32 Kansai Castle Profiles by ART

ART's next contribution is 32 new profiles from around Kansai. If you haven't seen his Japanese Castles Facebook page, check it out as well. All these photos and more have been posted there at some point or will be soon.

32 Kansai Castle Profiles by ART

2021/09/25

ART's next contribution is 32 new profiles from around Kansai.

If you haven't seen his Japanese Castles Facebook page, check it out as well. All these photos and more have been posted there at some point or will be soon.

Hachiman'yama Castle (Tanba) / 丹波八幡山城

Hachiman'yamajō was an incidental castle visit for me. The site, which some intrepid castle explorers have identified possible earthworks of, is now a shrine. We came here to see the historic pagoda which sits above the shrine's honden. That is not a configuration one often sees, especially not at shrines, and so this was an impressive sight. The pagoda is decorated with water fowl, with a different bird shown on each face: cranes, geese, ducks and herons. There is some nice ishigaki, but this dates to after the castle, of course, though maybe back to when the shrine was a temple... At the foot of the castle-shrine-temple-mount is a large tree which has grown horizontally over a river like a bridge, a kind of natural wonder.

Ikenoshiri Yakata / 池尻館

It is reported that there are the remains of dorui (earthen ramparts) in a corner of Ikenoshiri Village, the only vestiges of Ikenoshiri Castle, a fortified manor hall. However, these are now hidden in a bamboo grove, and I couldn't find them. This was one of several sites that day that heavy bamboo growth prevented further exploration of, Oumi Nakato Castle and Oumi Shimozato Castle sites being similar. Bamboo is still a useful for people in these parts I suppose! Given that the village is situated below Ebisu Pond - beneath a berm - I figured that the castle and village were named for this.

Itoi Jin'ya / 糸井陣屋

Itoi-jin'ya is a jin'ya in fairly decent condition all things considered, though it does appear dubious in places. It has a long segment of ishigaki (stone-piled ramparts) with very strange mock dobei (walls) with silly yasama (loopholes) positioned at amusingly wide distances apart. There is an original gate on site, which is small but looks genuine. Itoi-jin'ya is now the site of a local museum.

Kamigishimoto Castle (Shiga) /

Kashiwabara Palace / 柏原御殿

The site of Kashiwabara-goten is located in the historic town of Kashiwabara-juku. There is a small park with an information display about the site.

Katakari Castle (Tanba) / 丹波鹿集城

The site of Katakarijō is now a school, and it's hard to tell what was originally the castle's foot print as some of the grass embankments look like they were sculpted for the school rather than by medieval hands, altering the form of the hill. That said, there is an obvious segment of dorui (earthen ramparts) by the school's entrance. Very nearby is the site of ancient temple complex, a national historic site, with the remains of the foundations of temple halls, including a pagoda.

Kitabodaiji Castle (Shiga) /

Kokuryou Castle (Tanba) / 丹波国領城

Kokuryōjō, now a temple, retains some tall, thick dorui. There is modern ishigaki but that is for the temple, though the effect is complimentary. I had a decent look around here, and even followed a trench down the side of the hill. One can see that this is a clifftop castle which overlooked a fertile plain. These "Gakejiro" are technically hirayamajiro because one portion is built like a hirajiro (flatland castle), and the rest, the cliff-facing side, is built like a yamajiro (mountain castle).

Mekada Castle / 目加田城

Mekadajō is now a small history park which looks like it was developed only recently. There is tallish dorui (earthen ramparts), of about 3m in height, to appreciate here. Formerly the whole thing was covered in bamboo so it's good they cut that back and now maintain the ruins. Some parts are still bamboo though. That day I encountered a lot of bamboo trying to investigate smaller sites. Afterall the super grass is still a useful resource in some parts. The layout of the castle was a simple square surrounded by dorui and mizubori (water moats), though the dorui was embossed on one corner adjacent to the fort's single gateway, perhaps for the placement of a yagura(turret)-like structure. In this way Mekadajō served as basically as a fortified residence. To the immediate south of the fort flows the Iwakura River, which shortly thereafter flows into the Uso River. An irrigation channel connected the moat of Mekadajō with the river, and in the north of the fort a pool of water projected into the main enclosure. Although I didn't have time to visit, the sites of Hacchōjō and Ōmi-Yoshidajō are very nearby.

Namazue Castle / 鯰江城

Namazuejō, "Catfish Bay Castle", probably never possessed access to water, but the name is nice. Here I can proudly proclaim the confirmed existence of dorui (earthen ramparts) and of a detailed explanation board about the castle. I had previously just been to Nakatojō, one of the small forts used to pressure and attack Namazuejō by Oda Nobunaga and Shibata Katsuie, and other such forts, finding nothing, so the find of actual remains at Namazuejō was satisfying. The site is now homes, a temple, a playground and a municipal hall. Though Namazuejō once possessed a large footprint, the site was subsequently developed over as a residential area.

Nomura Castle (Tanba) / 丹波野村城

The ruins of Tanba-Nomurajō consist chiefly of earthworks in a square layout. Dorui (earthen ramparts) surround the castle on three sides, with the portion in the west having been levelled for farmland. North to south this dorui runs for about 70m. Remains of an inner moat about 5m wide can also be found here. Further traces some 50m out attest to the existence also of an outer moat. Most of the moats were filled in for farming. The site is now farmland. There is no obvious gate ruin, but there is a road called 'Great Gate Road' running between the villages of Okuno and Shimono, which suggests the Ôtemon (main gate) was located here on the now demolished western perimeter

Ogurayamagami Castle / 小倉山上城

Ogurayamagamijō is a castle site in East Ōmi, though very little remains of the castle structure. The castle was built on uneven elevation, making it a sort of clifftop fort (hirayamajiro / gakejiro). A ravine runs to one side which was likely used or augmented as a fortfication / trench. On the otherside of the temple which currently occupies the site is a road which climbs the hill side and so no ruins remains here. The temple's main entrance is at the bottom of the hill. There is a small marker for the castle at the temple entrance.

Oumi Imoto Castle /

Oumi Nakato Castle /

Oumi Ogura Castle /

Sakata Kashiwabara Castle /

Shimoyama Yakata / 下山館

Shimoyama-yakata is a medieval yakata site not far below Hyakusaijiō. Now part of a quaint village, I found no ruins or marker here (dangling participle).

Takano Yakata / 高野館

Takano-yakata is an interesting site. Dropping beneath a series of terraced fields, one will suddenly come across a long stretch of ishigaki (stone-piled ramparts), including the foundations of a gate complex. This latter day Sengoku Period fortified residence is a rare example of this type of fortification where significant ruins remain.

Tonbori Castle (Tanba) / 溜堀城

The ruins of Tonborijō, which consist of some earthworks and augmented natural terrain, is now dominated by a complex of modern structures, including an Italian restaurant, overlooking the surrounding countryside. There is a large stone marker proclaiming the site, and I spied some dorui (earthen ramparts) and what looked like a karabori - though not advisable to descend. The road cuts through the dorui. The shape of the terrain has been altered in modern times, obscuring the castle's footprint.

Tonomura Yakata (Omi) / 近江殿村館

The site is now private residences. I happened to pass by on the way to Tokugen'in and the site of Kashiwabara Castle (Omi) when I noticed it appear when searching for nearby historical sites. I have confirmed the co-ordinates on 'Iseki Walker'.

Touendou Castle (Shiga) /

Yaga Castle (Tanba) / 丹波屋賀城

Yagajō was an incidental castle visit for me, as it may be for most who go. I stopped by here, now the site of a temple, en route to Sasayama Castle, to see the relocated Taiko-yagura (drum tower) from Sonobe Castle. The yagura (turret) is very comely. It happens that the temple, built with a structure from Sonobejō, was built upon the site of Yagajō, though the drum tower has nothing to do with Yagajō otherwise.

Yamakami Jin'ya / 山上陣屋

Nothing remains of Yamakami-jin'ya, which is not unusual for jin'ya, since most of them were lightly fortified. There is a signboard at the site explaining about the domain and the jin'ya. Put simply, a jin'ya is a small pseudo-castle used when a large castle would be inappropriate, such as for a small domain - as in the case of Yamakami-jin'ya.

Loading map...