Dogiyama Fort

The trail up to Dogiyama Fort drops you at the horikiri trench between Shinmeiyama Fort and Dogiyama Fort. You could visit them in either order.

History

After Hideyoshi abandoned Tenjinyama Fort for being too exposed to the Shibata forward line, he established a new defensive ridge anchored at Shinmeiyama Fort. Dōgiyama Fort sits at the spearpoint of this line, facing the Hokkoku Kaidō. Interestingly, Hideyoshi entrusted the fort to former Shibata retainers — Yamaji Masakuni and Ōgane Tōhachirō — who had surrendered at Nagahama Castle. They eventually fled and rejoined Shibata’s army, and command was transferred to Kinoshita Han’emon.

Personally, I’m intrigued by Hideyoshi’s decision to place former adversaries on the front line. Was it a deliberate test of their new allegiance? Success in this role could have secured their place in Hideyoshi’s inner circle — but it came with real risk. If they defected at the wrong moment, they might not only expose a vulnerable position but also compromise key elements of his evolving strategy. In this case, the early defection had little impact on the broader outcome and may have even revealed a weakness that Hideyoshi was able to quickly reinforce. Is this another insight to Hideyoshi's tactical ingenuity? I was never much of a Hideyoshi fan either but if this was a well planned tactical maneuver, I'm impressed.

See the Battle of Shizugatake for details.

Field Notes

The trail up to Dogiyama Fort drops you at the horikiri trench between Shinmeiyama Fort and Dogiyama Fort. You could visit them in either order.

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Gallery

Castle Profile
English Name	Dogiyama Fort
Japanese Name	堂木山砦
Founder	Hashiba Hideyoshi
Year Founded	1583
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	trenches
Visitor Information
Access
Hours	Mountain trails, well signposted
Time Required	60 mins
Location	Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture
Coordinates	35.54415, 136.19834
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2025
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2023
Admin Visits	April 28, 2023
Friends of JCastle
Jokaku Horoki

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