Odawara is located in the south west part of Kanagawa Prefecture and is known for its Odawara Castle.
Odawara was a castle town that flourished around
Odawara Castle that was once the residence of the Hojo
Family. The Hojo Family ruled the area during the
Sengoku Period (1333-1573). Later on the family was
defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the Battle of Odawara
despite the impregnable reputation of the castle. The
territory fell under the control of Tokugawa Ieyasu when
the Toyotomi clan lost the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600.
From then the city prospered as a post station since it
was one of the stops on the Tokaido Highway that
connected Edo (present day Tokyo) to Kyoto. During the
Meiji Restoration it became Odawara Prefecture for a
brief period until it was added to Kanagawa Prefecture.
The population declined when Yokohama became the
political and economic center of the prefecture. The
Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923 destroyed ninety
percent of the buildings in Odawara. Then in 1934, the
Tanna Tunnel opened and routed the Tokaido Main Line
through Odawara. This allowed the city to regain some of
the prosperity it once had and was designated a city in
1940. At Odawara Harbor fresh seafood is brought in and
used to make kamaboko, steamed processed fish meat
on a wooden block, every day. It is one of the specialty
products of the city as wells as pickled plums,
lacquerware, and paper lanterns.
Kanto | Kanagawa | Odawara
Odawara Castle
Odawara Castle was built in the mid-15th century and was the residence of the Hojo Clan during the Sengoku Period.
