Perhaps Japan's most unassuming original castle, Uwajima-jō was completed after five years of construction in 1601. Founded by Tōdō Takatora, the castle passed to Tomita Nobutaka after the Battle of Sekigahara and then went on to be controlled by the Date clan from 1615. Date Munetoshi expanded the fortifications and built more towers in 1671, but most was torn down following the Meiji Restoration. Now apart from the three-storey donjon and a pair of gates, nothing remains but the old walls. While the waterfront has been pushed far back by water reclamation, at one time the hilltop Uwajima-jō's sat just beside the sea.