Sendai Castle

Aoba Castle 青葉城
Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Reconstructed Wakiyagura of Aoba Castle
Type	hilltop-style Japanese castle
Site information
Open to the public	yes
Site history
Built	1601
Built by	Date Masamune
In use	Edo period

Aoba Castle (青葉城, Aoba-jō^?) is a Japanese castle located in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Throughout the Edo period, Aoba Castle was home to the Date clan, daimyō of Sendai Domain. The castle was also known as Sendai-jō (仙台城^?) or as Gojō-rō (五城楼^?). In 2003, the castle site was designated a National Historic Monument.

Aoba Castle is located on a plateau overlooking the city of Sendai on the opposing bank of the Hirose River. The site is protected by cliffs to the south and east, and by a deep forest to the west. This forest was strictly guarded in the Edo period and is a rare survivor of the original virgin forests in Honshu. The area is now managed as a botanical garden by Tohoku University. While the natural defenses of the castle were extensive, the man-made defensive structures of the castle were minimal, as its role was more administrative and ceremonial than military.