[Miyagi] Sendai Castle Ruins, the remains of the residence of Sengoku Daimyo Date Masamune

Sendai Castle, the residence of the Tohoku region's hero, the Date clan

The ruins of Sendai Castle are the remains of the castle of the Date clan, which ruled the Sendai domain with 620,000 koku of rice, located in Aoba Ward, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, and are sometimes called "Aoba Castle" because they were built on Mount Aoba. The castle overlooks the city of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, which is a designated city by government ordinance, and is a popular tourist spot, as well as being designated as a national historic site

Photo by yy – PICT0106(2007) / Size-adapted.

The ruins of Sendai Castle were formerly known as Chiyo Castle and served as the hereditary castle of the Kokubu family, vassals of the Sengoku daimyo Date clan. However, Masamune Date's uncle, Morishige Kokubu, who inherited the Kokubu family from the Date clan, fell out with Masamune and fled to join Satake Yoshinobu, a Sengoku daimyo of Hitachi Province, leaving Chiyo Castle vacant.
Masamune, who had previously lived in Iwadeyama Castle, eyed this location, a natural fortress overlooking the vast Sendai Plain, and plotted to relocate his castle there. After the Battle of Sekigahara, he obtained permission from Tokugawa Ieyasu and began extensive construction work. He also began construction of the castle town that would become the present-day city of Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture, a massive undertaking that is said to have involved more than one million workers. Construction was completed during the Keicho era, and the name was changed to Sendai Castle, incorporating auspicious characters.
During the time of Date Masamune, Sendai Castle was a mountain castle that placed emphasis on defense, and its design philosophy was not necessarily suited to times of peace. Therefore, during the time of the second feudal lord, Date Tadamune, a flat, outer bailey was constructed, making it convenient for travel between the castle town and the castle grounds. From then on, the lord of Sendai lived there too. The
current ruins of Sendai Castle are devoid of any notable buildings, as the main gate and other structures were burned down in air raids during the last war. However, the massive stone walls are impressive, and the turrets have been restored. A statue of Masamune on horseback stands atop the castle tower, and next to it is the Aoba Castle Museum, which displays panels and models of the Sendai Castle ruins, as well as detailed computer-generated reconstructions.

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