Kashiwayama Castle (Murakami Clan Fort Network)

Kashiwayamajō is made up of two fortified areas, the lower castle and the upper castle. I treat them here as one site, as the upper castle is the more impressive of the two and I consider the lower fort as a branch fort or detached bailey of the upper. Both parts are made up of small baileys and tre

History

Kashiwayamajō was an important link in a chain of forts utilised by the Murakami Clan. It may have been originally built by the Unno Clan to protect against the Murakami, but in any case the Murakami conquered the castle and at a later time re-fortified it with deep trenches (which was the style at the time).

Field Notes

Kashiwayamajō is made up of two fortified areas, the lower castle and the upper castle. I treat them here as one site, as the upper castle is the more impressive of the two and I consider the lower fort as a branch fort or detached bailey of the upper. Both parts are made up of small baileys and trenches, but the rear trenches of the upper fort are impressive, and the trench beneath the main bailey is very deep and wide for a small fort complex. I was also able to see the castle's shape in profile whilst climbing at lower elevation, and here Kashiwayamajō appears like a huge wave arising out of an otherwise tame ridgeline.

Gallery

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  Huge trench cutting into ridge
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Castle Profile
English Name	Kashiwayama Castle (Murakami Clan Fort Network)
Japanese Name	村上柏山城
Founder	Murakami Clan
Year Founded	Sengoku Period
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Artifacts	Horikiri, Dorui, Kuruwa
Features	trenches
Visitor Information
Access	Ueda Sation on the Shinano Railway; bus to Kamishina; 20 minute walk to Sumiyoshi
Hours	24/7 free; mountain
Time Required	40 minutes
Location	Ueda, Nagano Prefecture
Coordinates	36.42551, 138.27998
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2022
Contributor	ART
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed
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