Tobayama Castle

Tobayama Castle is generally well signposted but there are some great stone walls around the Honmaru that are not obvious to the casual traveller. I had a good map, but if you walk along the embankments of the Honmaru you should be able to find a trail in the corner near the viewing platform that wi

History

Tobayama Castle was located at the confluence of Tenryu River and Futamata River, which used to flow between Tobayama Castle and Futamata Castle. The modern course of the Futamata River now flows east of the castle. Tobayama is sited on top of a 108m hill with the main bailey located at the top of hill. The following baileys can clearly still be seen if you visit Tobayama Castle Ruin: Honmaru (Main Bailey), Higashi Kuruwa (East Bailey), Minami Kuruwa 1 (South Bailey 1) and Minami Kuruwa 2 (South Bailey 2.) There are also plenty of stone walls lining the Otemichi. The ruins of three gates can easily be seen: Otemon (Main Gate), Karametemon (Back Gate), and Tsuyomon, which linked Honmaru with Higashi Kuruwa (East Bailey.) Tokugawa Ieyasu built Tobayama Castle south of Futamata Castle and placed most of his troops there when he besieged Futamata Castle in 1575. He lost Futamata Castle to Takeda Shingen in 1572 after the Battle of Mikatagahara. During the siege of Futamata Castle in 1575, Ieyasu also placed troops in other forts (toride) built to isolate Futamata Castle: Ninahara Fort (north of Futamata Castle), Bishamondo Fort (east of Futamata Castle), and Wadagashima Fort (west of Futamata Castle). He finally took Futamata Castle after a seven-month siege. After the siege, Ieyasu improved Tobayama Castle by building a palace, a garden, and many of the stone walls there, but it never had a castle keep like Futamata Castle. Futamata Castle and Tobayama Castle were treated as one fortification after 1575 as they complemented each other in design and function.

Field Notes

Tobayama Castle is generally well signposted but there are some great stone walls around the Honmaru that are not obvious to the casual traveller. I had a good map, but if you walk along the embankments of the Honmaru you should be able to find a trail in the corner near the viewing platform that will take you down alongside the stone walls. You will also see the stonework marked in blue in the [last photo] below.

Tobayama Castle is best visited along with Futamata Castle. My recommendation is to start from Futamata Honmachi Station walk to Tobayama Castle and then walk across the embankment along the river to Futamata Castle. After Futamata Castle I walked to Nishikajima Station and took a different train line (Enshu Line), which provides perfect access to get you to Hamamatsu Castle allowing you to visit all 3 in one day.

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Gallery

Castle Profile
English Name	Tobayama Castle
Japanese Name	鳥羽山城
Founder	Tokugawa Ieyasu
Year Founded	1575
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Designations	National Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	Futamata Honmachi Sta. (Tenryu Hamanako Line); 15 mins walk
Hours	park, open 24/7
Time Required	75 mins
URL	Castle Website
Location	Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture
Coordinates	34.85808, 137.80563
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2012
Admin Year Visited	2020
Admin Visits	January 12, 2020

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