Maruoka Castle

Maruoka Castle, also known as Kasumi-ga-jō or Mist Castle, is a historic hirayama-style fortress located in the Maruoka neighborhood of Sakai City within Fukui Prefecture, Japan. Constructed in 1576 by Shibata Katsutoyo, a nephew and adopted son of the renowned general Shibata Katsuie, the structure served as a strategic stronghold during the late Sengoku period. Its location on a small hill near the intersection of major highways connecting Kaga, Echizen, and Mino provinces allowed it to control vital trade and military routes leading to the Sea of Japan. The castle features a pentagonal moat and ramparts, characteristic of its defensive design, and remained occupied by successive daimyo of the Maruoka Domain throughout the Edo period under the Tokugawa shogunate until its demolition in 1871.

The castle is culturally significant for its tenshu, or keep, which claims to be the oldest surviving original castle tower in Japan, although this title is occasionally contested by Inuyama and Matsumoto Castles. Designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan, the site is now a public park famous for its beautiful cherry blossoms. Beyond its architecture, Maruoka Castle is steeped in local folklore, particularly the legend of O-shizu Hitobashira. According to this tale, the stone foundation of the keep repeatedly collapsed during construction until a poor, one-eyed woman named O-shizu agreed to be sacrificed as a human pillar to appease the gods. Her spirit is said to have caused the thick mists that allegedly hide the castle from enemies, fulfilling the origin of its alternative name, Mist Castle.