Shirakawa

Shirakawa guards a passage between the Kantō plain and the northern provinces of Mutsu. Its castle town grew beside the Abukuma River, beneath the walls of Komine Castle. In 1627 Niwa Nagashige became the first lord of the Shirakawa domain and began a major rebuilding of the stronghold. The river was diverted to provide land for residences, and stone walls helped turn Komine into a fortress at the gateway to the north.