Ganryakuji Castle
Ganryakujijō is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) site in the Nagasawa Township of Toyokawa Municipality. I had a rip-roaring romp about here and I’d highly recommend it to yamajiro fans. Of course, no buildings remain, but this castle ruin is a tour de force of earthworks and mountain-sculpting. Feat
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History
Ganraykujijō may have first been built in the 1440s by Sekiguchi Mitsuoki, or his younger brother, Sekiguchi Naoyuki, who acted as castellan. The Sekiguchi were vassals under the Imagawa Clan. Matsudaira Nobumitsu captured Ganrakujijō in or before 1457, and his son, Nagasawa Chikanori, acted as castellan of the fort, rebuilding it. The Imagawa Clan took over the fort and rebuilt it following the death of Matsudaira Kiyoyasu in 1535. Following the death of Imagawa Yoshimoto at the Battle of Okehazama in 1560, Imagawa Ujimasa refortified Ganraykujijō. It is then recorded that Matsudaira Ietsugu reconquered the castle in 1563. Thereafter the fort served as a border castle between Matsudaira and Imagawa territory.
Two themes run through the murky history of Ganrakujijō. One is the contesting of the territory and the repeated switch in control of the castle between the Matsudaira and Imagawa clans. Another is the confusion between Ganrakujijō, which is a yamajiro, with another castle, Nagasawajō, a flatland castle in the valley below. Both castles are associated with the Nagasawa Clan, causing confusion as to which fortification is being referred to in historical sources. For example, it is recorded that Toyotomi Hideyoshi entered Nagasawa in 1586, but it is not known which castle he used. It is presumed that if Ganraykujijō was still in use by 1590, then it was abandoned following the relocation of Tokugawa Ieyasu to Kantō.
Field Notes
Ganryakujijō is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) site in the Nagasawa Township of Toyokawa Municipality. I had a rip-roaring romp about here and I’d highly recommend it to yamajiro fans. Of course, no buildings remain, but this castle ruin is a tour de force of earthworks and mountain-sculpting. Features include horikiri (trenches), tatebori (climbing moats), kuruwa (baileys), lots of dorui (earthen ramparts), and wells.
The shukuruwa (main bailey) is a well-developed square in shape, surrounded by dorui on three sides. The southeast corner is particularly bulky and probably hosted a tower. The northwestern rampart corner has the remains of two wells. This scenery is impressive. Of course, having access to water during a siege is crucial to survival, so the presence of many deep wells is arguably the castle’s most formidable feature.
The shukuruwa is impressive, but I went there last, slowly circumlocating around and up to it as I tramped through the many baileys. Ganryakujijō has several spurs of fortifications which follow ridges in the north and northeast. It takes a while to inspect these and come back up, but they contain trenches and dorui, so it’s worth it.
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| Castle Profile | |
|---|---|
| English Name | Ganryakuji Castle |
| Japanese Name | 岩略寺城 |
| Alternate Names | Nagasawajō |
| Founder | Sekiguchi Naoyuki; Nagasawa Chikanori |
| Year Founded | 1440s; 1457 |
| Castle Type | Mountaintop |
| Castle Condition | Ruins only |
| Historical Period | Pre Edo Period |
| Artifacts | Dorui, Kuruwa, Wells, Karabori, Horikiri, &c |
| Features | trenches |
| Visitor Information | |
| Access | Meiden-Nagasawa Station on the Meitetsu-Nagoya Line; 5 minute walk to trailhead in north |
| Hours | 24/7; Free; Mountain |
| Time Required | 100 minutes |
| Location | Toyokawa, Aichi Prefecture |
| Coordinates | 34.86559, 137.28693 |
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| Admin | |
| Added to Jcastle | 2023 |
| Contributor | ART |
| Admin Year Visited | Viewer Contributed |
| Friends of JCastle | |
| Kojōdan | |
| Jōkaku Hōrōki | |
| Umoreta Kojō | |
| Yogo | |
| Shiseki Yawa | |
