[Miyagi] The ruins of Sendai Castle, the former residence of the Sengoku lord, 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.

This site of Sendai Castle was formerly known as Chiyo Castle and served as the ancestral home of the Kokubun family, who were vassals of the Date clan, a powerful daimyo family during the Sengoku period. However, Kokubun Morishige, Date Masamune's uncle who had been welcomed by the Date family to inherit the Kokubun family, fell out with Date Masamune and fled to Satake Yoshinobu, a powerful daimyo of Hitachi Province, leaving Chiyo Castle undefended.
At the time, Date Masamune resided at Iwadeyama Castle, and he set his sights on this location, a natural stronghold overlooking the vast Sendai Plain, and planned to move his castle there. After the Battle of Sekigahara, he obtained permission from Tokugawa Ieyasu and began large-scale construction work. He also began construction of the castle town that would become the present-day city of Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture, and it is said that the total number of laborers involved exceeded one million. As a result, the castle construction was completed during the Keicho era, and the name was changed to Sendai Castle, using auspicious characters.
During the time of Date Masamune, Sendai Castle was a mountain castle that prioritized defense, and its design philosophy was not necessarily suited to times of peace. Therefore, during the time of the second lord, Date Tadamune, the Ninomaru (second enclosure), which was flat and convenient for travel to and from the castle town, was constructed, and from then on, the lords of the Sendai domain resided there.
The current site of Sendai Castle did not have many notable buildings remaining, as the main gate and other structures were destroyed by air raids during the last war. However, the massive stone walls are awe-inspiring, and turrets and other structures have been restored. In addition, a statue of Lord Masamune on horseback stands on the castle tower base, and next to it is the Aoba Castle Historical Museum, which displays panels and models of the Sendai Castle site, as well as detailed restoration videos using computer graphics.

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