was a Japanese ''hirayama''-style (lowland hill) castle located in Inohana (formerly

Shimōsa Province was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture and Ibaraki Prefecture as well as the bordering parts of Saitama Prefecture and Tokyo (the parts that used to be located east of the lower reaches of the old Tone River prior to the ...

) in the Chuo district of

Chiba City is the capital city of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It sits about east of the centre of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay. The city became a government-designated city in 1992. In March 2025, its population was 983,045, with a population density of 3,617 people ...

Chiba Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama ...

. It is commonly known as Chiba Castle. The surrounding area of the castle ruins have been developed into Inohana Park. The castle ruins, including its earthworks and moats, have been designated as a cultural property of the city. The Chiba City Folk Museum, a Japanese castle replica, was built on the site in 1967.

History

Inohana castle was a ''hirayama''-style castle built on a flatland hill south of Miyako River. Although Inohana castle is commonly thought to have been the location of the

Chiba clan The Chiba Clan (千葉氏 ''Chiba-shi'') was a Japanese '' gōzoku'' and samurai family descending from the Taira clan. The clan was founded by Chiba Tsuneshige, originally Taira Tsuneshige. The Chiba governed in Shimōsa Province, and the cla ...

's mansion, no traces of a

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

mansion have been found in excavations so far. The mansion is instead thought to have been located in an area near Inohana hill, around the present-day Chiba District Court. However, the true location of the Chiba clan mansion is still unknown. The finding of urns with cremated 13th century remains indicates that Inohana was used as a cemetery instead. An analysis of the earthworks and moats have led to theories that it is in fact the remains of a castle from the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

. In the

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

, conflict between the Ashikaga shogunate in Kyoto and '' Kantō kubō'' caused the

Kanto region Japanese Kanto is a simplified spelling of , a Japanese word, only omitting the diacritics. In Japan Kantō may refer to: *Kantō Plain *Kantō region * Kantō-kai, organized crime group * Kanto (Pokémon), a geographical region in the ''Pokém ...

to be thrown into chaos. During this period the Hara clan, retainers of the Chiba clan, gained power. In 1455 the Hara clan assumed control of the region around Inohana after an attack on the Chiba clan. The latter would eventually move their base to

Moto Sakura Castle was a Muromachi period "hirayama"-style castle located on the border of the town of Shisui and the city of Sakura, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Its ruins been protected as a National Historic Site since 1998. Overview Motosakura Castle was locate ...

. Inohana Castle was possibly built during the time of Hara Tanefusa's son Norikatsu. Norikatsu was attacked by the Mikami clan in 1516, the castle was then destroyed or abandoned. It was only in the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

that the old hill castle of Inohana was mentioned as the castle of the Chiba clan. In 1858, the "Illustrated Guide to Famous Places of Narita", produced at the time of the construction of the new main hall of

Narita-san Narita-san (成田山 "Narita mountain") Shinshō-ji ( 新勝寺 "New victory temple") is a Shingon Buddhist temple located in central Narita, Chiba, Japan. It was founded in 940 by Kanchō Daisōjō, a disciple of Kōbō Daishi. It is a lead ...

temple, contains a section about Chiba Tsunetane. It includes a "Diagram of the Site of the Old Castle of the Chiba Clan", with Inohanayama in the center. In 1926, a monument commemorating the 800th anniversary of the founding of Chiba- fu was erected at the site of Inohana Castle, referencing Chiba Tsuneshige's rule of the area in the late

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

. In 1976, a monument commemorating the 850th anniversary of the founding of Chiba-fu was erected.

Castle remains

The name Inohana, literally pig's nose, is a reference to the shape of the hill where the castle was built on. North of the museum is a Shinmei Shrine and a monument to the ruins of Inohana Castle. The area around the shrine is said to be the site of an observation platform, which once offered a full view of the

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan spanning the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, on the southern coast of the island of Honshu. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. Th ...

and the nearby Chiba Port. On the west side of the museum are remains of castle earthworks and dried moats that marked the inner citadel ('' kuwara'') and center of the castle. The ruins of Inohana Castle, has been designated as a cultural asset of the city. There is a well called "Ochanomizu" on the north side of the castle ruins. There is a legend that Chiba Tsunetane made tea with water drawn from this well and presented it to

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1192 until 1199, also the first ruling shogun in the history of Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako ...

. The stairs on the east side of the castle ruins were once called "Ikedazaka" and are said to have been the castle's back gate.

Chiba City Folk Museum

The Chiba City Folk Museum is a museum located in Inohana, Chuo Ward, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture. The museum main building is a

Japanese castle are fortresses constructed primarily of wood and stone. They evolved from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries and came into their best-known form in the 16th century. Castles in Japan were built to guard important or strategic sites, such a ...

tower replica (''

tenshu is an architectural typology found in Japanese castle, Japanese castle complexes. They are easily identifiable as the highest tower within the castle. Common translations of ''tenshu'' include keep, main keep, or ''donjon''. ''Tenshu'' are cha ...

'') built in the style of Azuchi-Momoyama period castles. In the front of the museum is a statue of Chiba Tsunetane, a samurai of the Chiba clan who helped Minamoto no Yoritomo establish the

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Yori ...

. In addition to the permanent exhibition on the local history of Chiba city and the Chiba clan, it also holds special exhibitions. First opened on April 9, 1967, the building is dedicated to research and studies on the history of Chiba city and the Chiba clan.

References

{{reflist Castles in Chiba Prefecture Historic Sites of Japan Ruined castles in Japan 1967 establishments in Japan Museums in Chiba Prefecture