Ohno Castle (Chikuzen)
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History
Ono castle is considered Japan's oldest castle. It was built to defend the cultural-political centre of Daizaifu, and provide refuge if Daizaifu fell under attack. According to the `Chronicles of Japan,` (Nihon Shoki), in the year 660, the Baekje (Kudara) kingdom on the Korean peninsula was besieged by the Tang-Silla alliance, and requested a relief force from the Yamato court in Japan. Crown Prince Naka no Ōe, later to become Emperor Tenji, and Empress Saimei ordered the dispatch of troops and ships, who ultimately sustained heavy casualties at the Battle of Baekgang in 663. Suffering from critical losses, and fearing retribution or invasion from the victorious Tang-Silla alliance, the Yamato court ordered the creation of Ono castle. This involved fortifying some eight kilometres of mountaintop and constructing and provisioning over 70 storehouses within the defenses. Other shore-based defenses and island-based signal towers were also constructed around this time, although the expected attack never came.
Field Notes
Ono castle in effect comprises the entire mountain, with the various remains of stone walls, storehouses, ponds and gates scattered across it. It currently doubles as a nature park so there are many trails for hiking and enjoying nature - access to specific parts of the castle being inadequately sign-posted and at times confusing. The nearby Mizuki castle remains are usually considered a set with Ono castle, both erected in defense of Dazaifu, so these two sites may be of interest too.
Profile and gallery updated by ART (2024; visited 2019):
Chikuzen-Ônojō is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin spanning the border between Dazaifu Municipality and Umi Township in Kasuya County.
Although the first kodai-yamajiro (ancient mountain fortress) I visited was Yashima-no-Ki in Shikoku, most of the oldest and grandest sites are located in Kyushu. Visiting Chikuzen- Ônojō in 2019 was almost entirely outside the scope of my experience. Interestingly if one were to visit mountain citadels in Korea, then one might be more familiar with Ônojō. The similarities between Ônojō and old Korean sites are considerable, and this pertains to the history of the citadel mount. Long before the rise of the mighty samurai (from the late Heian period) who built medieval mountain fortresses, a still yet older culture of the Yamato built huge fortified mountain citadels by piling earth and stone into ramparts ringing mountains, now called kodai-yamajiro.
Ônojō is typical and foremost amongst kodai-yamajiro. Essentially the mountain peaks were ringed with ramparts to protect buildings within a depression between the fortified peaks. The ruins of some seventy of these buildings, including their foundation stones, can be seen today. The remains of ramparts, some of them clad with piled-stone in a very ancient style, can be followed as they undulate across 8km of mountainous terrain.
What remains of the ishigaki (stone-piled ramparts) at Ônojō is like no other I have seen at later Japanese castles, and sweeps up mountainsides and dips into ravines, creating a smooth parapet line which follows the natural contours of the elevation. The ishigaki is found in clusters here and there. There are a handful of principal areas with ishigaki, three of which are to the north of the castle ruins. These are the hyakken-ishigaki, the kita-ishigaki, and the ko-ishigaki. In the south is the Ô-ishigaki. Aside from the hyakken-ishigaki, these stone-pilings seemingly were built at points between mountainsides where streams flowed through. The hyakken-ishigaki, that designation referring to its great length, is quite different, starting at the base of a slope, surging up it and then along the top of a mountain ridge. It is part of one of two inner ramparts which created separately enclosed areas in both the north and south of the citadel.
Whilst the circular route following ramparts which bob up and down across the mountain's peaks and ridges can probably be walked in a few hours, to inspect everything at Ônojō would likely take a whole day. Our route took us to an area (尾花) in the south where the remains of azakura (storehouses) can be seen. Then we (myself and Kyushu-based history blogger, Stuart I.) stopped at a central parking area before walking a circuitous route between the three northern ishigaki remnants mentioned above. Coming back down the mountain we had just enough time to go and find the Ô-ishigaki in the south. So we saw some major features this way but did not have the time to walk around the whole site or inspect all of the building remains or ishigaki segments around.
Stuart and I also saw the Mizuki, a long, plain-spanning embankment built at the foot of Mt Ôno, and an unrelated Sengoku period fortification, Iwayajō, which is built within the ruins of Ônojō -- which says a lot about the age and size of Ônojō that it has the ruins of a smaller, more recent castle within it! Stuart had been to these sites before and I appreciate his taking me to them and showing me around. I learnt a lot! (Stuart's site: https://rekishinihon.com/)
Nomenclature:
Kodai-yamajiro is a broad term, which is why I apply it here as a catch-all, although Ônojō can also be described specifically as a Chōsen-shiki yamajiro (Korean-style mountain fortress). Kodai-yamajiro are generally split between Chōsen-shiki yamajiro and another group of sites, these verging upon the truly ancient, called Kōgoishi-shiki yamajiro. The relation of the one to the other is not entirely clear and some scholars consider the kōgoishi sites to predate the Chōsen sites. The question is whether the construction of kodai-yamajiro date to the defeat of Baekje and the subsequent defense of Yamato in the 7th century, or whether there was an existing tradition of the construction of such structures prior. This is not a settled question. It has occured to me that whilst all kodai-yamajiro appear to date to the Asuka period, the Japanese had been using large stones to line their monuments from the Kofun period, but any link there is utterly conjectural. The extent of the involvement of Korean refugees and immigrants in the construction of sites like Ônojō can be a thorny topic of discussion since it pertains to the identity of ancient Japanese and their relations with continental peoples.
History:
Ônojō was built in 665, likely by or under the guidance of the Baekje nobility who had fled Korea following their defeat at the hands of the Tang-Silla Coalition. The Yamato had dispatched troops and ships to aid Baekje in their war and after suffering heavy losses at the Battle of Baekgang were forced to contend with the possibility of the invasion of Japan by the wrathful Tang. Ônojō was the centrepiece of a network of fortifications surrounding Dazaifu, the political center of Kyūshū (with other sites including Mizu-ki, Shōmizu-ki, Kiijō, Ashikisanjō, the Sekiya Dorui and Dazaifu's administrative palace itself). The anticipated attack never came, however, and, by degrees, Ônojō was abandoned to nature. As an old citadel to retreat to in times of war, it perhaps also played a part in the 13th century Mongol invasions of Kyūshū.
Gallery
| Castle Profile | |
|---|---|
| English Name | Ohno Castle (Chikuzen) |
| Japanese Name | 大野城 |
| Founder | Yamato Court |
| Year Founded | 665 |
| Castle Type | Mountaintop |
| Castle Condition | Ruins only |
| Designations | Top 100 Castles, National Historic Site, Special Historic Site |
| Historical Period | Pre Edo Period |
| Features | stone walls |
| Visitor Information | |
| Access | By car: there is car parking at Shiouji-kenmin-no-mori. There is also a community bus from Daizaifu station, or Nishitetsu bus from Fukuoka Station. |
| Hours | Park facilities are open: April to September 9：00～6：00 October to March 9：00～5：00 |
| Time Required | Several hours: a lot of walking required between sites. |
| URL | Castle Website |
| Location | Ohno, Fukuoka Prefecture |
| Coordinates | 33.53411, 130.51858 |
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| Admin | |
| Added to Jcastle | 2013 |
| Contributor | ART |
| Admin Year Visited | Viewer Contributed |
| Admin Visits | Viewer Donated |
