Ayajyo Castle in Miyazaki Prefecture: A Famous Tourist Spot

Camper

2024.09.14

We stopped by a castle on our drive for my 8-year-old daughter who loves history.

It is Ayajyo Castle in Miyazaki Prefecture. It was built about 660 years ago.

If you’re interested in history, be sure to visit!

CONTENTS

1 Time Required for Sightseeing at Ayajyo Castle
2 Admission Fees for Ayajyo Castle
3 The Main Tower of Ayajyo Castle
4 History of Ayajyo Castle
5 Tourist Information for Ayajyo Castle

Time Required for Sightseeing at Ayajyo Castle

It takes about 50 minutes by car from Miyazaki City. One hour is sufficient for sightseeing.

Admission Fees for Ayajyo Castle

Adults 350 yen, High school students 300 yen, Children 250 yen, Group discount: 100 yen off for groups of 15 or more.

The Main Tower of Ayajyo Castle

It’s a magnificent main tower!

Unfortunately, photography is not allowed inside, but there are exhibits of armor used by people in the past.

You can climb up to the third floor, but be careful as the stairs are very steep!

The view from the third floor is fantastic!

History of Ayajyo Castle

Ayajyo Castle began about 660 years ago during the Genko era (1331–1334) when Hosokawa Kojiro Yoshimoto, a retainer of Ashikaga Takauji, was ordered to come to this area. His son, Yoshito, established a mountain castle in Aya and took the name Aya. The Aya clan governed the area for several generations. During the Muromachi period, under the eighth shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, the Aya clan became a retainer of the Ito clan, a powerful faction in Hyuga province based at Toogun Castle. As a result, Ayajyo Castle played an important role in battles against the Shimazu clan as one of the 48 castles of the Ito faction. Later, during the Edo period, Ayajyo Castle was abolished under the one castle per province rule, but it served as a mountain castle protector for more than 270 years. The current Ayajyo Castle, reconstructed based on studies by the Japan Castle Foundation in the spring of 1985, is considered to be a castle tower structure from the early Sengoku period. (Source: Aya Town Homepage)

At Ayajyo Castle, there is also a display of swords made by Tanaka Kunihiro, said to be the best swordsmith in Japan. Here is a statue near the parking lot as you head toward the main tower.

Ayajyo Castle is accessible only by climbing steep slopes.

Thinking about how people in the past climbed up and down to reach Ayajyo Castle without cars makes me marvel at their physical strength and perseverance.