Base naval
During the Meiji Restoration, Mihara Castle avoided the destruction that most Japanese castles suffered during this era, due primarily to the fact that it became an Imperial Japanese Naval base. However, many of the stone walls were torn down and all buildings demolished when Mihara Train Station was built in the castle in 1894 following the decommissioning of the naval base. It was further demolished in 1975, when a shinkansen station and track split what remained in half.