Nochiseyama Castle

The trailhead is around a ten minute walk from Obama Station. It is near the tunnel on Route 27 and just behind a small Panasonic Service shop located opposite a petrol station. There is a free colour pamphlet about Nochiseyama Castle provided by Obama City available at the trailhead. During the Edo

History

A branch of the Takeda Clan from Kai (present day Yamanashi Prefecture) moved to Wakasa (western Fukui Prefecture) sometime in the middle of the Muromachi Period (1338-1573). The earlier Takeda lords based themselves in Kyoto and were lords in absentia. However, Takeda Motomitsu, a fifth generation Wakasa Takeda lord, decided to live in Wakasa. In 1522, he built Nochiseyama Castle on a 168m mountain overlooking Obama Bay. The castle stretches 500 metres from north to south, and there are 139 baileys spread out over this mountaintop fortress. It is the biggest mountaintop castle in Wakasa. The Wakasa Takeda lords ruled Nochiseyama Castle until the eighth generation lord, Takeda Motoaki. After the defeat of the Wakasa Takeda Clan by the Echizen Asakura Clan in 1568, the castle was abandoned.

In 1574, one of Oda Nobunaga’s generals, Niwa Nagahide, became the new lord of Nochiseyama Castle. The stone stairs and wall remnants found mainly around the honmaru (main bailey) were not built by the Takeda Clan, but instead they were the results of successive improvements made to the castle by the following castle lords, Asano Nagamasa (1587-1593) and Kinoshita Katsutoshi (1593-1600). After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Kyogoku Takatsugu became the lord of Nochiseyama Castle. Within a year, he decided to relocate and construct a new castle, Obama Castle at the river delta of Kitagawa (North River) and Minamigawa (South River). Subsequently, Nochiseyama Castle was decommissioned in 1615 according to the sign found at the trailhead. However, another Japanese source states that it was only decommissioned at a much later date in the 1640s after the completion of both Obama Castle and the new castle town. In 1997, it was designated a national historic site.

Field Notes

The trailhead is around a ten minute walk from Obama Station. It is near the tunnel on Route 27 and just behind a small Panasonic Service shop located opposite a petrol station. There is a free colour pamphlet about Nochiseyama Castle provided by Obama City available at the trailhead. During the Edo Period, the Atago Shrine was built at the site of the main bailey.

Gallery

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  Honmaru Stone walls
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  View of the mountain from Route 27
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  Stairs up to the main bailey
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  Atago Shrine
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  Dobashi, earthen bridge.
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  terraced baileys
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  Path in the mountain
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  Kuruwagun Set of Terraced Baileys
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  Map
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  Ishigaki around Main Bailey (ART)
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  Large horikiri (trench)
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  Map (Large)
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  Shukuruwa ishigaki from below
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  Dobashi (earthen bridge) and trenches along the ridge
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  Ishigaki beneath shukuruwa dorui
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  Tatebori (climbing moats) in rows
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  Atop of earthen ramparts of main bailey; dorui
• 

  Approach to main bailey and ramparts

Castle Profile
English Name	Nochiseyama Castle
Japanese Name	後瀬山城
Alternate Names	Takedashi-jo
Founder	Takeda Motomitsu
Year Founded	1522
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Designations	Top 100 Mountaintop Castles, National Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	trenches, stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	Obama Station on the Obama Line; 5 minute walk to trailhead at the torii of Atago Shrine
Hours	Hiking trail. Open 24/7. Free.
Time Required	2 hours
URL	Castle Website
Location	Obama, Fukui Prefecture
Coordinates	35.48835, 135.73916
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2014
Contributor	RaymondW
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed
Friends of JCastle
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