Castle Atlas / No. 74
Iwakuni Castle
岩国城
Iwakuni Castle is Foundation list no. 74, recorded in 山口県岩国市 as a 山城（麓に居館） site associated with 吉川広家 and 吉川氏.
History
What historically stood here
The Japan Castle Foundation records 岩国城 as a 山城（麓に居館） site in 岩国市, with the founding label 慶長13年（1608）. The listed builder or associated clan is 吉川広家; principal lords are 吉川氏.
Today
What you are actually seeing today
The atlas currently classifies the visible condition as reconstructed keep or tower. Check the linked operator page for current hours, fees and restoration details.
- Current condition
- Rebuilt or replica keep
- Terrain
- Yamajiro: mountain castle
- Condition note
- Keep built after 1868: 4重6階／1962年築／RC造復興. Classified 2026-09-24 from the structured fields at https://cmeg.jp/w/castles/7830.
Architecture And Defense
How to read the place
This record still needs feature-level reporting. For now, do not assume the most visible modern structure is the most historically important part of the castle.
Visit
Present-day visitor information
Foundation-linked visitor source available; current hours, fees, closures and restoration information have not been republished in this first atlas pass.
- Address or access location
- 山口県岩国市横山
- Coordinates
- 34.175779, 132.174142
- Nearest useful station
- See official visitor information.
- Estimated visit duration
- See official visitor information.
- Opening hours
- Check the official visitor source.
- Admission
- Check the official visitor source.
Nearby
Castles close enough to compare
Hiroshima Castle
Hiroshima / Rebuilt or replica keep
Tsuwano Castle
Shimane / Original buildings, no keep
Ouchi Clan Residence and Konomine Castle
Yamaguchi / Reconstructed gates, turrets or buildings
Matsuyama Castle
Ehime / Original surviving keep
Sources
Source and correction context
Identity, list membership, Foundation list number, municipality, basic classification and cultural-property notes are source-verified. Site-level visitor details require additional review unless this record is publishable. Foundation numbers are official list identifiers, not rankings. Coordinates use the Foundation-linked position-data KML and should be treated as visitor-planning coordinates rather than archaeological survey points.
Sources
- Japan's Top 100 and Continued Top 100 Castle Position Data, Japan Castle Foundation / Nippon Castle. Accessed 2026-09-04. Used for the 200 castle addresses and coordinates exposed through the public map linked from the Japan Castle Foundation castle-search page.
- Japan's Top 100 Castles, Japan Castle Foundation. Accessed 2026-09-04. Used for the official identity, list number, list membership, location municipality, castle type, founding label, builders, principal lords, cultural-property notes, and keep-status notes for the original 100-castle selection.
- 100 Fine Castles of Japan and Continued 100 Fine Castles of Japan, Wikipedia contributors. Accessed 2026-09-04. Used only as a secondary cross-check for common English castle names; Japan Castle Foundation records remain the corpus source of truth.
- Nippon Shiro Meguri castle records: keep structure, remains and rebuilt structures, Nippon Shiro Meguri (cmeg.jp). Accessed 2026-09-24. Structured fields for each of the 200 castles, used to classify what stands at each site today. The linked record for each castle is its coordinate source.