When I visited one of the Kumano Grand Shrines, the Hayatama Taisha, I stumbled upon the Shingu Castle Ruins by coincidence.
Being a castle lover, I couldn’t resist. I had to check it out!
Shingu Castle (新宮城) also known as Tankaku Castle (丹鶴城) is located in Shingu City on the Kii Peninsula in Wakayama Prefecture (map).
If you’re visiting Kumano Hayatama Taisha and have a few extra minutes, it’s worth dropping by.
Walking from the JR Shingu Station to the shrine will automatically bring you to the entrance of the castle.
You’ll come to a crossing where you have to turn left in order to get to Hayatama Taisha, there you’ll see the entrance on the right side of the road. It’s very easy to spot.
From the JR station it’s a 15 mins walk.
There are a few stairs you’ll have to climb as the castle used to be on a hill.
It won’t take long. Exploring this castle site will only take about 10-20 mins.
Shingu Castle’s Origins
Shingu Castle was built from 1618-1633 by Asano Tadayoshi.
Two clans used to reside in the castle: the Asanos (浅野氏) and the Mizunos (水野氏).
It is not clear if the honmaru was a five-storied castle tower or a three-storied one.
During the Meiji Restoration (in 1873) the castle was dismantled like many other castles as well.
Today only the stone staircase and walls remains.
It is now a public park and especially nice in spring because there are a lot of cherry blossom trees.
Because of its location on a hill the castle offered a wide view of the Pacific Ocean and the Kumano River. That’s why yet another name of the castle is Okimi Castle (沖見城, lit.: open-sea-view castle).
On the opposite side you get to see part of Shingu City from above which is also a nice view.
The small garden in the park is really neat and beautiful!
From the Shingu Castle Ruins it’s just a short walk on to Kumano Hayatama Taisha.
If you have enough time, make sure to check out both!
Very Nice! Wonder if it has any connection with my family ~ Asano. Will have to check it out and would be interesting if it did :)
Hey! That would be pretty awesome!
Let me know if you find out anything.
Will have to compile a family tree of the Japanese family. The Asano family have been in Gifu for many years but I guess Wakayama is not too far away and could have some connection there.