The drama "The Toyotomi Brothers!" airing in Japan in 2026 focuses on the life of Toyotomi Hidenaga, the younger brother of the famous Japanese Sengoku warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hidenaga was an excellent aide. People say, 'If Hidenaga had lived longer, the Toyotomi family's dominion would have been secure.In Takatori Town, there is Takatori Castle.Takatori castle associated with Hidenaga.
▼Statue of Toyotomi Hidenaga, housed at
Tsubosaka-dera（別ウインドウで開く）Takatori Castle is a nationally designated historic site, one of Japan’s three great mountain castles, and one of Japan’s 100 famous castles. It was built at the summit of Mount Takatori (elevation 583.6m) .The castle's perimeter is generally 3 km. From the base of the castle town, the elevation difference is 446m.This is the largest in any early modern Japanese castle.Although it was dismantled following the 1873 castle abolition decree, the remaining stone walls still convey its former grandeur to us. The origins of Takatori Castle date back to 1332, when the Ochi clan, local lords aligned with the Southern Court, built a castle made of earth, without any keep or turrets. In 1580, Oda Nobunaga ordered the demolition of Takatori Castle as it was deemed unnecessary. However, reconstruction by the Tsutsui clan began in 1584 to use it as a sub-castle for Yamato Koriyama Castle. When the Tsutsui clan moved to Iga, Toyotomi Hidenaga (then Hashiba Hidenaga) entered Yamato Koriyama Castle in 1585. Hidenaga installed his retainer Honda Toshihisa at Takatori Castle and ordered its renovation.This extensive renovation greatly changed the castle’s scope and appearance. Typically, mountain castles utilised only the summit, but Takatori Castle became a vast area incorporating the mountainside.
▼Stone walls of the main keep platform (generally 12m high)
▼Night view from Site of Kunimi Watchtower
▼Takatori Castle after renovation by Hidenaga (CG reconstruction project by Nara Sangyo University, now Nara Gakuen University)
▼Tsubosaka-dera is the sixth temple of the Saigoku 33 temples pilgrimage, famous for its giant Buddha surrounded by cherry blossoms
