Tsuchiura Castle (土浦城)

Kijo Park (亀城公園), located northwest of Tsuchiura Station, sits on the former site of the Honmaru (main enclosure) and Ninomaru (second enclosure) of Tsuchiura Castle (土浦城), which was originally founded during the Muromachi period in the Eikyo era (1429–1440).  The castle was also known as "Kijo" (亀城), meaning "Turtle Castle," as its surrounding moats made it appear like a turtle floating on water.

Monument marking the site of the former Honmaru (front) and East Turret (back)

Yagura-mon (櫓門)

During the Edo period (1603–1868), the castle was governed by the Matsudaira, Nishio, Kutsuki, and Tsuchiya clans.

Following the Castle Abolition Order of 1873, Tsuchiura Castle was repurposed multiple times—as the Tsuchiura Prefectural Office, the Niihari Prefectural Office, the Tsuchiura Branch Office of Ibaraki Prefecture, and later, the Niihari County Office.

In 1898, plans to transform the site into a park first emerged when the Tsuchiya family and Ibaraki Prefecture, the land owner and administrator, donated the land to Tsuchiura.  Construction began in 1934, and the park officially opened in 1935.

Maekawaguchi Gate (前川口門)

Kasumi Gate (霞門)

Edo-period structures in the park include the Yagura Gate (櫓門), Kasumi Gate (霞門), and the relocated Maekawaguchi Gate (前川口門).  The Maekawaguchi Gate was originally built in the late Edo period in the Koraimon (高麗門) style, a type of Japanese castle gate featuring two main pillars in the front, two supporting pillars in the back, and a hip-and-gable roof.  It is said to have originally stood between the Takekuruwa (the samurai residence area) and the town area.  In 1885, it moved to serve as the gate for the Tsuchiura Kocho (village head) office hall (later the town hall).  In 1920, it relocated again to Sokakuji, a Buddhist temple in the Otemachi District of Tsuchiura, to serve as its sanmon (temple gate).  In 1981, after the donation from the temple, it was moved to its current location, where the Ninomaru entrance gate of Tsuchiura Castle once stood.

West Turret (西櫓)

Shotoku Taishi-do (聖徳太子堂)

Tsuchiya Jinja (土屋神社)

The East (東櫓), said to have been built during the Nishio clan's rule, burned down in the Meiji period and was restored in 1998.  Today, it functions as an exhibition hall.  The West Turret (西櫓) was damaged by Typhoon Kitty in 1949 and dismantled, but later restored in 1991.

Kijo Park is also home to the Shinto shrines of Shotoku Taishi-do (聖徳太子堂) and Tsuchiya Jinja (土屋神社).