Shirasawa Fort

Shirasawa-toride was an unanticipated castle site visit for me. I was going between Ogiwarajō and my next planned site, Oshinojō, and suddenly I felt a disturbance in the force. Given the low-lying, mostly flat and long mountain I was going on, I didn't wonder if it wouldn't make sense that there we

History

Unclear. May have been a branch fortification of Azumi Ogiwara Castle or Azumi Oshino Castle.

Field Notes

Shirasawa-toride was an unanticipated castle site visit for me. I was going between Ogiwarajō and my next planned site, Oshinojō, and suddenly I felt a disturbance in the force. Given the low-lying, mostly flat and long mountain I was going on, I didn't wonder if it wouldn't make sense that there weren't more fortification sites along it between the two. So I checked and there was. Maybe I'm developing extra-sensory perception when it comes to castle sites? Haha. I was worried I'd have to back-track to reach Shirasawa-toride as I'd passed it at a lower elevation, but I chanced a road going up which ended up curving back and getting me quite close to my target. Lucky! If so, my luck ended there. The site was covered in fallen trees, strangling ivy and nasty thorny plants. Those lecherous plants tugged at me as I tried to demurely pass. Anyway, they got my bear bell. I only realised when I heard howling in the woods below me (though probably just a monkey). At the fort site I identified at least one bailey, probably two, and what looked like should've been a trench, so it wasn't a total loss.

Gallery

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Castle Profile
English Name	Shirasawa Fort
Japanese Name	白沢砦
Founder	???
Year Founded	???
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Artifacts	Kuruwa, Hori
Features	trenches
Visitor Information
Access	Akashina Station on the Shinonoi Line; 40 minute walk
Hours	Free; 24/7; Mountain
Time Required	20 minutes
Location	Azumino, Nagano Prefecture
Coordinates	36.36604, 137.91063
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2020
Contributor	ART
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed

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