Hobonishi Castle
Hobonishijō is a gakejiro (plateau or clifftop fort) type hirayamajiro (elevation and flat land castle) ruin in Nishimura Township, Yokkaichi Municipality. In fact, the remains of an entire medieval town here are evident, and it is quite unlike anything I had prior seen. The ruins can be divided int
History
Hobonishijō was built, it is thought, by the Ise-Asakura Clan in 1456. The Asakura in Ise Province served as magistrates under the Ashikaga Shogunate. The retainers of the Ise-Asakura lived in fortified plots around the castle, forming the beginnings of a castle-town. To the south Hobonishijō had a satellite or twin castle called Ichibajō ('Market Castle'), which was built to a similar scale and also was surrounded by a "samurai village". The two castles taken together were also known as 'Asakurajō'.
As the power of the shōgun waned in Muromachi, the position of the Asakura in Ise became tenuous, and they maintained their holdings in the Sengoku period through a series of precarious alliances with neighbouring clans, such as the Mochibuku. Hobonishijō was conquered by Takigawa Kazumasu, a general of Oda Nobunaga, in 1568.
Field Notes
Hobonishijō is a gakejiro (plateau or clifftop fort) type hirayamajiro (elevation and flat land castle) ruin in Nishimura Township, Yokkaichi Municipality. In fact, the remains of an entire medieval town here are evident, and it is quite unlike anything I had prior seen. The ruins can be divided into those of the castle proper and those of the surrounding jōkamachi or jōkamura, the settlement surrounding the castle.
The main bailey is against the cliff's edge to the south and west, and on the plateau side it is protected in the north and east by tall, thick dorui (earthen ramparts), and deep, wide karabori (dry moats), which are themselves are most impressive. Dobashi (earthen bridges) span the 8m deep moats in the north and east. The northern gate complex has a flat profile, and eastern one is a masugata (crank-shaped) gate complex.
The approach to the castle goes by a secondary bailey, protected by karabori and dorui, though not of the same scale as the main bailey. A dobashi climbs into this bailey, but the main entrance appears to be where there is a small masugata gate complex of dorui.
In the northwest the tongue-shaped plateau is cut off from the surrounding land with a long stretch of karabori and dorui. Between this outer barrier and the inner citadel are the remains of more than half a dozen roughly square enclosures surrounded by dorui. The trace of medieval streets moves in orderly and angular fashion between the dorui. It is clear that these enclosures contained bukeyashiki, the homes of samurai, or retainers of the castellan.
The main road takes an 'L' shape through the settlement and leads to the outer moat. There is a right-angled bend here before the moat. It appears a wooden bridge was used here and was the town's main entry point. Another access point today is used to enter the ruins from the plateau side, but I wonder if this was constructed later by peasants who reclaimed the land for agriculture.
This vast, remarkably well preserved site, is now apparently a park, Hobo-no-Satoyama Park, but it is not maintained, and is almost entirely overgrown with skinny trees and other plants which make exploration tedious. There are a couple of marker posts and an old information board, but other than that nothing has been made of this site; the ruins are not "on the map", referred to only as a park, and no protections are in place for their preservation. It is hard to believe that such an intriguing site remains largely obscure and unremarked. This is a hidden treasure appreciated only by fans of medieval castles - or at least ones prepared to get into the thick of the brush.
Gallery
| Castle Profile | |
|---|---|
| English Name | Hobonishi Castle |
| Japanese Name | 保々西城 |
| Alternate Names | Asakurajō |
| Founder | Ise-Asakura Clan |
| Year Founded | 1456 |
| Castle Type | Hilltop |
| Castle Condition | Ruins only |
| Historical Period | Pre Edo Period |
| Artifacts | Dorui, Dobashi, Karabori, &c. |
| Features | trenches |
| Visitor Information | |
| Access | Hokuseichūōkōenguchi Station on the Sangi Line; 30 minute walk |
| Hours | 24/7 free; park |
| Time Required | 100 mins |
| Location | Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture |
| Coordinates | 35.06227, 136.54292 |
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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 | |
| Yogo | |
