Habu Castle (Mikawa)
Habujō is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin in Habu Township, Toyota Municipality. Ruins consist of earthworks such as trenches, baileys and dorui (earthen ramparts). The hill on which the fort sits is surrounded by a river which bends around it to the north, west and south. To the east there is
History
According to a document called the Kan'ei Gōchō, Habujō was the base of one Kawai Kohē. This member of the Kawai Clan is not well known, but it can be inferred that Habujō was a satellite fortification of Ôkuwajō to the south where the Kawai had their main base. Habujō, along with neighbouring forts, is presumed to have been defeated by or surrendered to the armies of the Kai-Takeda from 1571.
Field Notes
Habujō is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin in Habu Township, Toyota Municipality. Ruins consist of earthworks such as trenches, baileys and dorui (earthen ramparts). The hill on which the fort sits is surrounded by a river which bends around it to the north, west and south. To the east there is a pass between the mountains. The trail to the fort ruin is from the Kōshōji Pass. Since this eastern flank is where attackers would likely come from, the fort's defences are orientated that way, as well as to the south where the path up to the fort may have been.
The main bailey is spacious. It is surrounded in the northwest and west by the terraced hillside. To the south, east and northeast there are the remains of a trench system. This trench system, which includes an outer dorui segment, is the ruin's most fascinating feature. To the east along the ridge is a trench and berm. What is strange about it is that although it divides the ridge, the surrounding hillside is not steep, so it seemed to me that it would be rather easy to simply walk around. Where there climbing moats in the past that got filled in, or was this defensive line never completed?
This site is very lumpy. I wondered if it hadn't been abandoned half way through construction. However, one local castle blogger suggests that the hilltop has been quarried for granite in subsequent times, leaving bumps and pits around. Indeed, there are some boulders here and there around the ruins. Two boulders poking out through the edge of a lower terrace made me think they were silent sentinels marking the rear entrance to the fort. The hillside slopes off gently to the rear, but eventually comes to a cliff overlooking the river, and so it was unnecessary to heavily fortify this area it seems.
Note: this site is Habujō in Mikawa Province (now Aichi Pref.), and is not to be confused with the Habujō in Yamashiro Province (now Kyōto Pref.).
| Castle Profile | |
|---|---|
| English Name | Habu Castle (Mikawa) |
| Japanese Name | 三河羽布城 |
| Founder | Kawai Kohē |
| Year Founded | c.1550 |
| Castle Type | Mountaintop |
| Castle Condition | Ruins only |
| Historical Period | Pre Edo Period |
| Artifacts | Dorui, Horikiri, Yokobori, &c. |
| Features | trenches |
| Visitor Information | |
| Access | Trail is from the Kōshōji Pass in the east |
| Hours | 24/7 free; mountain |
| Time Required | 30 mins |
| Location | Toyota, Aichi Prefecture |
| Coordinates | 35.04723, 137.37882 |
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| Admin | |
| Added to Jcastle | 2025 |
| Contributor | ART |
| Admin Year Visited | Viewer Contributed |
| Friends of JCastle | |
| Jōkaku Hōrōki | |
| Umoreta Kojō | |
| Oshiro Tabi Nikki | |
| Aichi Rekishi Meguri | |
| Jōseki Meguri Bibiroku | |
| Jōkaku Shashin Kiroku | |
| Yogo | |
