Visited 12.05.2016 (Thu)
No. of castles visited to date: 10
Top 100 castles in Japan: #8
After Zuihoden mausoleum, I hopped onto Loople Sendai bus again to continue my Sendai heritage expedition. The second destination was the site at which Sendai Castle was previously located on. The castle was built by Date Masamune (1567 - 1636), the first feudal lord of Sendai Domain during the Edo period, in 1602 when he was just 35 years old.
Remains. Arrived at the entrance to the main compound (honmaru 本丸) of Sendai Castle. As Sendai Castle is built on the Mt Aoba, it is also referred to as Aoba Castle. The castle is actually made up of three compounds - the main compound was where the former Ohiroma 大広間, the largest building of Sendai Castle was situated in; the second compound was built by Date Tadamune, the second feudal lord of Sendai Domain while the third compound is where Sendai City Museum currently sits on. The buildings and watch towers of Sendai Castle were destroyed by earthquakes as well as air raids in 1945 (during WWII). One of the watch towers (Wakiyagura 脇櫓) was reconstructed in 1965 and restoration works were carried out on the stone walls along the way.
No. of castles visited to date: 10
Top 100 castles in Japan: #8
After Zuihoden mausoleum, I hopped onto Loople Sendai bus again to continue my Sendai heritage expedition. The second destination was the site at which Sendai Castle was previously located on. The castle was built by Date Masamune (1567 - 1636), the first feudal lord of Sendai Domain during the Edo period, in 1602 when he was just 35 years old.
Remains. Arrived at the entrance to the main compound (honmaru 本丸) of Sendai Castle. As Sendai Castle is built on the Mt Aoba, it is also referred to as Aoba Castle. The castle is actually made up of three compounds - the main compound was where the former Ohiroma 大広間, the largest building of Sendai Castle was situated in; the second compound was built by Date Tadamune, the second feudal lord of Sendai Domain while the third compound is where Sendai City Museum currently sits on. The buildings and watch towers of Sendai Castle were destroyed by earthquakes as well as air raids in 1945 (during WWII). One of the watch towers (Wakiyagura 脇櫓) was reconstructed in 1965 and restoration works were carried out on the stone walls along the way.
Observatory. Today, the main compound, at an altitude of 115 m, also serves as an observatory for visitors to capture an overview of Sendai city. Though the view here is broader, I feel that the elevation is not sufficiently high enough to get a breathtaking bird's eye view of the city. Personally I prefer the view from AER Observation Terrace. There are display boards here which provided some insight on how Ohiroma and its rooms, such as Jodan no ma 上段の間 (where most important ceremonies and meetings held between the feudal lord and his retainers were held) and Jojodan no ma 上々段の間 (used during visits from the Imperial Family and the Shogun's family), looked like in the past.
Best photo taking spot. The center of attraction at the main compound has got to be the statue of Date Masamune riding on horse. This iconic symbol of today's Sendai Castle and the city is a tribute to Date Masamune, a influential feudal lord who founded the modern city of Sendai. Near the entrance of the main compound, I visited the guidance facility to better understand the research and archaeological survey carried out on the site. For those who are interested to know more about the history of Sendai Castle, there is a museum (Aoba Castle Museum) situated further inside the main compound.
With that, I concluded my half day heritage expedition of Sendai city!
Do you know? In 2013, nanoblock introduced a scaled down model depicting the statue of Date Masamune on horseback, which comes under its “Sights to see” series. Bought one after I came back to Singapore as a momento for this solo trip and I have to admit this was one of the most challenging nanoblock that I have pieced together to date!
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Site of Sendai Castle 仙台城跡
http://www.sendaimiyagidc.jp/sight_pps/d_tourist.php?id=0000000889
Sendai Castle Guidance Facility 仙台城見聞館
Operating hours: 0900 - 1700 hrs
Free admission
Aoba Castle Museum 青葉城資料展示館
Operating hours:
Apr - Nov: 0900 - 1700 hrs (last entry at 1630 hrs)
Nov - Mar: 0900 - 1600 hrs (last entry at 1530 hrs)
Admission fee = 700 yen
https://honmarukaikan.com/tenji/
How to get there?
(1) By Loople Sendai bus るーぷる仙台バス.
Board the Loople Sendai bus from Bus stop / Platform 16 at Sendai JR Station West Exit Bus Terminal and alight at Site of Sendai Castle 仙台城跡. Bus ride takes approx 20 minutes.
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Commemorative stamp:
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