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Sunpu-jō is a Japanese castle in Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan. The sobriquet of this feudal fortress was the "Castle of the Floating Isle".Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS): Shizuoka It was also referred to as Fuchū-jō or Shizuoka-jō.
In 1585, Ieyasu constructed a new Sunpu Castle on the approximate site of the former fortified Imagawa residence.JapanVisitor: Sunpu Park. He took up residence at the castle in 1586, along with his favored consort, Lady Saigō, and their two sons, Hidetada and Tadayoshi.Kobayashi and Makino (1994), p.400. Lady Saigo died at Sunpu Castle in 1589. After the defeat of the later Hōjō clan at the Battle of Odawara by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Ieyasu was forced to change his domains in the Tōkai region with the provinces of the Kantō region, and turned Sunpu Castle over to Toyotomi retainer Nakamura Kazuichi in 1590.
After the defeat of the Toyotomi at the Battle of Sekigahara, Ieyasu recovered Sunpu. With the formation of the Tokugawa shogunate, Ieyasu turned the title of shōgun over to his son Tokugawa Hidetada, and retired to Sunpu, where he set up a shadow government to maintain effective rule over the country from behind the scenes. As part of the Tokugawa policy to sap potential rivals of economic strength, daimyōs from around the country were called upon to rebuild Sumpu Castle in 1607 with a triple moat system, donjon and palace. When this burned down in 1610, the daimyōs were ordered to rebuild it immediately, this time with a seven-story donjon.
The castle was visited by John Saris on the first English trade mission to Japan in 1613. Saris and William Adams met with Ieyasu here to exchange gifts and negotiate terms for the East India Company to trade with Japan.
During this period, a series of appointed overseers were based at Sunpu Castle to serve as administrators for the region. These officials were called the or Sushū Rioban, and were most often appointed from the ranks of the Ōbangashira.Murdoch, James. (1926). A History of Japan, p. 9.
In 1635, most of Sunpu burned down in a fire, which also consumed the buildings of Sunpu Castle. By 1638, the palace, gates, yagura and other structures were reconstructed, but notably, the donjon was not, since Sunpu was ruled by an appointed administrator, rather than by a daimyō.
In 1871, American educator E. Warren Clark arrived in Shizuoka to teach science. Shortly thereafter, he directed construction of an American-style house on the grounds of the former castle.Pedlar, Neil. (1990). The Imported Pioneers: Westerners who Helped Build Modern Japan, p. 123. In 1873, Clark left Shizuoka for Tokyo. A western-style school, the Shizuhatasha (or Shizuhatanoya) was established in the house which had been built for Clark; and a Canadian missionary, Davidson McDonald, was engaged to run it.Ion, A. Hamish. (1990). The Cross and the Rising Sun, p. 42. McDonald later helped establish Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo.Foreign Ministry of Japan: Episodes in Japan-Canada Relations.
The castle grounds became property of Shizuoka City from 1889. Much of the moat system was filled in, and portions of the bailey either became a park, or were used as for prefectural government offices. In 1896, a large portion of the inner castle grounds was turned over to the Imperial Japanese Army as a base for the IJA 34th Infantry Regiment.
In 1949, the army base was abolished, and the area turned over to the city government, which transformed the area into "Sunpu Park". Reconstruction projects in 1989 and in 1996 recreated the Tatsumi Yagura and eastern gate.
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