Kubota Castle

Overview

Kubota Castle (久保田城, Kubota-jō) is a Japanese castle in Akita, the capital of Akita Prefecture in the far north of Honshu. Construction began in 1604, the ninth year of the Keichō era (慶長, けいちょう), placing it near the very start of the Edo period (1603–1868). For the whole of that period it served as the headquarters of Kubota Domain (久保田藩), the feudal territory ruled by the Satake clan (佐竹氏, Satake-shi).

The castle is counted among the 100 Fine Castles of Japan (日本100名城, Nihon Meijō), a list maintained by the Japanese Castle Foundation. Its site is now Senshū Park (千秋公園, Senshū Kōen) in central Akita, a short walk from Akita Station. The coordinates of the castle site are 39.7234806, 140.1232417.

History

The Satake were a great warrior house of Hitachi Province, in what is now Ibaraki Prefecture, and had been among the most powerful lords of eastern Japan. After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, the victorious Tokugawa shogunate punished the Satake by transferring them north to Dewa Province, cutting their lands drastically. Their new domain covered the northern part of Dewa, roughly the area of modern Akita Prefecture.

In 1604, the Satake began building a new castle at Kubota, a settlement on the plain near the sea. The site was chosen for practical defence: the castle made use of the Taihei River and marshy ground rather than relying on a high stone base. Kubota Castle is often described as a flatland-mountain castle (平山城, hirayamajō), built on a low hill surrounded by lowland.

The castle remained the seat of the Satake daimyō throughout the Edo period, and Kubota Domain was one of the largest domains in northern Japan. In official documents of the Tokugawa shogunate, the castle was written as Akita Castle (秋田城, Akita-jō). That name is now used mainly for the Nara-period fortified settlement of Akita Castle, which stood nearby, so the two are easily confused.

What Stands There Today

Almost nothing of the original castle buildings survives. The castle site was turned into a public park, Senshū Park, in the modern period. The park preserves the layout of the castle's moats, embankments and baileys, and the earthworks of the main enclosure can still be traced.

A reconstructed gate and a corner turret stand in the park, built in recent decades to evoke the castle's appearance. The park is also known for its cherry trees and for the Akita City Central Library and other public buildings on its grounds. Because the castle never had a large stone keep, the site today is defined less by masonry than by its green spaces and water features.

The Name in Japanese

The castle's name is written 久保田城. It is read くぼたじょう in kana, and romanised as Kubota-jō.

• 久 (く, ku) — "long-lasting", "long time". A common element in Japanese place names, carrying a wish for endurance.
• 保 (ぼ, bo) — "protect", "keep", "preserve". Here it combines with 久 to form the place name Kubota.
• 田 (た, ta) — "rice field", "paddy". The final element of the place name Kubota, reflecting the agricultural land around the site.
• 城 (じょう, jō) — "castle". When it follows a place name, 城 is normally read jō, as in Kubota-jō.

The first three characters together, 久保田, spell the place name Kubota, which is also the name of the domain the castle served. The final character, 城, marks the building type. Japanese castle names almost always follow this pattern: a place name plus 城.

The castle also carried two alternative names. One was Yadome-jō (矢留城, やどめじょう), written with 矢 (や, ya, "arrow"), 留 (どめ, dome, "stop" or "detain"), and 城. The other was Kuzune-jō (葛根城, くずねじょう), written with 葛 (くず, kuzu, "kudzu vine"), 根 (ね, ne, "root"), and 城. The shogunate's own documents called it Akita Castle (秋田城), using 秋 (あき, aki, "autumn") and 田 (た, ta, "rice field") for the place name Akita.

Visiting and Context

Senshū Park sits in the centre of Akita city, within easy reach of Akita Station on the Ōu Main Line and the Akita Shinkansen. The park is open to the public and the castle site can be walked in an hour or so. The reconstructed gate and turret give a sense of the castle's scale, and the surviving moats and embankments show how the Satake adapted a low, wet site to defensive use.

For readers studying Japanese, Kubota Castle is a useful case because its name appears in several forms. The modern standard is 久保田城, read Kubota-jō. Older documents may use 秋田城 for the same castle, and the same characters 秋田城 also name the Nara-period fortification nearby. Recognising which 秋田城 is meant depends on the period being discussed.

The castle is also a reminder that the Edo-period map of Japan was drawn by the Tokugawa after Sekigahara. The Satake, defeated in 1600, were moved to the north and built Kubota Castle in 1604 as the seat of their new domain. The castle's history is therefore tied directly to the political settlement that opened the Edo period.