Kamigare Castle
Kamigarejō is a yakta (fortified manor hall) site in Ibigawa Township, Ibi County. My visit here was incidental as I had come to see the 'Tenku no Chabatake ("Tea Fields in the Sky")' - itself incidental to my main quarry of conquering Mino-Ojimajō, which Kamigarejō is related to. There are no ruins
History
See the relevant section on Ojima Castle (Mino).
Field Notes
Kamigarejō is a yakta (fortified manor hall) site in Ibigawa Township, Ibi County. My visit here was incidental as I had come to see the 'Tenku no Chabatake ("Tea Fields in the Sky")' - itself incidental to my main quarry of conquering Mino-Ojimajō, which Kamigarejō is related to. There are no ruins left of Kamigarejō that I could find, and the site is now a shrine and tea plantation. There is a small stone pillar commemorating the site's history found on-site.
Visitors to the village pay a small fee for up-keep before ascending a hillside trail to an observation area - a cleared space on the hill. The views of the tea fields below, surrounded by montains, are said to resemble those of Peru's Machu Picchu, and it has been called "Machu in Picchu in Gifu", or "Kachu-Picchu", which I like a bit more, after the area, Kasuga. Properly the site is called the 'Kamigare Tea Plantation'.
Kamigare is the name of the terraced plateau and village - and the former castele or manor hall which was the centre of the Ojima Manor. Kamigarejō later became the kyokan (residence) paired with Ojimajō on the mountain to the northest. Ojimajō is therefore sometimes also called Kamigarejō, but the latter's origins are older, Ojimajō being a Sengoku period yamajiro (mounaintop castle).
Kamigare is the village on the rise, the tea fields here having been cultivated for a long time (sources vary on for how long, and mulberry was also an important resource here until relatively recently), deep in the mountains at an elevation above 300m. The commune of Rokugō, which Kamigare is in, further includes another settlement, Shimogare - I think, in the valley beside the Kasu River. A few hamlets are scattered along the riverside and hillside. Rokugō is part of the former Kasuga Township which was merged with Ibigawa Township (see the 'Great Heisei Municipal Mergers'). Some sources refer to Kamigare as Kasuga, but Kasuga is the quite expansive mostly mountainous area containing Kamigare village.
The tea grown in Kamigare is organic, not treated with pesticides or fertilisers. The patterns formed by uneven rows are lovely, but the tea bushes are grown close together and are sheered to the same height in order to prevent weed growth and ensure adequate sunlight. Tea plantations like that of the Chaboboen farm have been cultivated in Kasuga, it is said, for seven centuries.
I'm not sure Kamigare is quite Machu Picchu, but the views of the tea fields shown here are indeed beautiful. The tea bushes themselves form interesting patterns. It's hard to believe that centuries ago this serene and bucolic setting was the stage for a complex of fortifications centred around Kamigare. In addition to Kamigarejō and Ojimajō (then known as Kidojō) on the mountain to the east, there were at least three forts on the ridges on the north side of the Kasugawa; Shimogarejō was located on a hill to the south (it is now also a tea plantation).
Note: Kamigare is now usually written as 上ヶ流, but previously it was written 上狩宇, and this is the proper name for the castle, often misread as 'Kamiǵaryū (the kanji 上狩宇 looks like "Kamigariu")'.
| Castle Profile | |
|---|---|
| English Name | Kamigare Castle |
| Japanese Name | 上狩宇城 |
| Alternate Names | 上ヶ流城 |
| Founder | Nishio Clan |
| Year Founded | 1315 |
| Castle Type | Fortified Manor |
| Castle Condition | Ruins only |
| Historical Period | Pre Edo Period |
| Features | |
| Visitor Information | |
| Access | Nearest station is Ibi Station on the Yōrō Line |
| Hours | 24/7 free; fields |
| Time Required | 20 minutes |
| Location | Ibigawa, Gifu Prefecture |
| Coordinates | 35.47538, 136.49028 |
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| Admin | |
| Added to Jcastle | 2025 |
| Contributor | ART |
| Admin Year Visited | Viewer Contributed |
