Ogawa Castle (Koka)

This one was not even very high on my radar despite putting together the Koka Castles article a year earlier, but RaymondW visited Ogawa Castles earlier this year (2023) reached out to say that I absolutely had to prioritize this above any other current castle plans because it

History

Ogawa Castle's biggest claim to fame is that Tokugawa Ieyasu stayed here for one night in 1582. When Oda Nobunaga died at Honnoji, Tokugawa Ieyasu was in Sakai. He was so scared for his own skin that he hightailed it back to Mikawa (Aichi) through the back woods of Shiga and Mie in what became known as the Iga Crossing, or Iga Escape. Along this route he also stayed here at Ogawa Castle for a night.

Field Notes

This one was not even very high on my radar despite putting together the Koka Castles article a year earlier, but RaymondW visited Ogawa Castles earlier this year (2023) reached out to say that I absolutely had to prioritize this above any other current castle plans because it was so good. Well, the site did not disappoint! The castle offers both stunning views and fantastic castle ruins. It's a brilliantly designed small castle just covering the top of the mountain with with steeps sides and beautifully preserved earthen embankments and trenches. You should also note that there are some slight stone wall ruins in one of the baileys and a stone foundation for a building.

Just before the main sign and entrance to the castle there is a small trail that cuts down steeply and narrowly from the castle. This trail actually takes you down to a side bailey and continuing down the ridge from here you will find a subsidiary castle called Ogawa Nakanojo Castle (Koka). See Ogawa Nakanojo Castle for more details.

Climbing up the fire trail to get to Ogawa Castle, there was one area where there was a lot of noise in the trees above me and a branch fell near me, then another, and another. Looking up, there was some crazed cackling monkey throwing branches down at me. So, if you go, be careful of crazy monkeys too!

I have read other accounts that say the "trail" from Ogawa Castle is not recommended because it is steep, slippery, overgrown and somewhat dangerous to follow down to Ogawa Nakanojo Castle (Koka). I have seen much worse and did not think it was overly difficult, but if you are unsure don't take your chances. The trail is not really marked and even in winter you have to make some educated guesses at a couple spots to make sure you follow the right part of the ridge. I used a topographic map on my phone and to make sure I was heading where I wanted to. There are also maybe two spots where it was very narrow and a bit slippery.

I finally knew I was on the right trail when I found a horikiri trench along the way which was a huge relief! After this relatively small but well preserved horikiri is another small one followed by a huge horikiri. This last one is very steep, slipper and overgrown making it a bit difficult to scale down and back up again, but once you do, you'r at the top of the huge embankment behind the main Bailey of Ogawa Nakanojo Castle and have accomplished a other castle visit (which is probably much easier to get to starting from the town!). The castle literally drops right into the town with small baileys so if you follow the signs from the roadside you can't miss it.

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Castle Profile
English Name	Ogawa Castle (Koka)
Japanese Name	小川城
Founder	Tarao
Year Founded
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Designations	Prefectural Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	trenches
Visitor Information
Access	Shigaraki Sta (Shigaraki Kogen Railway Line); 10 min bus, 35 min walk
Hours	Mountain, open 24/7
Time Required	45 mins
URL	Castle Website
Location	Koka, Shiga Prefecture
Coordinates	34.8437, 136.0344
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Collections	Koka Castles
Admin
Added to Jcastle	2023
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2023
Admin Visits	March 12, 2023

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