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岡山県
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Okayama Castle
岡山県
The Black Crow Castle completed by Ukita Hideie in 1597 — Okayama's icon facing Korakuen across the Asahi River
Founded
1597
Type
Castle
Visited
Want to go
Access
About 5 min by tram from JR Okayama Station, alight at Shiroshita
Marunouchi, Kita-ku, Okayama
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Info
Castle
Founded 1597
429 years
Overview
Okayama's premier castle, completed in 1597 (Keicho 2) by Ukita Hideie. The five-story, six-floor keep, distinguished by its black-lacquered board cladding, is affectionately known as Ujo, the Crow Castle. Facing Korakuen, one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan, across the Asahi River, it forms Okayama's most iconic sightseeing destination. The keep was destroyed in the 1945 air raids and the cur…
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Origins
Built by Ukita Hideie in 1597. After the Battle of Sekigahara, the Kobayakawa and then the Ikeda clan took over. The keep was destroyed in the 1945 Okayama air raids and reconstructed in reinforced concrete in 1966. The adjacent Korakuen Garden, built by Ikeda Tsunamasa, creates a unified landscape …
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100 Famous Japanese Castles
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Related Articles
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記
Ukita Hideie: 50 Years on Hachijojima After Sekigahara
Ukita Hideie (1572-1655), Toyotomi-era Council of Five Elders member and lord of 570,000-koku Okayama, fought as a key Western Army commander at Sekigahara (1600). Spared death thanks to his wife Gohime's family (the Maeda), he was exiled to Hachijojima at 35 in 1606, where he lived for 50 years until age 84.
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記
Hachijojima: The Greatest Edo-Era Exile Island
Hachijojima, 290 km south of Tokyo at the southern end of the Izu Islands, was the greatest exile destination of the Edo era. Beginning with [Ukita Hideie](/character/ukita-hideie) in 1606, around 1,900 political and criminal exiles were sent there over 260 years until the Meiji period. The unique Hachijo dialect and traditional kihachijo silk reflect this layered history.
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Related Figures
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U
Ukita Hideie
Chancellor of Bizen
Age 25 at founding
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In 1597 (Keicho 2), Ukita Hideie completed the keep of Okayama Castle after eight years of construction. Married to Hideyoshi's adopted daughter Gohime and ranked among the Five Elders, Hideie built the black-lacquered five-story keep known as "Ujo" (Crow Castle) and its surrounding castle town. He fought as a principal Western Army commander at Sekigahara in 1600, was defeated, and was exiled for life to Hachijojima Island.
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