JAPAN ALMANAC
Interpretive illustrated fallback for Morioka Castle; not a site photograph.

Castle Atlas / No. 6

Morioka Castle

Morioka Castle is Foundation list no. 6, recorded in 岩手県盛岡市 as a 平山城 site associated with 南部信直・利直・重直 and 南部氏.

Open in Google MapsOfficial visitor source

History

What historically stood here

The Japan Castle Foundation records 盛岡城 as a 平山城 site in 盛岡市, with the founding label 慶長2～3年（1597～98）. The listed builder or associated clan is 南部信直・利直・重直; principal lords are 南部氏.

Today

What you are actually seeing today

The atlas currently classifies the visible condition as stonework and earthworks. Check the linked operator page for current hours, fees and restoration details.

Current condition
Original buildings, no keep
Terrain
Hirayamajiro: hill-on-plain castle
Condition note
Original buildings: 門. Classified 2026-09-24 from the structured fields at https://cmeg.jp/w/castles/269.

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.

Cultural-property notes in the Foundation row: 国指定史跡.

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
岩手県盛岡市菜園1-1-3
Coordinates
39.699949, 141.150099
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

No. 107

Akita Castle

Akita / Reconstructed gates, turrets or buildings

No. 5

Ne Castle

Aomori / Reconstructed gates, turrets or buildings

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.