Urado Castle Ruins

Urado Castle was built by Motochika Chozokabe, one of Tosa's most famous warlords during the Sengoku period (1467-1568), as a base from which to control the entire Tosa region (today Kochi prefecture).
It is located at the entrance of Urado Bay and is an important place for traffic.
It has been repeatedly attacked and defended since the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties (1336 to 1392).

During the Warring States period, the Motoyama clan, based in Motoyama, Nagaoka district, expanded their territory into the Kochi region, using Asakura Castle (Kochi City) as their base.
However, in 1560, after defeating the Motoyama clan, the Chozokabe clan took the castle.
In 1585, the Chozokabe clan was granted control of the whole of the region of Tosa and built a castle on Otakasaka Mountain (now the site of Kochi Castle).
However, due to difficulties in controlling the water supply, the castle was moved back to this location around 1591.
For the next ten years Urado Castle became the main castle of the Chosokabe clan.

This castle is based on the structure of a medieval mountain castle, but with the features of a modern castle, making it a valuable piece of Tosa castle history. However, what survives are the ruins of the castle tower, and the area around the stone walls, etc.