Gifu Castle

Trees and brush around the stone walls of the top have been cleared to make much better views of the stonework and the main keep together. Other than the foundation and some walls around it, there is not much remaining stonework around the top of the mountain, but every now and then new discoveries

History

Gifu-jo, originally called Inabayama-jo, is built atop the 338m Mt. Kinka in Gifu prefecture. A castle was first established here by Nikaido Yukimasa in around 1201, but the Saito clan built the first proper castle here in the 15th C. Saito Dosan became the master of Inabayama-jo in 1539 and renovated it into mostly into what you see today. In 1567 Oda Nobunaga invaded Mino and took Inabayama-jo from Saito Yoshitatsu, the grandson of Saito Dosan. Nobunaga moved his headquarters here from Komaki Castle and renamed it Gifu Castle. Nobunaga built the tower atop the mountain and his great palace at the base. Nobunaga stayed here until he built Azuchi Castle in 1579. Nobunaga's descendents continued to rule Gifu Castle until the Battle of Sekigahara. During the Battle of Sekigahara (1600) Tokugawa's forces captured Gifu Castle which was then controlled by Nobunaga's grandson Hidenobu. Tokugawa had no need for a small mountaintop castle so it was abandoned and replaced by a new flatland castle, Kano Castle nearby. It is said that Kano Castle was built using some materials including the main keep from Gifu Castle.

Field Notes

Trees and brush around the stone walls of the top have been cleared to make much better views of the stonework and the main keep together. Other than the foundation and some walls around it, there is not much remaining stonework around the top of the mountain, but every now and then new discoveries are being made. On a good day, the views from the top are stunning and simply worth the trip to the top just for the views. You can easily understand why a castle was built here. With such a commanding view you could feel on top of the world.

The most exciting parts of Gifu Castle however are actually at the base of the mountain. The past several years has seen several excavations, discoveries and restorations in the area where Nobunaga built a lavish palace. Work continues today so look forward to more developments in the future.

The mountain is a bit steep but there are also hiking trails you can use to climb rather than the cable car.

My GPS device was not working well at Gifu Castle so some of the photo locations may be off.

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Gallery

Castle Profile
English Name	Gifu Castle
Japanese Name	岐阜城
Alternate Names	Inabayama-jo
Founder	Saito Dosan
Year Founded	1509
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Reconstructed main keep
Designations	Top 100 Castles, Top 100 Mountaintop Castles, Local Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Main Keep Structure	3 levels, 4 floors
Year Reconstructed	1956 (concrete)
Features	main keep, trenches, stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	Gifu Sta. (Tokaida main line), 15 min bus to Gifu Park
Hours	Open 830am-530pm (930-430 during some seasons); 200 yen for the castle museum; 1100 yen for the ropeway
Time Required	120 mins
URL	Castle Website
Location	Gifu, Gifu Prefecture
Coordinates	35.43391, 136.7819
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	1999
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	1992, 1996, 2019
Admin Visits	July 1992; May 1996; Aug 2, 2019
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