Kirihara Castle

After Yamabe Castle, I hopped on my bike and took off for Kirihara Castle. It’s about 3km away so even without the bike you could walk it. Yamabe is a higher elevation than Matsumoto so there are some stunning views along the way to Kirihara. It would be an enjoyable walk too. Apparently the Yamabe

History

The Kirihara clan were a branch of the Inukai clan and ruled the village of Kirihara, east of present day Matsumoto. The Kirihara were loyal to the Ogasawara clan who controlled the greater Matsumoto area. Kirihara Castle fell to Takeda Shingen's attack in 1550.

Field Notes

After Yamabe Castle, I hopped on my bike and took off for Kirihara Castle. It’s about 3km away so even without the bike you could walk it. Yamabe is a higher elevation than Matsumoto so there are some stunning views along the way to Kirihara. It would be an enjoyable walk too. Apparently the Yamabe area is famous for grapes and wine. Much of the way is surrounded by grape vineyards and the Yamabe Winery is near the entrance to Kirihara Castle. I heard some people will walk back to the winery from Kirihara Castle and call a taxi to meet them there. Maybe I'll try that next time.

All the directions I saw for Kirihara Castle have you going to the road on the west side of the castle (nearly straight up from the winery). Along the way to that entrance I actually found a different entrance that was well marked and had a box full of maps just alongside the road. Before the central baileys there are some great earthworks, several trenches and entrances. The main route to the central bailey is amazing. There are stone walls marking off rings of baileys up to the top and many other castle remannts. The central bailey is huge with a large embankment around the backside. There is much more stoneworks and earthworks than I had imagined before visiting. Most sites and photos really don't do it justice. Kirihara Castle was defintely the best of the castles on this trip to Matsumoto and probably my favorite site of 2015.

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Gallery

Stone walls and baileys
Castle trail head
Vertical trench
Stone walls of the rear entrance
vertical trench
Double horikiri trench
Horikiri
Otemichi
Otemichi
Horikiri trench
Along the top of the horikiri
Stone walls and baileys
Stone walls
Stone walls and baileys
Stone walls and baileys
Terraced baileys below.
Stone walls
Stone walls
Stone walls
Stone walls and baileys
Stone walls and baileys
Stone walls and baileys
Stone walls and baileys
Stone walls
Stone wall entrance to a bailey
Stone walls and baileys
Stone walls
Stone walls
Stone walls and baileys
Stone walls
Stone walls and baileys
Stone walls
Stone walls
Central bailey
Stone wall remains
Stone walls of the main bailey
Stone walls of the main bailey
Main bailey embankment.
Main bailey and embankment
Vertical trench
Bailey
Main bailey
Stone walls of the main bailey
Stone walls of the main bailey
Second Bailey
Stone walls and bailey
Main bailey stone walls
Stone walls of the main bailey
Steep side of the main bailey

Castle Profile
English Name	Kirihara Castle
Japanese Name	桐原城
Alternate Names	Renpo-jo
Founder	Kirihara clan
Year Founded	late 15th C.
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Designations	Prefectural Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	trenches, stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	Matsumoto Sta. (Shinonoi Line), bus or taxi (3000 yen)
Hours	Mountain, open any time
Time Required	150 mins
URL	Castle Website
Location	Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture
Coordinates	36.23671, 138.02657
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2016
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2015
Admin Visits	October 30, 2015

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