan's own national history — Dai Nihon Shi (Great History of Japan). At 397 volumes, this project took over 250 years to complete. How one lord's dream changed Japan.
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Father of the Mito Lord: Who Was Tokugawa Yorifusa, Founder of the Mito Domain?
Tokugawa Yorifusa, eleventh son of Ieyasu, founded the Mito domain as one of the Three Great Houses. As Mitsukuni's father, his influence shaped the intellectual curiosity that drove the Dai Nihon Shi project.
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The Confucian Scholar Who Refused to Serve the New Dynasty: Zhu Shunsui and Mitsukuni's Mito
After the Ming dynasty fell to the Qing, Zhu Shunsui refused to serve the new rulers and lived in exile. Invited by Mitsukuni to Mito, his loyalty to fallen Ming became one of the spiritual models for the Mito School's reverence for moral principle over political power.
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