Changes in spatial use as seen in the layout of castles and the development of town layouts
Kawagoe Castle is a flatland castle built in the mid-15th century by Ota Michizane and his son Dokan, and has since developed as the political, military and administrative center of Kawagoe. The castle site took advantage of the former course of the Irumagawa River and the tongue-shaped plateau topography, boasting excellent natural defensive properties. This made it an important base with strategic significance in terms of both governance and defense.
The layout of the castle town was planned with Kawagoe Castle at its center. During the Edo period, successive lords of the shogunate became castle lords, and especially during the reign of Matsudaira Nobutsuna (1644-1647), the castle area expanded significantly, and the development of townspeople’s areas, samurai areas, and temple and shrine areas began in earnest.
The layout of towns during this period strongly reflects the intention to clarify governance and defense. The townspeople’s area was located on the southeast side of the castle, and functioned as the commercial center. Meanwhile, the samurai’s area was located on the north and west sides, forming the castle’s defensive line. It is said that the radial street structure starting from the castle was designed to ensure that the “line of sight of control” extended throughout the town.
Town map of Kawagoe Castle town
Comparison of old and new town names
| Honcho | Motomachi 1-chome Kitamachi Ohtemachi Saiwaicho |
| Kitamachi | Kitamachi Motomachi 2-chome Shidamachi |
| Takazawamachi | Motomachi 2-chome Kitamachi |
| Minamicho | Saiwaicho Suehirocho 2-chome Motomachi 1-chome・2-chome |
| Edocho | Ohtemachi Motomachi 1-chome Matsuecho 2-chome |
| Shidamachi | Shidamachi Kitamachi Miyashitacho 2-chome |
| Kajimachi | Saiwaicho Nakamachi |
| Tagacho | Saiwaicho Ohtemachi Miyashitacho 2-chome Nakamachi |
| Kamimatsuecho | Matsuecho 2-chome |
| Shigimachi | Nakamachi Matsuecho 2-chome |
Furthermore, Kawagoe Castle Town has a unique feature that is rarely seen elsewhere: the “temple belt.” Many temples were located between the castle and the townspeople’s areas, and they served as a firebreak and also acted as a spiritual barrier. In this way, religious elements were incorporated into the urban structure, which is another interesting feature.
During the process of modernization after the Meiji period, the samurai residences and parts of the castle were lost, but remains such as the Honmaru Palace, the remains of the Fujimi Tower, and the remains of the Nakanomon Moat still remain, allowing one to trace the spatial structure of those times. Ichibangai, a street lined with storehouses, which was a townspeople’s area, is a valuable heritage that conveys the vitality of merchants and the history of the town’s development.
In this way, the town of Kawagoe has a historical urban structure that reflects the relationship between “governance” and “space.” By walking through the traces that remain to this day, you can get a real sense of the intentions and changes behind the town’s development.
