Ibo Higashi Castle

Ibohigashijō is a half-demolished okajiro (hilltop castle) ruin in Homi Township, Toyota Municipality. The main part of this earthworks fort was levelled to make way for a school. However, the lower half, carved into the hillside, remains in fairly good condition, and the remains of baileys, gate si

History

Ibohigashijō ('Ibo East Castle') was paired with Ibonishijō ('Ibo West Castle'). See Ibonishijō for more information.

Field Notes

Ibohigashijō is a half-demolished okajiro (hilltop castle) ruin in Homi Township, Toyota Municipality. The main part of this earthworks fort was levelled to make way for a school. However, the lower half, carved into the hillside, remains in fairly good condition, and the remains of baileys, gate sites and dorui (earthen ramparts) can be discerned. Expecting to find so little, I was actually quite impressed, particularly with the wide, well delineated dorui around the upper terrace.

Several castle bloggers have implied there is little to see here, but that's because they only saw the stone marker beside the junior high school (which I actually missed), and didn't venture into the bamboo-choked copse on the hillside. The lower terraces are now bamboo groves with hidden mushroom farms. The topmost terrace is an almost cliff-like hill now, since most of it was shaved away for the school grounds. However, the remains of a bailey can be found atop, and there's even dorui. This bailey is cut in half, which is a strange sight, with the school at lower elevation beyond. It is thought that the main bailey used to rise beyond this sub-bailey, along with several other minor baileys, and there were buildings and even a small tower originally. These were bounded to the north by a rear moat. These ruins being where the schoolyard now is, and much of the hill being flattened, there is no longer any trace of them.

Some sources call Ibohigashijō and Ibonishijō, it's twin (it's not known which is either were the main castle), 'Ibohigashikojō' and 'Ibonishikojō' respectively. The 'ko' here means 'old'. This is because in the Edo period an ephemeral fort existed beneath these two hills called Ibojō (also called Oyamamaejō), and so 'old' is added to, presumably, not confuse this latter incarnation of Ibojō with the twins. However, further east there is another site which predates the twins called Ibokojō ( also called Kaiźujō). It just depends on one's perspective, but obviously no castle is called 'old castle' when it is built, nor when it is in use most of the time. And each iteration of this castle was called Ibojō. Anyway, I think the added 'ko' is redundant here.

Gallery

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  Topmost bailey and ramparts from below
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  Terraced bailey
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  Gate site
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  Dorui
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Castle Profile
English Name	Ibo Higashi Castle
Japanese Name	伊保東城
Alternate Names	Ibohigashikojō (伊保東古城 )
Founder	Miyake Clan
Year Founded	Medieval Era; 1560
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Artifacts	Dorui
Features	trenches
Visitor Information
Access	Homi Station on the Aichi Loop Line; 10 min walk to trailhead. Pass between fields to copse.
Hours	Access Limited
Time Required	30 mins
Location	Toyota, Aichi Prefecture
Coordinates	35.14066, 137.13154
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2025
Contributor	ART
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed
Friends of JCastle
Jōkaku Hōrōki
Oshiro Tabi Nikki
Shiro Rekishi Meguri
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