Taga Castle 1.68

Taga Castle is the site of a Nara period jōsaku-style Japanese castle located in what is now part of the town of Tagajō in Miyagi prefecture in the Tōhoku region of far northern Honshu, Japan. Bashō tells of his visit to the site in Oku no Hosomichi. The ruins of Taga-jō and its former temple have been designated a.BackgroundIn the late Nara period, after the establishment of a centralized government under the Ritsuryō system, the Yamato court sent a number of military expeditions to what is now the Tōhoku region of northern Japan to bring the local Emishi tribes under its control. The site was discovered and partially excavated in 1955, with more extensive investigations in 1976.An inscription gives a foundation date of 724 AD for Tagajō, and states that it was constructed by Azumabito Ono as the provisional provincial capital of Mutsu Province. Along with Akita Castle and Okachi Fort in Dewa Province, it was one of the main bases for Yamato expansion into northern Honshu. Its commander was titled Chinjufu Shogun, and was the northern equivalent to the commander of in Kyushu. The castle was significantly renovated by Fujiwara Asakari in 762.