History of Taga Castle
Tagajo
Fifteen hundred li from Kyoto,
One hundred and twenty li from the borders of the Ezo,
Four hundred and twelve li from the borders of Hitachi Province,
Two hundred and seventy-four li from the borders of Shimotsuke Province,
Three thousand li from the borders of the Mohe country.
This castle was established in the first year of Jinki in the year of Koshi.
It was founded by the Imperial Inspector and General Governor,
the Nobleman of Junior Fourth Rank, Fourth Order of Merit,
Ono no Azumabito.
In the sixth year of Tenpyo-Hoji, in the year of Mizunoe Tora,
It was rebuilt by the Minister of State for the Eastern Sea and Eastern Mountain regions
the Nobleman of Junior Fourth Rank,
Head of the Ministry of Popular Affairs, Imperial Inspector and General Governor,
Fujiwara no Asakari.
The name Tagajo can be read as “castle of many blessings,”
and it was constructed with the hope of peace in the Northeast.
Jomon period
During the Jomon period, the Tohoku region was warmer than it is today, and it was a place blessed with mountain and sea resources. Along the Matsushima Bay coast, …
near Tagajo, there are about 70 shell mounds concentrated, making it known for its dense distribution of Jomon-period shell mounds, comparable to those found along the coastline of Tokyo Bay and Lake Kasumigaura.
There are also large-scale shell mounds, such as the Satohama, Nishinohama, and Oogi Kakoi shell mounds, where communities thrived over long periods. The natural environment of Matsushima Bay, which remained unchanged throughout the Jomon period, supported the rich lives of the Jomon people and has preserved many shell mounds to this day.
Yayoi period
In the Oshiro district of Tagajo City, there is a shell mound known in archaeological history as the “Masugata-gakoi” shell mound. …
About 100 years ago, pottery excavated from this site had impressions of rice grains on the bottom, indicating that it was pottery from the Yayoi period, when wet rice cultivation was practiced.
This discovery proved that Yayoi culture had reached the Tohoku region and that rice cultivation was practiced, marking the beginning of a new Tohoku history.
Kofun period
Large kofun burial mounds appeared all over Japan. In Miyagi Prefecture, large kofun over 100 meters, such as the Raijinyama and Tomizuka kofun, were constructed in the Sendai Plain. …
Although no large kofun was built in Tagajo, in the 4th century, people began to live in pit dwellings on hills and small elevated areas on alluvial plains. This area extended about 2.5 kilometers east to west and 0.7 kilometers north to south along a long natural levee. Additionally, in the Takasaki area, channels lined with wooden sheet pilings were constructed, indicating high-level civil engineering skills.
In the 5th century, Hokkaido-related artifacts, such as Epi-Jomon pottery and obsidian tools were found at the Sanno and Niida sites, showing that the area around Tagajo was a point of interaction with northern peoples.
From the 6th to 7th centuries, notable sites include the Inariden kofun (a round mound) and the Oshiro and Tayaba cave tombs. Grave goods from the Oshiro cave tomb, such as decorated swords, suggest that these were the graves of local ruling families. Furthermore, a large settlement of closely clustered pit dwellings was discovered in the Yawata area of the Sanno site, indicating that this area was an important political, military, and economic center at the time.
Nara period
Founding of Tagajo
Mutsu Province is believed to have been established in the latter half of 7th century. …
At that time, its range included all of Fukushima Prefecture and up to the Osaki area of Miyagi Prefecture. The northerner region was still inhabited by people known as “Emishi,” who did not belong to the government systems.
When Heijo-kyo was established at the beginning of the Nara period, provincial capitals across the country were also being developed. In this context, Tagajo was constructed in the first year of the Jinki era (724) at the edge of the Matsushima Hills overlooking the Sendai Plain. The castle covered approximately 900 meters square, with a government office in the center and various administrative areas throughout the complex. Tagajo served as the provincial capital for Mutsu Province, with an inspector general stationed there, overseeing both Mutsu and Dewa provinces. Additionally, it played a crucial role in integrating the northern “Emishi lands” into the country. The castle also became a central hub for politics and culture in the Tohoku region, attracting many people and goods.
Heian period
To the south and west of Tagajo, the Namboku Oji (North-South Avenue), an extension of the Tosando route, and the Tozai Oji (East-West Avenue), which ran parallel to the southern perimeter wall, were built about 550 meters south of the southern gate of Tagajo.By the latter half of the 8th century, urban construction began, including river improvements and canal construction to facilitate land and water transportation. …
By the latter half of the 8th century, urban construction began, including river improvements and canal construction to facilitate land and water transportation.
Based on these Namboku and Tozai Oji avenues, the town was gradually developed in a grid plan (Hokaku street layout). Excavations have revealed that the town was completed by the mid-9th century. The area spanned about 1,700 meters east to west and 900 meters north to south, with 13 north-south roads and six east-west roads identified.
Various groups lived in the city, including commoners, officials, and soldiers who worked at Tagajo. High-ranking officials who came from the capital resided in lots facing the Tozai Oji avenue whereas lower-ranking officials and commoners lived in areas further from the main roads. The Namboku Oji avenue was not a private residential space but a public area lined with large buildings.
Middle Ages
After the Genpei War, the Kamakura Shogunate was established at the end of the 12th century. For the next 400 years, until the end of the Sengoku period in the late 16th century, …
the Tohoku region experienced intense conflict. However, this period also saw the development of fields, increased commercial activity, and active regional exchanges.
Although Tagajo’s role as the provincial capital of Mutsu is believed to have ended by the mid-11th century, records from the later medieval period often mention “Taga Kokufu (Taga Provincial Capital).”
Today, the area from Iwakiri in Miyagino Ward, Sendai City, to the western part of Tagajo is considered a strong candidate for this historical site. Long-term excavations have revealed a concentration of medieval ruins in this area. It was a crucial hub for land and water transportation, with the main route Okudaido from Kamakura intersecting with the Kamuri River (now Nanakita River), leading to the sea. Towns and markets also existed here.
Edo period
Tagajo in the Edo Period
During the Edo period, there were 13 villages in Tagajo. Each village typically contained the direct territory of the domain and the fiefs of several retainers. …
Among the retainers who held fiefs in the area, 13 families had residences in the Tagajo area. The most prominent of these retainers was the Tendo family, who held land in Yawata and were a family of Pre-Ikke rank serving the Sendai Domain.
The Tendo family were originally lords of Tendo Castle in Dewa Province and descended from the prestigious Shiba family, who were governors of the Oshu region. During the 10th generation under Tendo Yorizumi, they clashed with the Mogami clan, leading to the fall of Tendo Castle in 1584 (Tensho 12). They sought refuge with the Kokubun family, who held lands in western Miyagi County, and later served Date Masamune.
The Tendo family established a rural residence in Yawata village and settled their retainers around them. This arrangement is evident from a map of the residences drawn in 1681 (Tenna 1), which shows that the layout of Yawata has changed little since the Edo period.
Yawata is home to famous utamakura (poetic rhetoric ), such as Sue no Matsuyama and Okinoi. Tagajo also contains other utamakura, including the Tsubo-no-Ishibumi. The renowned poet Matsuo Basho visited the area in 1689 (Genroku 2) during his journey, recorded in “Narrow Road to the Deep North,” and wrote about his emotional encounter with these sites, which became rhetorical landmarks.
Modern times
In the Meiji period, the government initiated the Nobiru Port construction project, Japan’s first modern harbor construction project. As part of the Six Major Projects in Miyagi Prefecture, the Teizan Canal was extensively renovated and major refurbishments were carried out on the Ofunairi Canal. …
Although the Nobiru Port project was halted by a typhoon in 1884 (Meiji 17), the Teizan Canal renovations were completed in 1887 (Meiji 20).
Amidst these developments, the Japan Railway Company, in 1885 (Meiji 18), changed the survey route for the Oshu Line (predecessor of the Tohoku Main Line) from the discontinued Nobiru-Sendai-Fukushima section to the Shiogama-Sendai-Fukushima section. They made this change due to the Shiogama Port’s increased prominence following the failure of Nobiru Port. Construction of the railway from Sendai to Fukushima began in 1886 (Meiji 19), starting in Shiogama, and the material transportation line extended toward Sendai. This railway, later known as the Shiogama Line, was the first railway in Miyagi Prefecture.
Despite the waves of modernization, Tagajo remained a rural area near Sendai well into the Meiji period. This changed dramatically during World War II with the establishment of the Tagajo Naval Arsenal, which occupied as much as a quarter of the city’s area. The arsenal’s construction, aimed at producing aircraft machine guns and ammunition, began on July 1, 1942 (Showa 17), and it opened on October 1, 1943 (Showa 18). After the war, the site was temporarily under U.S. military control but later became an industrial area and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Tagajo Camp. Some buildings and earthworks from the naval arsenal era still exist in the camp.
As a municipality, Tagajo consisted of 13 villages—Niida, Sanno, Nangu, Takahashi, Ichikawa, Ukishima, Takasaki, Tomegaya, Tanaka, Yawata, Geba, Kasagami, and Oshiro—at the beginning of the Meiji era. With the implementation of the municipal system in 1889 (Meiji 22), Tagajo Village was formed. Despite nationwide mergers of municipalities in the postwar period, Tagajo maintained its administrative boundaries, becoming a town in 1951 (Showa 26) and a city in 1971 (Showa 46).
