Kaguraoka Castle

There are no clear ruins for this site but it has not been well studied either. It is one I'm asked about occasionally by castle visitors to Kyoto who find it on maps, so I decided to check it out one afternoon this spring. It was just happenstance that I was in the area so I didn't even have my goo

History

The earliest record of a fortification here is 1336 when Ashikaga Takauji used it as an encampment in his fight against Emperor Godaigo. Hosokawa Harumoto had a fortification here in 1550 and in 1561 Matsunaga Hisahide's forces attacked Miyoshi forces who had holed up at the same site. Oda Nobunaga even had it scouted by Shibata Katsuie to build a castle, but it was deemed unsuitable for a modern castle. The site was likely abandoned as a fortification at this time.

Field Notes

There are no clear ruins for this site but it has not been well studied either. It is one I'm asked about occasionally by castle visitors to Kyoto who find it on maps, so I decided to check it out one afternoon this spring. It was just happenstance that I was in the area so I didn't even have my good camera with me. The castle sat at the endpoint of the mountain known as Yoshida-yama at the current site of the Munetada Shrine, but it may have extended as far as the Yoshida Shrine. It is one of the few high elevetion points this close tothe city center which made it a strategic and desirable location for many. The road behind the Munetada Shrine clearly goes straight up one side across the top and down the other. There are no other similar roads on Yoshida-yama and it is thought to have been a horikiri type trench separating the central part of the castle from the rest of the mountain.

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Gallery

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  possible horikiri
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Castle Profile
English Name	Kaguraoka Castle
Japanese Name	神楽岡城
Founder	Ashikaga Takauji
Year Founded	1336
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features
Visitor Information
Access	Jingumarutamachi Station (Keihan), 25 min walk. Multiple bus lines also pass nearby
Hours	shrine, open any time
Time Required	15 mins
Location	Kyoto, Kyoto
Coordinates	35.02268, 135.78515
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2024
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2024
Admin Visits	June 1, 2024

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