Ako Castle

Home Castle of the Loyal 47 Ronin

Located on the mountain surrounded plains of Ako City, Hyogo Prefecture, Ako Castle with the Chikusa Riverto the east, and the Seto Inland Sea to the south, was also known as Kariya Castle and so named after a branch of the Chikusa River, the Kariya River, that supplies the castle’s moat.

Originally a small, simple fortification constructed in the 15th century by the Oka clan, Ako Castle guarded the border between Harima and Bizen Provinces. Following the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, the Ako area was awarded to Ikeda Terumasa, Tokugawa Ieyasu’s trusted general and son-in-law. The Ikeda ruled the district from Himeji Castle, while Ako Castle was rebuilt as a secondary fortification, again for the purpose of guarding the regions’ western borders.