Hongou Castle (Owari)
Hongōjō is a hirajiro (flatland fort) site in Hongō Township, Nisshin Municipality. Hongō retains its visible identity of a small village surrounded by paddies despite being situated between two large tendrils of urban sprawl unfurling out from Nagoya. No ruins of the fort remain and the site is now
History
Hongōjō was built by Niwa Ujikazu in 1503 following his relocation from nearby Oridojō. The fort was was a typical square compound formed from piled earthen ramparts measuring under 40m on each side. In 1538, the Niwa Clan relocated their main base to Iwasakijō to the north. Iwasakijō was a more stolid, defensible fort, and Hongōjō became a satellite fortification of it for a while with Niwa Samanojō acting as its castellan. It was either abandoned before or destroyed during the siege of Iwasakijō in 1584. The site was reclaimed in the 17th century for farmland, and all earthworks destroyed.
Field Notes
Hongōjō is a hirajiro (flatland fort) site in Hongō Township, Nisshin Municipality. Hongō retains its visible identity of a small village surrounded by paddies despite being situated between two large tendrils of urban sprawl unfurling out from Nagoya. No ruins of the fort remain and the site is now fields and scrub. The fort site is marked, unintentionally, by a tall communications pylon. I found a ditch to the northwest of the site, but it looked modern.
I passed by here on the way back from Iwasaki Castle after having seen some information about it there, but access is limited and there is little reason to come here. The former site of Hongōjō can also be seen from Iwasakijō's mogi tenshu (faux keep) as it's quite close by.
'Hongō' often refers to the principal settlement within a township or county, or the original town thereat, and, as such, there are many places with this name. Point in case, there is a Hongō Station to the north of this site on Nagoya's Higashiyama subway line, but this is not the same place, and the nearest station is Nisshin Station on the Meitetsu-Toyota Line.
| Castle Profile | |
|---|---|
| English Name | Hongou Castle (Owari) |
| Japanese Name | 尾張本郷城 |
| Founder | Niwa Ujikazu |
| Year Founded | 1503 |
| Castle Type | Fortified Manor |
| Castle Condition | Ruins only |
| Historical Period | Pre Edo Period |
| Features | |
| Visitor Information | |
| Access | Nisshin Station on the Meitetsu-Toyota Line; walk 40 mins, or Kururin Bus 2 on the Komenoki Route; walk 16 mins. |
| Hours | 24/7 free; fields |
| Time Required | 5 minutes |
| Location | Nisshin, Aichi Prefecture |
| Coordinates | 35.13947, 137.04203 |
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| Admin | |
| Added to Jcastle | 2025 |
| Contributor | ART |
| Admin Year Visited | Viewer Contributed |
| Friends of JCastle | |
| Jōkaku Shashin Kiroku | |
| Oshiro Meguri | |
