Often-overlooked castle in Japan looks so beautiful in the snow that we can’t take our eyes off it

Castle north of Tokyo looks like suibokuga artwork.

There are a couple of castles that regularly show up on tourist itineraries and independent travel plans in Japan. Kyoto’s Nijo Castle is easy to fold into other sightseeing plans in the city’s downtown area, and many travelers are willing to take a ride on the Shinkansen to visit the opulent and famous Himeji Castle in Hyogo.

By comparison, Tsuruga Castle gets a lot less attention, especially from international travelers, Today, though, Japanese photographer Yuji Shibasaki (@Yuji_48 on Twitter) has a photo of the often-overlooked castle that we can’t take our eyes off of.

“Aizuwakamatsu’s Tsuruga Castle in the snow looks like a suibokuga painting,” Shibasaki muses, likening the snow-covered stronghold to Japan’s traditional ink wash artwork. “Even though I took the picture in color, it looks like it’s monochrome, and really tells you just how deep the snow is.”

水墨画のような雪の会津若松鶴ヶ城 pic.twitter.com/BBssW5YfEM

— Yuji Shibasaki＠Photo (@Yuji_48) January 7, 2023

So where exactly is Tsuruga Castle? As Shibasaki alludes to, it’s in the town of Aizuwakamatsu, about three hours by train north of Tokyo in central Fukushima Prefecture (the castle is, in fact, officially named Wakamatsu Castle, which helps differentiate it from a handful of other castles around Japan which are also called Tsuruga). Similarly to how its castle is often overshadowed by more famous ones elsewhere, Aizuwakamatsu was a regional capital in the samurai era that boasts a number of cultural sites and examples of beautiful classical architecture, but isn’t as well-known as some other centers of traditional Japanese culture such as Kyoto.

Online reactions to Shibasaki’s spectacular snowy snapshot have included:

“Speechless.” 
“The contrast between the whit snow and the black tile is too cool!”
“This looks like a painting from [15th century artist] Sesshu Toyo.”
“Breathtaking. Tsuruga Castle is the pride of the people of Fukushima.”
“I live near the castle. It’s also very nice in spring, so I hope you’ll come then too.”

Here’s hoping that Shibasaki makes that return trip once the snow thaws and shares more amazing photos of the castle, but for now, this is another amazing view of Japan really looking like a suibokuga painting.

Source: Twitter/@Yuji_48 via IT Media
Images: Twitter/@Yuji_48
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