Takeda Castle

This is a truly impressive castle. Despite being only ruins; the location, stone walls, design, and view easily make it worth 4 stars. It is amazing how they built such extensive stone walls on top of the mountain. I'm also very glad the town hasn't ruined the atmosphere by putting fences or shrubs

History

Takeda Castle was built on this site in the path of aggression between Harima/Tanba and Tajima regions as a stronghold of Izushi Castle. It was built by Ohtagaki Mitsukage, a retainer of Yamana Sozen, lord of the area, in 1441. Ohtagaki, who had been a military commander of the Yamana clan for 5 generations became lord of the castle.

Takeda Castle was conquered by Hideyoshi in his Tajima campaign of 1577. Hideyoshi placed it in the control of his younger brother, Hidenaga, who moved to Izushi less than 2 years later. Akamatsu Hirohide, the last lord of the castle, fought on the side of the Western Forces for Tokugawa at the battle of Sekigahara in the attack on Tottori Castle. Hirohide served valiantly in the battle, but was accused of setting the castle town on fire. Later that year he committed seppuku and Takeda Castle was abandoned.

Field Notes

This is a truly impressive castle. Despite being only ruins; the location, stone walls, design, and view easily make it worth 4 stars. It is amazing how they built such extensive stone walls on top of the mountain. I'm also very glad the town hasn't ruined the atmosphere by putting fences or shrubs along the steep drop-offs along the edges of the stone walls like I've seen at other castles. There are few trains running to Takeda and you'll want at least 90 minutes at the castle (depending on how much you take pictures) so plan accordingly. There is some historic atmosphere of the old castle town and temples near the station but I did not have time to explore them this time since I was going to Himeji in the afternoon. Next time, I think I could spend the whole day here. There are also nice views looking down on the castle from a nearby mountain.

<a href="http://www.jcastle.info/updates/view/220">See my blog entry from October 2013 that details a new visit to Takeda Castle with news photos</a>

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Castle Profile
English Name	Takeda Castle
Japanese Name	竹田城
Alternate Names	torafushi-jo
Founder	Ohtagaki Mitsukage
Year Founded	1441
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	No main keep ruins only"No main keep ruins only" is not in the list (Original main keep, Reconstructed main keep, No main keep but other buildings, Ruins only) of allowed values for the "Castle Condition" property.
Designations	National Historic Site, Top 100 Castles
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	Takeda Station (Bantan Line); 60 min walk or 15 min taxi (1500 yen)
Hours	Some areas currently blocked off for repairs.
Time Required	90 mins on site + 2hrs round trip to the station
URL	Castle Website
Location	Asago, Hyogo Pref., Hyogo Prefecture
Coordinates	35.300118, 134.829293
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Admin
Added to Jcastle
Admin Year Visited	2009
Admin Visits	Nov. 15, 2009; Sept 27, 2013

4.42

(19 votes)

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