Hoshiyamako Castle

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Revision as of 16:06, 6 February 2025 by ART (talk | contribs) (Created page with "{{Castle |English Name=Hoshiyamako Castle |Japanese Name=星山古城 |Romaji Name=Hoshiyamakojō |Founder=Yanagisawa Hyōbu |Year Founded=Sengoku Period |Castle Type=Mountaintop |Castle Condition=Ruins only |Historical Period=Pre Edo Period |Artifacts=Kuruwa, Horikiri, Tatebori, Dorui, &c. |Features=trenches |Access=Climb from hamlet to northeast |Visitor Information=24/7 free; mountain |Time Required=50 minutes |Website=https://atenzasports23z.blog.ss-blog.jp/ |City=Ho...")
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Hoshiyamakojō ('Star Mountain Old Castle') is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin in Mukawa Township, Hokuto Municipality. Ruins consist of earthworks, including horikiri (ridgeline trenches) and tatebori (climbing trenches). Some sources show the location of Hoshiyamakojō as being too low down.

Hoshiyamakojou007.jpg

History

Hoshiyamakojō was built as a hidden mountain redoubt for the people of Mukawa to protect themselves in times of conflict, whenever a rampaging army came through the area, whether it be Takeda, Oda, Hōjō or Tokugawa. The castellan may have been Yanagisawa Hyōbu, a member of the Mukawa-shū, a local war band. When Oda Nobunaga conquered Kai in 1582, Hoshiyamakojō is where defenceless villagers sheltered from the bloodlusting Oda forces, and accounts describe the elderly, women and children hiding in the shadows of rocks deep in the mountains.


Field Notes

Hoshiyamakojō ('Star Mountain Old Castle') is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin in Mukawa Township, Hokuto Municipality. Ruins consist of earthworks, including horikiri (ridgeline trenches) and tatebori (climbing trenches).

Some sources show the location of Hoshiyamakojō as being too low down. The fort is located on the peak at 969m above sea level. There isn't much of a trail anymore, but the start is located behind a summer home in the hamlet to the northeast. There is a zigzagging old mountain path on the right side, climbing, of the ridge. The left side, that I took down, is heavily eroded with deadly drops and should be avoided.

The main bailey is readily recognisable as one approaches a large horikiri to its rear. There is a small pocket bailey directly above the trench, and the main bailey is above that. It looked to me as though the narrow, steep ridges beneath the peak could've been worked too, but the terrain was too risky to tackle in the gathering snow.

The horikiri divides the main bailey and second bailey. The second bailey is barely worked, but opens out into the expansive, sloping third bailey. It seems somewhat hollowed out as it climbs. This rudimentary working of the natural mount is perhaps indicative of an emergency refuge for the townsfolk. I walked up to above 1,000m looking for a definitive end to the bailey, and a little after it narrowed there was what looked like it might've been another trench separating two small peaks. By this time a flurry was dancing all around me so I decided to make my descent.




Gallery
  • Horikiri (trench) from above
  • Horikiri (trench) in profile
  • Koshikuruwa / terraced bailey beneath second bailey
  • Main bailey


Castle Profile
English Name Hoshiyamako Castle
Japanese Name 星山古城
Founder Yanagisawa Hyōbu
Year Founded Sengoku Period
Castle Type Mountaintop
Castle Condition Ruins only
Historical Period Pre Edo Period
Artifacts Kuruwa, Horikiri, Tatebori, Dorui, &c.
Features trenches
Visitor Information
Access Climb from hamlet to northeast
Hours 24/7 free; mountain
Time Required 50 minutes
URL Castle Website
Location Hokuto, Yamanashi Prefecture
Coordinates 35.75834, 138.331
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Admin
Added to Jcastle 2025
Contributor ART
Admin Year Visited Viewer Contributed
Friends of JCastle
Jōkakuzukan


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