8 New Castle Profiles by Andrew A

Andrew A has submtted some fantastic profiles for castles around the greater Kansai area, including Kuroi Castle and Shingu Castle, two places I've wanted to visit for a long time.

8 New Castle Profiles by Andrew A

2020/04/25

Andrew A has submtted some fantastic profiles for castles around the greater Kansai area, including Kuroi Castle and Shingu Castle, two places I've wanted to visit for a long time.

Hyogo Castle / 兵庫城

If you look at the photos from the excavation signboards on-site, you’ll see an incredible outline of nearly perfectly preserved stonework — easily on par with what was uncovered at Sakamoto and later designated a National Historic Site. It’s honestly a travesty that this stonework was reburied to make way for the Aeon Mall. When I visited, the mall itself was almost empty even on a Sunday afternoon. It's a sad trade-off for what could have been one of Hyogo’s great castle ruins. I wish they had lat least put more above ground than the token fragments now on display.

The real highlight of a visit to Hyogo Castle is the Hyogo-no-Tsu Museum (兵庫津ミュージアム), an excellent exhibition on the port’s history. It also features a beautiful reconstruction of the First Hyogo Prefectural Office, a fascinating bridge between the Edo-period Hyogo Jin’ya and the early Meiji government. (See my sub-album “First Prefectural Office” for details.)

Original profile by AndrewA (2020), updated and enhanced by Eric (2025)

Kitabatakeshi Yakata / 北畠氏館

Kiriyama Castle is on top of the mountain and Kitabatakeshi Yakata (residence) is at the foot of the mountain. If you are going by train you will need all day 'cause there are only a few trains per day. There is a bus from Ise-Okitsu Station but not many. It was quicker for me to walk. I got off the train at Hitsu Station, the station before Ise-Okitsu Station, and walked about 45 mins to the entrance to the hiking trail. Went through Kiriyama-jo, then down the mountain to Kitabatakeshi Yakata and walked about 1 hr to Ise-Okitsu Station. It was worth the trouble. So glad I got to see it!

Original profile, text and cover photo by AndrewA (2020). Expanded photo gallery and update by ART (2024).

Update by ART: Japan's oldest ishigaki (stonewalls)?

Kitabatake(shi)-yakata is a fortified manor hall site in the village of Tage, Misugi Township, Tsu Municipality. Not many ruins can be seen, but there are information boards and monuments on the grounds of the Kitabatake Shrine. There is one sign which has pictures of ishigaki that was unearthed on the site. These ishigaki segments, now re-buried, are stated to be the oldest in Japan! I think this title needs some qualification: the ishigaki is from 550 years ago, and may represent the oldest stonewalls at a medieval jōkan (castle-manor hall complex) ruin. However, there are older extant examples of ishigaki at fortification sites dating all the way back to the 7th century, such as at Chikuzen-Ônojō and other kodai-yamajiro (ancient mountaintop castles).

The manor hall site's most prominent remains are the moss-coated medieval strolling garden remarkably well preserved on the shrine grounds. Entry into the small garden is paid, and one can ask for permission to enter at the shrine office. A stone bridge crosses a koi-filled pond, and moss has grown rich and effulgent beneath the shaded canopies of cedars. Standing stones and artificial hills surrounding the pond make up the landscape of this quiet garden reposeful for centuries.

Kuroi Castle / 黒井城

The castle offers a stunning 360° scenic view of the surrounding area and with a little zoom you can easily see the mountaintop stone walls from far away. It must have been an impressive site! There are a couple ways to get here. From Osaka through Sasayama and then Fukuchiyama Line to Kuroi, or from Kyoto to Fukuchiyama and and then Fukuchiyama Line to Kuroi. Both routes offer other famous castles that could be combined for a day trip.

This was a great mountain castle to visit. The views of the surrounding plains are absolutely stunning and you can really understand why a castle was built here. The mini castle site used by Akechi Mitsuhide as his encampment for his attacks on Kuroi Castle looks like a child's fort in comparison. It is not particularly huge nor sprawling across the mountain like many mountaintop castles but given the size and shape of the mountain it didn't really need to be! It is mostly isolated with great views and lines of fire. There are no easy to access ridges that would allow for a surprise attack. Anyone who tried to attack could be easily seen.

From the bottom, the climb probably looks harder than it really is. There are two trails. The "easy way" is the main trail and is obvious from the signs and parking area below. It starts from the left of the parking area and takes a somewhat more indirect winding path to the top. The "harder" and supposedly faster route starts from the right side of the parking area and goes much more directly to the top. I planned to go up the easy route and down the harder one but from the top I couldn't find the way back down via the harder route. Once at the bottom I turned around and took the harder route maybe 1/3 of the way back up to catch some terraced baileys that I did not want to miss.

The red gate is picturesque but unfortunately has nothing to do with the castle. It was moved here when the temple it was located at was abandoned. It is obviously a temple gate with spots on either side for Nio type statues. There is however a gate from the castle that now serves as the Somon Gate to the Kozenji Temple. This temple itself is also a very interesting site. It was the site of the lord's residence at the foot of the mountain. The moat and high stone walls are definitely a must see part of this castle site.

I visited on Dec. 21, my first day of winter vacation. With snowfalls in the forecast, I jumped at the last likely opportunity for the year to visit this site that was high on my to-do list. I had planned to visit some other spots in the area too but it was so windy and so cold that just hiking up and back drained all my energy. It was absolutely worth the trip though. If you go in the wintery season though maybe you should be prepared for more wind and colder temperatures than you might expect.

Miki Castle / 三木城

Not so much to see at the castle but there are some nice things to see around the town. There is a museum for tools near the castle. Miki is known in Japan for it's metal work for chisels, saw blades, etc. You can also still see some of Hideyoshi's positions around the castle.

Nabari Jinya / 名張陣屋

Part of the Edo Period palace remains

Shingu Castle / 新宮城

It is a little far and there is not much else around but it is worth the trip out to it. There are still a lot of stonewalls left and the site is well kept up.

Updated notes by ART (2025):

Shingūjō is a hirayamajiro (mount and flatland castle) ruin in Shingū Municipality. It is an important Edo period castle ruin, and is designated as a national historic site. It is, or ought to be, a major ishigaki (stone-piled ramparts) destination for castle fans, as most of the tall, finely stacked ishigaki on the castle-mount has been preserved, and the site is well maintained as a park. Ishigaki can also be found at the foot of the castle mount to the west between old houses and a temple, and to the north facing the Kumano River, the latter being a boat-landing, preserved as part of the park.

No castle buildings remain on-site, but there are some buildings that don't look too out of place. During my visit, the path around the rear side of the main bailey, and the castle's small but photogenic demaru (outer bailey) were off-limits, with the later being visible from the main bailey above but the path to it roped-off. There are several baileys on the castle-mount in addition to the main bailey, but the castle's ninomaru (second bailey) was situated on the plain below, discontiguous to the main bailey, and this has now been developed over for the most part, but in the Edo period the domain was mostly governed from here.

Shingūjō had a tenshu (donjon) which apparently survived up until the Meiji period, though there is disagreement about its structure, and even how many tiers it had (most say three). I was surprised to read that the city has ambitions to reconstruct this tower. Even if by some miracle they can gather enough data to accurately rebuild it to any degree, the tenshudai (donjon platform) ishigaki collapsed back in 1945, and has not been restored. This area now serves as a stairway and entry point into the main bailey, and is rather jarring as the only major break in the marvellous ishigaki cladding the mount.