Shobata Castle Ruins, Inazawa

Shobata Castle holds immense historical significance as the birthplace of Oda Nobunaga in 1534, one of Japan's most famous feudal lords and the first unifier of the nation. The castle was originally constructed by Oda Nobusada, Nobunaga's grandfather, sometime between 1504 and 1521 on the border between present-day Inazawa and Aisai cities in Aichi Prefecture. According to the ancient manuscript "Records of Owari Castles," discovered around 20 years ago, this site definitively marks where Nobunaga was born and spent his early years.

The castle was built as a hirajiro, a flat-land fortress, strategically positioned where the Miyake and Nikko Rivers met, using these waterways as natural moats. The main castle measured approximately 228 meters long and 208 meters wide, surrounded by an intricate system of double and triple moats that reached up to 30 meters in width at their broadest points. The castle's original name derived from the local area meaning "Salt Fields" (shio-bata), though Nobunaga's father, Oda Nobuhide, later changed the characters while keeping the pronunciation. In 1533, the court noble Yamashina Tokitsugu visited the castle and recorded in his diary his amazement at the castle's scale and the Oda clan's wealth and hospitality. The castle was abandoned around 1538 when the power base shifted elsewhere.

Today, most of the original castle site has been absorbed by modern housing development and altered by the changing course of the Nikko River since the Edo period. Stone monuments and explanatory signs mark the location at 53-2 Heiwacho Jonouchi, designated as an Inazawa City Historical Site. Visitors can see a model reconstruction of how the castle appeared and a statue of baby Nobunaga in his parents' arms at the plaza in front of nearby Shobata Station. The site offers history enthusiasts a tangible connection to one of Japan's most pivotal historical figures, though little physical evidence of the original structure remains visible.

The castle ruins can be reached from Meitetsu Nagoya Station by taking the Meitetsu Tsushima Line to Shobata Station, followed by an 11-minute walk. The statue of baby Nobunaga is located directly in the station rotary. Admission to the site is free. The location is best suited for those with specific interest in Oda Nobunaga's history and Japanese feudal period, as the modern development has left few visible remains of the original castle structure.