Furujiro Fort
Furujiro-toride is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin in Kasugai Township, Fuefuki Municipality. This obscure site has only been reported on by one castle-blogger that I can find, though mentioned by some others. Furujiro-toride ('Old Castle Fort') is paired with Niijiro-toride ('New Castle Fort')
History
Furujiro presumably predates Niijiro, which has a proposed construction date in the 15th century, and is also said to have functioned as noroshidai as part of the Takeda signal beacon network. Whereas Niijiro can be seen from all around, Furujiro sits above a valley on the mountainside, so I'm not sure how important as a noroshidai it was, and perhaps Niijiro made it redundant in that regard. Rather, owing to the structure and location, it's possible Furujiro was intended as a hidden redoubt during the wars to unify Kai. It is speculated to have been built in the mid' 14th century by Takeda Masayoshi, the governor of Kai. Another theory is that the fort was originally the upper sanctum of Chōkokuji and was subsequently fortified along with the rest of that temple. This is speculation, and the details are unknown. Furujiro is first recorded as a castle ruin in 1814 by the 'Kai Provincial Journal'.
Field Notes
Furujiro-toride is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin in Kasugai Township, Fuefuki Municipality. This obscure site has only been reported on by one castle-blogger that I can find, though mentioned by some others. Furujiro-toride ('Old Castle Fort') is paired with Niijiro-toride ('New Castle Fort') on the same mountain. Furujiro is not at the top of the mountain, but on one of its ridges. The site is primarily a kofun (ancient burial mound) site, and the masonry and chambers of these ancient tombs is the most interesting thing to see there. Because of the twin kofun it may appear as though there is a trench here, but I'm unsure that any work was done to transform the kofun into berms. Rather, there is a wide flat area behind (when ascending) the kofun, and this seems to have been the principal site of any fortifications.
To reach this site I first descended via the ridge which climbs on beyond Daizōkyōjiyama. From that peak it takes about half an hour to march to the pass with the signpost pointing down the mountain toward Chōkokuji. Furujiro is located about half-way down that route which cuts through several old forest roads.
By the way, that part of the mountain above the fort site had been ravaged by a forest fire the month prior, which unexpectedly smouldered for about a month starting after the new year. Patches of ground, logs and the bases of trees here and there were blackened in dark and rueful patches, and even the log steps on the trail down from the pass got charred. It was fascinating to see how the slow-moving fire had crawled up and over the mountain, seemingly jumping in places, and still strongly carried the aroma of ash.
| Castle Profile | |
|---|---|
| English Name | Furujiro Fort |
| Japanese Name | 古城砦 |
| Alternate Names | Furujiro (古城砦) |
| Founder | Takeda Masayoshi |
| Year Founded | Mid' 14th Century |
| Castle Type | Mountaintop |
| Castle Condition | Ruins only |
| Historical Period | Pre Edo Period |
| Artifacts | Kuruwa, Kofun |
| Features | trenches, stone walls |
| Visitor Information | |
| Access | 50 min hike on from Daizōkyōjiyama, or 30 min hike up from Chōkokuji. |
| Hours | 24/7 free; mountain |
| Time Required | 20 mins |
| URL | Castle Website |
| Location | Fuefuki, Yamanashi Prefecture |
| Coordinates | 35.67242, 138.625 |
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| Admin | |
| Added to Jcastle | 2025 |
| Contributor | ART |
| Admin Year Visited | Viewer Contributed |
| Friends of JCastle | |
| Kojōshi | |
