Nihonmatsu Castle

Nihonmatsu Castle occupied a spur of the Adatara massif from 1414 until its destruction in the Boshin War of 1868, the final conflict that ended feudal rule in Japan. The Niwa family governed from the castle for over two centuries, and their civic planning laid the foundation for the modern city. Today the park preserves original stone walls, some dating to the late sixteenth century, along with a recreated Minowa Gate, the Senshintei tea house (the oldest surviving structure on the site), and a mid-seventeenth-century Japanese garden. The tenshudai keep foundation at the hilltop offers panoramic views over the surrounding landscape.