Teraba Fort (Ashigara Castle)

Teraba-toride is a satellite fortification of Ashigarajō. Ashigarajō appears to have several outlying forts located along the mountain ridge to the northeast, but Teraba-toride is in the northwest and close to Ashigarajō proper, and that is the only one I investigated. My impression of the site is o

History

Ashigara Teraba Fort is a satellite fortification of Ashigara Castle.

Field Notes

Teraba-toride is a satellite fortification of Ashigarajō. Ashigarajō appears to have several outlying forts located along the mountain ridge to the northeast, but Teraba-toride is in the northwest and close to Ashigarajō proper, and that is the only one I investigated. My impression of the site is of a simple flattened area forming a bailey at the tip of the ridge, protected from the rear by a sizable trench, with some evidence of heaped up earth to serve as barriers above the trench. These appear to be earthworks related to a fortification.

Ashigarajō is an earthworks fort site straddling a mountain pass. The main bailey is well maintained as mountain parkland. Features include kuruwa (baileys), karabori (dry moats), and other earthworks, such as trenches and dorui (earthen ramparts). The further one goes from the main bailey the quieter it becomes, and, although it was busy the day I visited, it seems few casual visitors venture to go the whole length of the ruins. The karabori dividing the outer baileys are quite wide, and these karabori were my favourite feature of Ashigarajō. The Ashigara-seki, a checkpoint site, is located beneath the main part of the castle.

For more information on the other satellite fortifications of Ashigara (not including this one), see Yogo's blog in the link under 'Friends of JCastle'.

Gallery

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  Fort Bailey; the site is overgrown

Castle Profile
English Name	Ashigara Teraba Fort
Japanese Name	足柄城寺場砦
Founder	Hōjō Ujitsuna
Year Founded	1536
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features
Visitor Information
Access	Nearest Station is Ashigara Station on the Gotemba Line
Hours	24/7 free; mountain
Time Required	10 minutes
Location	Oyama, Shizuoka Prefecture
Coordinates	35.32383, 139.00828
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2023
Contributor	ART
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed
Friends of JCastle
Yogo

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