🗺️ Kawagoe Castle Honmaru Goten

The popular tourist destination "Koedo Kawagoe" was once a prosperous castle town and still retains the streetscape of the Edo period. Kawagoe Castle is highly regarded due to its location as a northern fortress of Edo, and the Honmaru Goten (Main Keep) is the only remaining building of Kawagoe Castle today. Originally, Kawagoe Castle was built in the first year of Chōroku (1457) by the warlord Uesugi Mochitomo, who commissioned his retainers Ōta Dōshin and his son Dōkan to construct it during the Muromachi period. The only existing structure today is the Honmaru Goten, built in the first year of Kaei (1848) by the then lord Matsudaira Sadanori, making it the sole remnant of Kawagoe Castle. Apart from Kōchi Castle, the Honmaru Goten of Kawagoe Castle is the only remaining structure designated as a tangible cultural property by the prefecture. The currently accessible area includes only a part of the Honmaru Goten from the time when the Matsudaira Yamato-no-Kami family served as the castle lords, such as the entrance hall and the large reception room, as well as the relocated and restored elder's quarters. The rooms are also equipped with life-sized figures dressed in period attire, allowing visitors to reminisce about the lives of the castle's inhabitants at that time.

The Honmaru Palace of Kawagoe Castle, which has a historical significance of 170,000 koku, is open for public viewing. The existing castle only retains part of the Honmaru Palace, which was built in the first year of the Kaei era (1848). Today, the Honmaru Palace, along with Kochi Castle, is one of the few remaining examples and is designated as a tangible cultural property by Saitama Prefecture. Visitors can explore the entrance, the large hall, and the relocated and restored residence of the senior retainers.