The reconstructed castle keep of Hamamatsu Castle from the side. Note that there is several feet of extra space at the back of the building.

In my last post, I wrote about the charming castle they rebuilt in Kakegawa.   As it turns out, the next city down the line towards Nagoya, Hamamatsu, also has a rebuilt castle. Hamamatsu castle, however, is on the opposite end of the spectrum of rebuilt castles. Whereas Kakegawa Castle is a faithful reconstruction, Hamamatsu castle is not. It is an undersized, concrete and steel structure that doesn’t even fill the original foundation. And that is a shame, because Hamamatsu Castle is historically more significant than Kakegawa.

Statue of Tokugawa Ieyasu at the entrance to Hamamatsu Castle. Tokugawa Ieyasu was lord of Hamamatsu Castle before he became Shogun.

The origins of Hamamatsu castle are unclear, but in 1568, Tokugawa defeated the Imagawa clan at Kakegawa Castle on behalf of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. As a reward, he was given half of the Imagawa territory and made Hamamatsu Castle his new base of operations. He greatly expanded his new fortress and ordered the construction of a new keep. Tokugawa lived here for several years, and many of the famous campaigns undertaken by Tokugawa and retainers at the end of the warring states period were launched from Hamamatsu. Of course, by 1600 and the start of the Edo period, Tokugawa had moved on to bigger and better things and Hamamatsu castle stopped being significant. It was eventually passed off to a retainer and faded into obscurity. By the time drawings were made in the mid-1600s, the same collection of drawings that Kakegawa was rebuilt from, the keep was gone leaving only a stone foundation. It is this foundation that the modern faux castle is built upon.

Suits of armor inside Hamamatsu Castle

Now, that isn’t to say Hamamatsu has no value at all. The modern castle does house a small museum that displays some weapons, armor, and other artifacts related to the Tokugawa clan and castle. It also sits in the center of a large, beautiful park with a lovely garden and pond that is comparable to some of the large parks in Tokyo. So, while it may not be worth a special trip, it is worth visiting if you happen to be visiting Hamamatsu anyway – which you should. The Japanese Air Self Defense Force operates a very well put together museum in town, which I will leave my friend and co-blogger to write about. Yamaha runs a musical instrument museum that I sadly haven’t had time to see yet (it is on the list). There are also a number of inexpensive budget hotels not far from the station, making it a great place to stop over on the way to other parts of Japan.

So Hamamatsu Castle isn’t a bad place to visit, but I still can’t help feeling that it should be so much more than it is. It has so much potential. It should be one of the top, must see places for anyone who is interested in Japanese history, and yet, it just isn’t.  And that is a shame.

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