100 Fine Castles of Japan explained

The castles in were chosen based on their significance in culture, history, and in their regions by the in 2006.^[1]

In 2017, Japanese Castle Association created an additional finest 100 castles list as Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles.^[2]

Hokkaidō

Name	Prefecture	City	Year completed	Built by	Photo
Nemuro Peninsula Chashi Site 根室半島チャシ跡群	Hokkaido	Nemuro	From the 16C to the 18C	Ainu people アイヌ民族
Goryōkaku 五稜郭	Hokkaido	Hakodate	1866	Tokugawa shogunate 徳川軍和新政府軍
Matsumae Castle 松前城	Hokkaido	Matsumae	1606	Matsumae Takahiro 松前崇広

Name	Prefecture	City	Year completed	Built by	Photo
Hirosaki Castle 弘前城	Aomori	Hirosaki	1611	Tsugaru Tamenobu 津軽為信 Tsugaru Nobuhira 津軽信枚
Ne Castle 根城	Aomori	Hachinohe	1334	Moroyuki Nanbu 南部師行
Morioka Castle 盛岡城	Iwate	Morioka	1598	Nanbu Nobunao 南部信直
Sendai Castle 仙台城	Miyagi	Sendai	1601	Date Masamune 伊達政宗
Taga Fort 多賀城	Miyagi	Tagajō	724	Ōno no Azumabito 小野東人
Kubota Castle 久保田城	Akita	Akita	1604	Satake Yoshinobu 佐竹義宣
Yamagata Castle 山形城	Yamagata	Yamagata	1356	Shiba Kaneyori 斯波兼頼
Nihonmatsu Castle 二本松城	Fukushima	Nihonmatsu	Muromachi period	Hatakeyama Mitsuyasu
Aizuwakamatsu Castle 会津若松城	Fukushima	Aizuwakamatsu	1384	Ashina Naomori 蘆名直盛
Komine Castle 小峰城	Fukushima	Shirakawa	1340	Yūki Chikatomo

Name	Prefecture	City	Year completed	Built by	Photo
Mito Castle 水戸城	Ibaraki	Mito	1198	Baba Sukemoto
Banna-ji 鑁阿寺	Tochigi	Ashikaga	1196	Minamoto no Yoshiyasu 源義康
Minowa Castle 箕輪城	Gunma	Takasaki	1512	Nagano Narihisa
Kanayama Castle 金山城	Gunma	Ōta	1469	Iwamatsu Iezumi 岩松家純
Hachigata Castle 鉢形城	Saitama	Yorii	1476	Nagao Kageharu 長尾景春
Kawagoe Castle 川越城	Saitama	Kawagoe	1457	Uesugi Mochitomo 上杉持朝
Sakura Castle 佐倉城	Chiba	Sakura	Tenbun era	Kashima Chikamiki
Edo Castle 江戸城	Tokyo	Chiyoda	1457	Ōta Dōkan 太田道灌
Hachiōji Castle 八王子城	Tokyo	Hachiōji	1587	Hōjō Ujiteru 北条氏照
Odawara Castle 小田原城	Kanagawa	Odawara	1633	Ōmori Yoriharu 大森頼春
Tsutsujigasaki Castle 躑躅ヶ崎館	Yamanashi	Kōfu	1519	Takeda Nobutora 武田信虎
Kōfu Castle 甲府城	Yamanashi	Kōfu	1583	Tokugawa Ieyasu 徳川家康
Matsushiro Castle 松代城	Nagano	Nagano	1560	Takeda Shingen 武田信玄
Ueda Castle 上田城	Nagano	Ueda	1583	Sanada Masayuki 真田昌幸
Komoro Castle 小諸城	Nagano	Komoro	1554	Takeda Shingen 武田信玄
Matsumoto Castle 松本城	Nagano	Matsumoto	1504	Shimadachi Sadanaga
Takatō Castle 高遠城	Nagano	Ina	?	?
Shibata Castle 新発田城	Niigata	Shibata	1654?	Shibata clan?
Kasugayama Castle 春日山城	Niigata	Jōetsu	Nanboku-chō period	Nagao clan Uesugi clan

Name	Prefecture	City	Year completed	Built by	Photo
Tottori Castle 鳥取城	Tottori	Tottori	1555	Yamana clan
Matsue Castle 松江城	Shimane	Matsue	1611	Horio Tadauji
Gassantoda Castle 月山富田城	Shimane	Yasugi	1185?	Sasaki Yoshikiyo?
Tsuwano Castle 津和野城	Shimane	Tsuwano	1295	Yoshimi Yoriyuki
Tsuyama Castle 津山城	Okayama	Tsuyama	1444	Yamashina Tadamasa
Bitchū Matsuyama Castle 備中松山城	Okayama	Takahashi	1240	Akiba Shigenobu
Ki castle 鬼ノ城	Okayama	Sōja	7C?	Yamato court?
Okayama Castle 岡山城	Okayama	Okayama	1369	Uwagami Takanao
Fukuyama Castle 福山城	Hiroshima	Fukuyama	1622	Mizuno Katsunari
Yoshida-Kōriyama Castle 吉田郡山城	Hiroshima	Akitakata	1336	Mōri Tokichika
Hiroshima Castle 広島城	Hiroshima	Hiroshima	1589	Mōri Terumoto
Iwakuni Castle 岩国城	Yamaguchi	Iwakuni	1601	Kikkawa Hiroie
Hagi Castle 萩城	Yamaguchi	Hagi	1604	Mōri Terumoto

Name	Prefecture	City	Year completed	Built by	Photo
Fukuoka Castle 福岡城	Fukuoka	Fukuoka	1601	Kuroda Nagamasa
Ōno Castle (Chikuzen Province) 大野城	Fukuoka	Ōnojō	665	?
Nagoya Castle 名護屋城	Saga	Karatsu	1591	Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Yoshinogari site 吉野ヶ里遺跡	Saga	Yoshinogari Kanzaki	Yayoi period	?
Saga Castle 佐賀城	Saga	Saga	1602	Nabeshima clan
Hirado Castle 平戸城	Nagasaki	Hirado	1599	Matsura Shigenobu
Shimabara Castle 島原城	Nagasaki	Shimabara	1624	Matsukura Shigemasa
Kumamoto Castle 熊本城	Kumamoto	Kumamoto	1467	Ideta Hidenobu
Hitoyoshi Castle 人吉城	Kumamoto	Hitoyoshi	Genkyū era	Sagara Nagayori
Funai Castle 府内城	Ōita	Ōita	1597	Fukuhara Nagataka
Oka Castle 岡城 (豊後国)	Ōita	Taketa	1185	Ogata Koreyoshi
Obi Castle 飫肥城	Miyazaki	Nichinan	Sengoku period	Tsuchimochi clan
Kagoshima Castle 鹿児島城	Kagoshima	Kagoshima	1602	Shimazu Iehisa