Words-and-Pictures: Suwahara Castle

Note: This selection of Words-and-Pictures was made on September 23, 2001, as I walked on the Old Tokaido.

The remains of Suwahara Castle are located between Kanaya and Nissaka in Shizuoka Prefecture, which are Stations #24 and 25 respectively (from Tokyo) on the Old Tokaido Highway. You can read about my visit to the ruins in my Logbook.

Originally constructed in 1569, this castle was captured by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1575. Nothing remains above ground except Suwa Jinja shrine, but the earthworks are fascinating.

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The shrine

This mound of earth across a tea field--evidence of ancient astronauts? (Sorry: I just feel I have to say that at any archaeological site.)

You might mistake these moats for natural phenomena until you look closer.

They don't lead anywhere, as a watercourse would. They start and stop abruptly.

This old well was one of the clearest of the remains.

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All in all it was a pleasant stroll. There is little about this castle on the net [2019: see here and here], but I found it much more interesting than the very park-ified Yamanaka Castle Ruins.

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Posted October 1, 2019