Kihara Castle located in Miura-mura, Inashiki-gun, Ibaraki Pref. is said to have been built by the Kondo clan, one of the retaining clans of the Toki clan. There are two opinions as to the time of its construction but no reliable records; some say it was built in the early Muromachi period (1336-1573) while the others the end of Warring States period (1493-1573). The castle went through several fierce battles. In 1574, it was attacked and fell because of the betrayal of Edosaki Kanmotsu, a retainer of Oda Ujiharu. Then in 1583, it fell again by the attack of the allied forces of the Satake and Ashina clans. Finally in 1590, when the Hojo clan surrendered Odawara Castle to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, this castle was also surrendered.
The scale of this flat land castle is presumed to have been so large as not to be seen in this area at that time. Surrounded by the deep moat, the second compound and the third compound were annexed to the east of the main castle, which was protected by the deep marshy ground in the west. The site is now arranged into a castle ruin park and a strong effort for preservation of the ruins is being made. Kihara Castle ruin is a precious historic site, where the deep moat and high earth works are still in good state of preservation.