Tsuchiyama Castle (Koka)

Tsuchiyama Castle was one of the key Koka castles I did not get to last year. It is a great example of a yakatajiro that starts with a simple square bailey with a large yokobori trench around it. Extra defenses may have been built by Toyotomi forces before the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute.

History

Tsuchiyama Castle was likely built by the Tsuchiyama Clan The earthen embankments across the trench add to the defence. The castle also takes advantage of a being on a hill to add some horikiri trenches out rear entrance. It was taken by Ishikawa Kazumasa in 1582.

Of particular interest are 2 well defined and preserved square umadashi entrances marked as baileys II and V on the map. No other Koka castles have umadashi and it would have been ahead of it's time to have these in Omi in the middle of the Sengoku Period. It seems likely that Hideyoshi forces may have fortified the castle and camped here around the time of the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute.

Field Notes

Tsuchiyama Castle was one of the key Koka castles I did not get to last year. It is a great example of a yakatajiro that starts with a simple square bailey with a large yokobori trench around it. Extra defenses may have been built by Toyotomi forces before the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute.

Loading map...

Gallery

Castle Profile
English Name	Tsuchiyama Castle (Koka)
Japanese Name	土山城
Founder	Tsuchiyama Clan
Year Founded	1400s
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	trenches
Visitor Information
Access	Kibukawa Sta. (JR Kusatsu Line), 30 min bus, 10 min walk
Hours	mountain, open any time (private property)
Time Required	60 mins
Location	Koka, Shiga Prefecture
Coordinates
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":34.93976,"lon":136.28802,"icon":"../images/1/1e/Castlemarker.png"}],"imageoverlays":null}
Admin
Added to Jcastle
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited

3.00

(one vote)

Loading comments...