Shiroishi Castle

Shiroishi Castle 白石城
Shiroishi, Miyagi, Japan
Shiroishi Castle's tower
Type	Japanese castle
Site information
Owner	City of Shiroishi
Controlled by	Shiroishi clan, Gamō clan (to 17th century), Uesugi clan, Katakura clan (17th century-1871)
Site history
Built	Kamakura era
Built by	Shiroishi clan
In use	Kamakura era through 1871
Materials	wood, stone
Demolished	1875, rebuilt 1995
Events	Boshin War

Shiroishi Castle (白石城, Shiroishi-jō^?) is a Japanese castle in Shiroishi, Miyagi, within what was Mutsu Province. It was the castle of the Katakura clan, which was a family of retainers serving the Date clan of Sendai. It was also the headquarters of the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei in 1868.

The castle was founded in the Kamakura era, by the Karita clan.

In 1591, during the late Azuchi-Momoyama era, the castle was held as an outpost by the Gamō clan, ruled by the senior retainer Gamō Satonari.

Beginning in 1600, the castle and its environs were located in the Sendai Domain. From 1600 onward, Shiroishi Castle was ruled by the Katakura clan, who were retainers of the Date clan of Sendai. It was also one of the exceptions to the Tokugawa shogunate's rule of one castle per domain.

The castle was the meeting place for the delegates of the northern domains in early 1868, during the Boshin War. It then became the headquarters of the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei. The castle was then occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army. It was briefly placed in the care of the Nanbu clan of Morioka, but was demolished in 1875. The Katakura family and its retainers then went north and settled in Hokkaidō.