Genbao Castle

The two entrances to the honmaru are protected by clear umadashi. In particular the main entrance from the south is almost like three progressively smaller umadashi. The north side has a brilliant z-shaped narrow earthen bridge that zigzags from the main bailey around the north umadashi and into the

History

Genbao Castle, also called Uchinakaoyama Castle, is nearly perfectly preserved high in the mountains on the border of Fukui and Shiga Prefectures. It is well known as the headquarters of Shibata Katsuie for the Battle of Shizugatake. Since it was abandoned shortly after Shibata's death it is considered to be a valuable artifact reflecting castle designs of the time period.

The castle may have been built up from a fort originally established by Sakuma Morimasa to watch the road and prevent attacks on the Asakura by Oda Nobunaga, but the castle ruins we see today are completely Shibata.

Field Notes

The two entrances to the honmaru are protected by clear umadashi. In particular the main entrance from the south is almost like three progressively smaller umadashi. The north side has a brilliant z-shaped narrow earthen bridge that zigzags from the main bailey around the north umadashi and into the northern side karamete bailey. There is an exit out the other side of this bailey and some slightly flattened areas which some poeple think indicate that the castle was not finished before the battle.

There is a bus from Yogo Station that gets you near the castle parking lot hiking entrance but useful busses are only around the hours 10am, 1pm, and 3pm so it can be tricky to plan a schedule. Originally I planned to use the 10am and 3pm busses even though it would probably leave lots of time waiting around, but I also found out you can rent a bicycle at Yogo Station which is probably the best way to cross the 8km to the hiking entrance. There are only a few bicycles, so during peak seasons they may be rented out already. They are more frequently used for touring around Lake Yogo. If you do rent a bicycle though, let the station master know you're going to Genbao Castle and he'll provide a good map how to get there. There seems to be a small community bus from the Tsuruga (Fukui) side of the castle too, but it's hard to find detailed information.

Videos

Loading map...

Gallery

Castle Profile
English Name	Genbao Castle
Japanese Name	玄蕃尾城
Alternate Names	Uchinakaoyama-jo
Founder	Shibata Katsuie
Year Founded	1583
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Designations	Next 100 Castles, Top 100 Mountaintop Castles, National Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	trenches
Visitor Information
Access	Yogo Station, 20 mins bicycle to trail head, 45 mins hike
Hours	mountain, open 24/7
Time Required	120 mins
URL	Castle Website
Location	Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture
Coordinates	35.59783, 136.17662
Loading map... {"minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"mappingservice":"leaflet","width":"auto","height":"200px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"Castlemarker.png","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"zoom":6,"defzoom":14,"layers":["CartoDB.Positron"],"image layers":[],"overlays":[],"resizable":false,"fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":true,"cluster":false,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clustermaxradius":80,"clusterspiderfy":true,"geojson":"","clicktarget":"","imageLayers":[],"locations":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":35.59783,"lon":136.17662,"icon":"../images/1/1e/Castlemarker.png"}],"imageoverlays":null}
Admin
Added to Jcastle	2023
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2023
Admin Visits	April 22, 2023
Friends of JCastle
Kojodan
Shirobito
Jokaku Horoki
Japan Castle Explorer

4.00

(one vote)

Loading comments...