久能山城（久能山東照宮）
Kunozan Castle (Kunozan Tōshōgū)
Overview
Kunozan Castle in Shizuoka Prefecture stands on Mt. Kuno (216m) overlooking Suruga Bay — one of Japan's most impregnable fortresses, surrounded by sea cliffs on three sides. Renovated by Takeda Shingen in 1568, it gained its greatest historical significance as the burial site of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who died in 1616 and was enshrined here as Tōshō Daigongen. The Kunozan Tōshōgū shrine, a National Treasure, predates Nikkō Tōshōgū and was Ieyasu's direct choice. The shrine's treasure hall holds Japan's foremost collection of Ieyasu's personal belongings, including his armor, swords, firearms, and clocks.
Connection to Swords
Kunozan Castle's sword significance centers on Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japan's greatest sword collector, whose personal collection numbered in the hundreds. His most cherished blade, Monoyoshi Sadamune — a tantō by the supreme Sōshū school smith Sadamune — reportedly never left his side. Ieyasu formalized the Tokugawa shogunate's sword management system with dedicated sword custodians (otachiban), establishing the institutional framework that protected Japan's sword culture for centuries. Kunozan Tōshōgū's treasure hall displays Ieyasu's armor and swords as national treasures, offering the most direct encounter with the man who shaped Edo-period sword culture. Even earlier, Takeda Shingen's tenure at Kunozan brought Suruga Province's swordsmiths into the fortress's orbit.
Highlights
- Kunozan Tōshōgū main hall (National Treasure, Momoyama-era architecture)
- Treasure hall (Ieyasu's armor, swords, firearms, and European clock)
- 1,159-step stone stairway ascending to the shrine
- Nihondaira Ropeway (panoramic views of Suruga Bay, Mt. Fuji, and the Izu Peninsula)
- Kunozan strawberry picking (terraced farms on the mountain slopes)
- Ieyasu's mausoleum (direct burial site of the founder of the Edo shogunate)
* Opening hours and admission fees are subject to change. Please check the official website before visiting.
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