Obata Castle (Tanba): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 21:37, 7 May 2025

This one is a bit difficult to reach by public transportation. Technically you can get there by a local community bus, called Aya Bus, from Ayabe Station, but there are only 4 buses per day. It's about 9.5km from Ayabe Station by foot, so walking is not very realistic either, but it is listed in the

History

The early history of the castle is not know but according to the late Edo-period chronicle Tanba-shi (丹波志), the Hohkabe were masters of the castle when the region was conquered by Akechi Mitsuhide in 1579.

Field Notes

This one is a bit difficult to reach by public transportation. Technically you can get there by a local community bus, called Aya Bus, from Ayabe Station, but there are only 4 buses per day. It's about 9.5km from Ayabe Station by foot, so walking is not very realistic either, but it is listed in the Woodland Kyoto recommended sites so I had to find a way to visit. I rented a bicycle from Ayabe Station and headed out to Obata Castle, dropping by Iden Castle and Iden Miyanokoshi Castle along the way. I thought about visiting another site in the region after Obata Castle, but the poor quality rental bike, 20km of cycling, unusually hot weather, and the long slippery climb up Iden Castle in the morning nearly broke me for the day.

The site is very well maintained and there were even volunteers clenaing up fallen branches and clearing weeds for the autumn while I was there. Obata Castle is not a very big site, you could go through it twice and visit just about everything in less than an hour. That also makes the very infrequent bus even less attractive. The well maintained part of the castle is the main trail up and the central enclosure area, but if you climb over the embankment (dorui) in the back and down into the horikiri trench you can see this stunning trench and a little farther back and down you can see a tatebori (vertical trench) from above too.

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Castle Profile
English Name	Obata Castle (Tanba)
Japanese Name	小畑城
Founder	Hohkabe Clan
Year Founded	Muromachi Period
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	trenches
Visitor Information
Access	Ayabe Station (Sanin Line), Aya Bus (30 mins)
Hours	mountain trails, open any time
Time Required	45 mins
URL	Castle Website
Location	Ayabe, Kyoto
Coordinates	35.34921, 135.1932
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2025
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2024
Admin Visits	November 4, 2024
Friends of JCastle
Woodland Kyoto
Kojodan
Yamajiro Sanka

2.00

(one vote)

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@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 |Japanese Name=小畑城
 |Romaji Name=Obata-jo
+|Founder=Hohkabe Clan
 |Year Founded=Muromachi Period
 |Castle Type=Mountaintop
@@ Line 17: / Line 18: @@
 The site is very well maintained and there were even volunteers clenaing up fallen branches and clearing weeds for the autumn while I was there. Obata Castle is not a very big site, you could go through it twice and visit just about everything in less than an hour. That also makes the very infrequent bus even less attractive. The well maintained part of the castle is the main trail up and the central enclosure area, but if you climb over the embankment (dorui) in the back and down into the horikiri trench you can see this stunning trench and a little farther back and down you can see a tatebori (vertical trench) from above too.
+|History=The early history of the castle is not know but according to the late Edo-period chronicle Tanba-shi (丹波志), the Hohkabe were masters of the castle when the region was conquered by Akechi Mitsuhide in 1579.
 |Year Visited=2024
 |AddedJcastle=2025