Castle ruins that hint at Shingu's historical prosperity
These castle ruins are located atop Mt. Tankaku, on the southern bank of the Kumano-gawa River. The ruins are open to the public and the views here are excellent.
It stands on the mountain where Princess Tankaku, daughter of the samurai warrior Minamoto no Tameyoshi, used to live, so it is also known as Tankaku Castle.
In the year 1619, the Mizuno family, under Tokugawa Yorinobu who lead the Kii branch of the Tokugawa clan, took control of the castle, replacing the Asano clan.
Over the next 10 generations, the surrounding city of Shingu flourished under their rule. Through the architecture of the castle, you can get a sense of how advanced the technology used was at the time, and how powerful the domain was. The remains of a river port can also be seen from the castle.
On April 6, 2017, this castle was designated by the Japanese Castle Foundation as one of the “Continued Top 100 Castles of Japan”.
There used to be a hotel in the Kanenomaru Bailey Ruins, and you can also see a cable car station that used to go up to the castle tower base. If you take the steps from the parking lot, you will reach the castle tower base and the Honmaru Bailey Remains. On the north of Honmaru Bailey you can see Kumano-gawa River and Kumano-ohashi Bridge.
