Naruse Castle (Asuke)
Narusejō is a okajiro (hilltop castle) type yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin, or a small yamajiro (30-40m relative height), if you will, on the border of Asuke and Chikaoka townships in Toyota Municipality. The castle-mount overlooks the Tomoe River. Much of the castle ruins have been destroyed
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History
Narusejō was one of a complex of fortifications used by the Asuke-Suzuki to protect Asuke. Narusejō protected the town's western edge. One castellan is reported to have been Suzuki Masamitsu. Suzuki Masamitsu was a samurai who served Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Ôsaka campaigns but would go on to become a monk who pioneered his own style of Zen, Niō-Zen. Suzuki Masamitsu, later known as Suzuki Shōsan, emphasised practicing Buddhism by focusing on daily life and reconnecting religion with secular occupations, and therefore was regarded as a great teacher of Zen work ethic.
For more information on the Asuke-Suzuki see Iimoriyamajō.
Field Notes
Narusejō is a okajiro (hilltop castle) type yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin, or a small yamajiro (30-40m relative height), if you will, on the border of Asuke and Chikaoka townships in Toyota Municipality. The castle-mount overlooks the Tomoe River.
Much of the castle ruins have been destroyed to make way for a nursing home, itself now apparently gone. To the rear of the main bailey, where my map showed a trench, was in fact someone's house. The house didn't look new. The main bailey and trench seem to have been partially demolished to make way for the house. Actually, the house is directly below the main bailey, and so when I came upon the main bailey, which is cleared and grassy, I found myself looking down at a middle-aged lady in her garden. I ducked for cover before she saw me like some kind of pervert. It was totally unexpected to find a house when I had anticipated a trench.
Given that the main bailey has been cleared and the grass cut, it seems the household here is treating it as their own garden space. It has a single cherry tree atop. Yogo-sensei, you drew a map but didn't check the whole site (bless, I think he went in a downpour)! So, I barged into someone's garden unwittingly. Because who would walk along the narrow strip of earth which forms the spine of this half demolished site? It is not anticipated that anyone would come here anymore. Several castle bloggers show their pictures from twenty years ago, when the hill was relatively clear and there was even a signpost for the castle, but now it is much more neglected and overgrown.
The lower bailey with a small bulwark, as well as the 'earthen bridge' which connects the two bailey complexes, has terraced hillside beneath. The main bailey also has a sub-bailey below it. For certain these are the ruins of the fort, but the overall layout of the fort before its destruction is difficult to guess at. Maybe there's an old map somewhere.
I went to a shrine at the foot of the hill. The kami house has these preposterously concaved stone walls - modern, of course. I wondered where I had saw their like before. Then I remembered it was in pictures of Disney World's Epcot, which has its own mock Japanese castle. Anyway, I can't recommend anyone visit the ruins of Narusejō. However, somebody is bound to because it is considered one of the historic 'seven castles of Asuke'; I have already visited five out of seven, so I'll have to come back for the remaining two.
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| Castle Profile | |
|---|---|
| English Name | Naruse Castle (Asuke) |
| Japanese Name | 足助成瀬城 |
| Alternate Names | 三河成瀬城 |
| Founder | Asuke-Suzuki Clan |
| Year Founded | Medieval Era |
| Castle Type | Mountaintop |
| Castle Condition | Ruins only |
| Historical Period | Pre Edo Period |
| Features | trenches |
| Visitor Information | |
| Access | Higashi-Okazaki Station on the Meitetsu-Nagoya Line; bus to Asuke (70 mins); or, Jōsui Station on the Meitetsu-Toyota Line; Toyota City Bus (50 mins). |
| Hours | 24/7 free; hill |
| Time Required | 30 minutes |
| Location | Toyota, Aichi Prefecture |
| Coordinates | 35.13091, 137.30294 |
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| Admin | |
| Added to Jcastle | 2024 |
| Contributor | ART |
| Admin Year Visited | Viewer Contributed |
| Friends of JCastle | |
| Jōkaku Hōrōki | |
| Umoreta Kojō | |
| Jōshi Meguri Bibōroku | |
| Jōkaku Shashin Kiroku | |
| Oshiro Tabi Nikki | |
| Yogo | |
