Maizuru Castle Park is a park and historical site in Kofu, Yamanashi

Kofu, Yamanashi

is the capital city of Yamanashi Prefecture in Japan.As of May 1, 2011, the city had a estimate population of 197,540, with 85,794 households. The total area is 212.41 km².-History:Kōfu's name means "capital of Kai Province"...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. It contains the ruins of Kōfu Castle (甲府城), also called Maizuru Castle, which is about 400 years old and has been designated as a Yamanashi Historical Site. Maizuru Castle Park is a place of rest and relaxation for the people of Yamanashi Prefecture

Yamanashi Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshū. The capital is the city of Kōfu.-Pre-history to the 14th century:People have been living in the Yamanashi area for about 30,000 years...

.

History of Kōfu Castle

After the Takeda family succumbed, Kai Province

Kai Province

, also known as , is an old province in Japan in the area of Yamanashi Prefecture. It lies in central Honshū, west of Tokyo, in a landlocked mountainous region that includes Mount Fuji along its border with Shizuoka Prefecture....

 became the fiefdom of Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga

was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...

. When Oda died it came under the governance of Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu

 was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...

. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...

 unified the country, he ordered the castle's construction. It was begun in 1583 and later completed by Toyotomi's brother-in-law, Asano Nagamasa

Asano Nagamasa

was the brother-in-law of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and one of his chief advisors. Asano also fought for Hideyoshi in a number of campaigns during the Sengoku period of the 16th century of Japan....

, and his son. After the Battle of Sekigahara

Battle of Sekigahara

The , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 which cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu...

, Kōfu Castle fell into the hands of the Tokugawa family

Tokugawa clan

The was a powerful daimyo family of Japan. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa and were a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Nitta clan. However, the early history of this clan remains a mystery.-History:...

 to whom it belonged until the end of the Tokugawa shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

.

In the early Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

, Tokugawa Tsunatoyo

Tokugawa Ienobu

was the sixth shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Tsunashige, thus making him the nephew of Tokugawa Ietsuna and Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the grandson of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the great-grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-great grandson of Tokugawa...

 became the heir of the fifth Shogun, and moved to Edo Castle

Edo Castle

, also known as , is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan. It is located in Chiyoda in Tokyo, then known as Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Tokugawa shogunate here. It was the residence of the shogun and location of the shogunate, and also...

. Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu

Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu

was a Japanese samurai of the Edo period He was an official in the Tokugawa shogunate and he was a favorite of the fifth shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi....

 then became the Lord of Kōfu Castle. Under his command the castle was fully repaired and the town was also developed. However, Yanagisawa was transferred and became the Lord of Yamato Kōriyama Castle. In the Kyōhō period which followed, Kai Province within which Kōfu Castle was situated came under the control of a retainer stationed in Kōfu. Also during this period, the honmaru of the palace and the Akagenenmon gate were destroyed by a large fire.

Later in the Meiji period

Meiji period

The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...

 the castle was abandoned; around 1877, major buildings of the castle were destroyed. Thereafter the castle area was used as an industrial testing facility. In 1897 it was decided the Yakatakuruwa and Shimizukuruwa Enclosures should be dismantled to make way for Kōfu Station

Kofu Station

is the central railway station managed by East Japan Railway Company , in the city of Kōfu, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan.- Lines :*East Japan Railway Company **Chūō Main Line*Central Japan Railway Company **Minobu Line...

. In 1904 the area around the honmaru was opened to the public as Maizuru Castle Park and in 1930 the Government Offices and Assembly Hall moved to the dismantled lot of the Gakuyakuruwa Enclosure. The western and southern moats were completely buried, and the appearance of the castle ruins became almost the same as they are seen today.

Two of the towers have been reconstructed using traditional techniques, and contain museum displays about the castle and some original artifacts.