Habu Castle: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 11:22, 31 August 2024

This is a classically designed castle with a well fortified residence (yakata) at the base of the mountain and a mountain redoubt (tsume-no-shiro) on the mountain behind it. Most of the attention for this castle is paid to the mountaintop part, but don't overlook the fortified residence (yakata) are

History

The early history of this castle is completely unknown. It was likely built by Nonoguchi Chikanaga in the early 1500's. When his son Chikakiyo was in control of the castle it was an ally and satellite castle of Kannosan Castle. When the region came under attack by Akechi Mitsuhide, Nonoguchi soon allied with Mitsuhide. He also contributed to Mitsuhide's Tanba Campaigns including the Siege of Yagami Castle. Nonoguchi allied with Toyotomi after the Honnoji Incident. After the castle was abandoned, Chofukuji Temple was built near the base of the mountain and repurposed one of the gates from the castle. That is the gate you see in photos below.

Stonework or stone wall ruins have been found all over the mountaintop castle site suggesting that it had much more extensive stone walls than what we see today. It also more stonework than we typically see for small mountain castles in the area. The stonework and koguchi entrances indicate it was likely built or modified early in the Oda-Toyotomi Period (織豊系城郭). Since Nonoguchi allied himself with Akechi Mitsuhide, it is likely that the castle was influenced by Mitsuhide or Mitsuhide helped fortify the castle with stone walls which would make it similar other Mitsuhide fortified castles in the area including Shuzan Castle, Shuuchi Castle and Yagi Castle. To my amateur eyes, the few stonework remains look very much like what you would find at Shuuchi Castle or Shuzan Castle in terms of size and shape/finishing too.

Field Notes

This is a classically designed castle with a well fortified residence (yakata) at the base of the mountain and a mountain redoubt (tsume-no-shiro) on the mountain behind it. Most of the attention for this castle is paid to the mountaintop part, but don't overlook the fortified residence (yakata) area around the base. It is now well signposted and easy to miss.

The bus from Kameoka Station to Sonobe Station through the mountains stops very close to the castle site. There are few busses each day so depending on what time you get to the area it may be easier to take one or the other station. I left early in the morning taking the bus from Kameoka but returned via Sonobe. Along the same route, you can also access Shishiudo Yakata among others along this history rich route.

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Castle Profile
English Name	Habu Castle
Japanese Name	埴生城
Alternate Names	Nonoguchi-jo
Founder	Onoguchi Chikanaga
Year Founded	Early 1500's
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	trenches, stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	JR Kameoka Station, 40 min bus, 10 min walk; or Sonobe Station, 30 min bus, 10 min walk
Hours	mountain, open any time
Time Required	75 mins
Location	Sonobe, Kyoto
Coordinates	35.05556, 135.44747
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2024
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2023
Admin Visits	November 12, 2023
Friends of JCastle
Yamajiro Sanka
Woodland Kyoto
Jokaku Horoki
Kojodan

3.00

(one vote)

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@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 |Features=trenches, stone walls
 |Access=JR Kameoka Station, 40 min bus, 10 min walk; or Sonobe Station, 30 min bus, 10 min walk
+|Visitor Information=mountain, open any time
+|Time Required=75 mins
+|City=Sonobe
 |Prefecture=Kyoto
 |Notes=This is a classically designed castle with a well fortified residence (yakata) at the base of the mountain and a mountain redoubt (tsume-no-shiro) on the mountain behind it. Most of the attention for this castle is paid to the mountaintop part, but don't overlook the fortified residence (yakata) area around the base. It is now well signposted and easy to miss.
 The bus from Kameoka Station to Sonobe Station through the mountains stops very close to the castle site. There are few busses each day so depending on what time you get to the area it may be easier to take one or the other station. I left early in the morning taking the bus from Kameoka but returned via Sonobe.  Along the same route, you can also access [[Shishiudo Yakata]] among others along this history rich route.
-|History=The early history of this castle is completely unknown. It was likely built by Nonoguchi Chikanaga in the early 1500's. When his son Chikakiyo was in control of the castle it was an ally and satellite castle of [[Kannosan Castle]]. When the region came under attack by Akechi Mitsuhide, Nonoguchi soon allied with Mitsuhide. He also contributed to Mitsuhide's Tanba Campaigns including the Siege of Yagami Castle. After the death of Nobunaga and Mitsuhide he allied with Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
+|History=The early history of this castle is completely unknown. It was likely built by Nonoguchi Chikanaga in the early 1500's. When his son Chikakiyo was in control of the castle it was an ally and satellite castle of [[Kannosan Castle]]. When the region came under attack by Akechi Mitsuhide, Nonoguchi soon allied with Mitsuhide. He also contributed to Mitsuhide's Tanba Campaigns including the Siege of Yagami Castle. Nonoguchi allied with Toyotomi after the Honnoji Incident. After the castle was abandoned, Chofukuji Temple was built near the base of the mountain and repurposed one of the gates from the castle. That is the gate you see in photos below.
 Stonework or stone wall ruins have been found all over the mountaintop castle site suggesting that it had much more extensive stone walls than what we see today. It also more stonework than we typically see for small mountain castles in the area. The stonework and koguchi entrances indicate it was likely built or modified early in the Oda-Toyotomi Period (織豊系城郭). Since Nonoguchi allied himself with Akechi Mitsuhide, it is likely that the castle was influenced by Mitsuhide or Mitsuhide helped fortify the castle with stone walls which would make it similar other Mitsuhide fortified castles in the area including [[Shuzan Castle]], [[Shuuchi Castle]] and [[Yagi Castle (Tanba)|Yagi Castle]]. To my amateur eyes, the few stonework remains look very much like what you would find at [[Shuuchi Castle]] or [[Shuzan Castle]] in terms of size and shape/finishing too.