佐倉城

Sakura Castle in Chiba Prefecture, completed in 1610 by Tokugawa retainer Doi Toshikatsu, is known as the 'Castle of Senior Councillors' (Rōjū no Shiro) because so many of its lords served as Rōjū (Senior Councillors) of the Tokugawa shogunate. Located about 40 km east of Edo, it served as an important outer defense of the capital. Most notably, the Hotta clan's Hotta Masayoshi, the enlightened Rōjū who pushed for opening Japan and signing the Harris Treaty in the 1850s, was its last famous lord. Sakura was also a major center of Dutch learning (rangaku), home to the Juntendo medical school (precursor to Juntendo University). The castle ruins are now Sakura Castle Park, home to the National Museum of Japanese History (Rekihaku), and the site is celebrated for its cherry blossoms ('sakura'), befitting its name. Three original samurai residences near the park remain open to the public.