Morioka Castle Site Park (Iwate Park)
岩手公園（盛岡城跡公園）
The Nanbu clan's castle ruins where two rivers meet in central Morioka. Pale granite walls framed by cherry blossom in spring and red leaves in autumn.
A castle the Nanbu clan took 36 years to build
Morioka Castle belonged to the Nanbu clan, who ruled this area. Construction began in 1597 under Nanbu Nobunao, the first lord of the Morioka domain, with his son Toshinao directing the work. It was nearing completion only 36 years later, in 1633, when the third lord, Shigenao, moved in. The castle made use of a hill where the Kitakami and Nakatsu rivers meet, and it was designated a national Historic Site in 1937.
The area was originally called Kozukata. Toshinao is said to have renamed it Morioka, wishing for a "hill that rises and flourishes", and that name became today's city.
Tall stone walls, rare in Tohoku
In the Meiji era (1868-1912) almost all of the castle buildings were pulled down. What remains are the stone walls and the moat ponds. Most castles in the Tohoku region (northern Honshu) relied on earthen ramparts for defence, but Morioka Castle stands out for its tall walls of locally quarried granite.
Look closely and you can spot several building techniques: nozura-zumi, natural stones piled as they are; ranzumi, stones of different shapes fitted together like a jigsaw; and nunozumi, squared stones laid with the joints lined up in rows. Repairs to damaged sections of wall have been going on since 1984.
In 1906 the site opened as Iwate Park, designed by Nagaoka Yasuhei, a pioneer of modern park design. In 2006 a public vote gave it the nickname Morioka Castle Site Park, and the same year it was named one of Japan's 100 Fine Castles.
Literary monuments and flowers through the year
The poet Ishikawa Takuboku, who went to school in Morioka, recalled himself at about 15 in a tanka (a 31-syllable poem) about lying in the grass of Kozukata Castle, his fifteen-year-old heart drawn up into the sky. The park has a monument to this poem, along with one carved with Nitobe Inazo's words "I wish to be a bridge across the Pacific" and another with a poem by Miyazawa Kenji.
In spring about 250 cherry trees bloom from mid to late April, and the Morioka Cherry Blossom Festival is held in April. There are also plum blossoms (late March to early April), wisteria (May) and hydrangeas (July), and from late October to early November the autumn leaves set off the stone walls.
Getting there
It is about 10 minutes by bus from JR Morioka Station. By car it is about 20 minutes from the Morioka interchange on the Tohoku Expressway, and there is a paid car park underneath the park.
Tips
- Compare the different ways the stones are laid as you walk, and what looks like a plain stone wall starts to tell the castle's history.
- The park also has a totem pole given in 1995 by the city of Victoria in Canada, Morioka's sister city.
- The best time for cherry blossom and the dates of the cherry blossom festival change every year, so check the Morioka city or Iwate Prefecture tourism sites.
Sources
Updated 30 September 2026. Opening hours and prices change, so check the official site before you go.
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