Yamada Yakata (Sarashina)

I visited this site as part of a early morning adventure to visit the Aratojō fort complex. I was still on the castle mount at 9:00am, having made my way back down (quickly) from Shōjō to Wakamiya-Iriyamajō. I figured there was just enough time to see the site of the Yamada Clan manor halls to compl

History

Yamada-yakata was the fortified manor hall of the Yamada Clan who built Aratojō. The manor hall is thought to have been surrounded by dorui (earthen ramparts) originally. Villagers and retainers built their huts beneath here and farmed plots of land.

See Arato Castle for more information.

Field Notes

I visited this site as part of a early morning adventure to visit the Aratojō fort complex. I was still on the castle mount at 9:00am, having made my way back down (quickly) from Shōjō to Wakamiya-Iriyamajō. I figured there was just enough time to see the site of the Yamada Clan manor halls to complete my tour of the Aratojō complex of forts before meeting up with the others for our tour of the reconstructed fort. I took a shortcut down a ravine to find a road which came out at the top of the valley in which the Yamada had sheltered. I galloped down the steep road there between apple orchards before arriving at the site of the Yamada-yakata, the fortified manor hall of the Yamada Clan, the clan which built Aratojō above for their protection. Of the yakata no ruins remain, and the site is today fields, rice paddies and a few homesteads.

Gallery

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  View of Arato Castle from yakata site
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Castle Profile
English Name	Yamada Yakata (Sarashina)
Japanese Name	更級山田館
Founder	Yamada Clan
Year Founded	Medieval Era
Castle Type	Fortified Manor
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features
Visitor Information
Access	Togura Station on the Shinano Railway; 10 minute drive or 45 minute walk
Hours	24/7; Free; Fields
Time Required	20 minutes
Location	Chikuma, Nagano Prefecture
Coordinates	36.47537, 138.13735
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2021
Contributor	ART
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed

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