Morioka Castle: Feudal Lord Trail

Retrace the path of visiting feudal warlords

Justin Velgus Jul 23, 2014 - 1 min read

<p>Remains of the moat with a foreground of hydrangea flowers</p>

<p>Retrace the feudal lord journey to the castle by following the dotted line</p>

<p>The approach to Sakurayama Shrine leads you through tori gates and past modern day restaurants and gift shops</p>

<p>Feudal lords would pass through this entrance to pray at the shrine before continuing</p>

<p>In the back of the shrine, a huge rock the shape of samurai helmet must surely contain some kind of spiritual energy</p>

<p>Left behind castle walls flank the now concrete path</p>

<p>Continue straight through the open square and take the path on the right to reach this garden</p>

<p>Follow the tree-lined walkway after taking in the simple garden landscape and examining the few monuments</p>

<p>Cross the bridge to where the main castle citadel once stood</p>

<p>Pass through a few more trees (which were not originally here) </p>

<p>And you will reach an area where an amazing statue...once stood. It was melted down in WWII to make weapons and has yet to be rebuilt</p>

The Morioka Castle Site Park is a picturesque park where a castle once stood. It was destroyed in 1874, but there are a few remains of the castle left behind. If you approach from the outer moat on the Sakurayama Shrine side, you can retrace the path visiting feudal lords paraded until they reached the highest point: the main keep of the castle.

You begin your short journey on the banks of the ancient moat, work through a small shopping street, pray at the shrine, and traverse up to the top of the castle. Just walking from start to finish will take less than ten minutes, but take in the views and check out the secret in the back of the shrine and it will become an easy 30 minute adventure.

Justin Velgus @justin.velgus

Justin Velgus (ジャスティンベルガス) is the Miyagi Prefecture expert for Japan Travel and a long-term contributor since 2012 with a focus on the Tohoku region. Justin has written extensively for JT, and other publications such as VisitMiyagi and Sake Today, amassing over 350 published articles...