Motosu Castle: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:14, 11 February 2019

The Lake Motosu tourist information center (April to October) has a model of the castle but I did not visit since it was November. This was a really interesting and fun castle ruin and probably one of a kind. The castle itself is a fairly typical borderland ridge line mountain castle, but the ruins

History

in progress

Field Notes

The Lake Motosu tourist information center (April to October) has a model of the castle but I did not visit since it was November.

This was a really interesting and fun castle ruin and probably one of a kind. The castle itself is a fairly typical borderland ridge line mountain castle, but the ruins of the structures around the base of the mountain are really impressive. First, this castle sits on the edge of the Aokigahara forest. This is a deep forest around the base of Mt. Fuji for several kilometers covered in thick trees and lava rock. The woods is very difficult to walk through except on cleared paths because of the fallen trees, roots and loose small lava rock everywhere.

This lava rock was used in the construction of several structures and stone walls around the base of the mountain and castle some of which we don't even know their use of today. There are sections of long stone walls, some ring formations and a couple gates. Across the road from the base of the mountain (at the bus stop) a stone wall goes at least 2km deep into the forest. I did not walk the entire wall, only about 1km but I would not mind going back again to explore even more.

It seems that the highly porous lava rock also makes for a good substrate for growing moss. Most of the stones have a thick covering of moss adding to the mysterious and somewhat spooky atmosphere. For such a unique and interesting site I'm really surprised it's not more well known.

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Gallery

Stonework barrier around the base of the castle
Stone wall near the road
Stone wall near the road
Stone wall near the road
Stone wall near the road
Stone wall near the road
Stone wall near the road
Stone wall near the road
earthen embankment
Entrance gate
Entrance Gate
Entrance Gate
Entrance Gate
Stone walls around the mountain
Stone walls around the mountain
Stone walls around the mountain
L-Shaped stone walls
L-Shaped stone walls
L-Shaped stone walls
Long stone wall
Long stone wall
Long stone wall
Long stone wall
Stone walls around the mountain
Stone walls around the mountain
Along the base of the mountain
Trail entrance
ridge line
Ridge line
Ridge line
Tatebori trench
Tatebori trench
Tatebori trench
Horikiri Trench
Horikiri Trench
Stonework remains
Horikiri Trench
Horikiri Trench
Bailey and steep cut cliff
Stonework remnants
Bailey
Stonework
Main Bailey
Main bailey
Mt. Fuji
Main Bailey and Mt. Fuji
Looking up to the Honmaru
Horikiri trench and ridge line
Double horikiri
Smoke signal site
Smoke signal site
Smoke signal site
Smoke signal site
Smoke signal site
Road around the base of the mountain
Road around the base of the mountain
Large stonework defense
stone walls
stone walls
stone walls
stone walls
stone walls
stone walls
stone walls
stone walls
Large stonework defense
Large stonework defense
Map
Map

Castle Profile
English Name	Motosu Castle
Japanese Name	本栖城
Founder	Takeda Shingen
Year Founded	1532-1555
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	trenches, stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	Kawaguchiko Sta, Lake Motosu Sightseeing bus 46 mins to Sekirui Iriguchi bust stop (石塁入口).
Hours	Mountain trails, open any time
Time Required	240 mins
URL	Castle Website
Location	Kawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture
Coordinates	35.4728, 138.6081
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2018
Admin Year Visited	2018
Admin Visits	November 23, 2018

3.50

(2 votes)

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@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 |Prefecture=Yamanashi Prefecture
 |Notes=The Lake Motosu tourist information center (April to October) has a model of the castle but I did not visit since it was November.
+This was a really interesting and fun castle ruin and probably one of a kind. The castle itself is a fairly typical borderland ridge line mountain castle, but the ruins of the structures around the base of the mountain are really impressive. First, this castle sits on the edge of the Aokigahara forest. This is a deep forest around the base of Mt. Fuji for several kilometers covered in thick trees and lava rock. The woods is very difficult to walk through except on cleared paths because of the fallen trees, roots and loose small lava rock everywhere.
+This lava rock was used in the construction of several structures and stone walls around the base of the mountain and castle some of which we don't even know their use of today.  There are sections of long stone walls, some ring formations and a couple gates. Across the road from the base of the mountain (at the bus stop) a stone wall goes at least 2km deep into the forest.  I did not walk the entire wall, only about 1km but I would not mind going back again to explore even more.
+It seems that the highly porous lava rock also makes for a good substrate for growing moss. Most of the stones have a thick covering of moss adding to the mysterious and somewhat spooky atmosphere. For such a unique and interesting site I'm really surprised it's not more well known.
 |History=in progress
 |Year Visited=2018