Reconstructed residential barracks (9th c.) of Shiwa Castle in Morioka, Japan. Castle was erected in 803 against local emishi tribes

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Shiwa Castle was built in 803 by Sakanoue no Tamuramaro. It was one of several josaku castles built in the Nara and Heian periods to pacify the Tohoku region. It took about 4000 soldiers one year to complete the castle. Shiwa Castle was the largest of these josaku castles. The immesne outer wall is 840 meters long. The outer moat beyond this wall was 930 meters long. It is also estimated that approximately 4000 soldiers and government officials lived within the castle. The war with the local Emishi peoples ended in 811. In 811 Shiwa Castle also suffered flood damage and was abandoned in favor of the recently completed Tokutan Castle.

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Size: 3139px × 2000px
Location: Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, Japan
Photo credit: © Ivan Marchuk / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

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