Ori Castle

You can also take the reverse bus from Akechi getting off at Yamanoda. You could easily do this as a pair with Iwamura Castle or Akechi Castle making use of the Akechi Line bus. There was an incredible number of signs cautioning beware of snakes, but I didn't see any. This was one of the most deli

History

Ori Castle is also known as Orishiro Yamajiro to differentiate it from the earlier Ori Castle (Ori Shinjo) which was located at the nearby Kotokuji Temple. Orishiro Yamajiro was built in 1534 by Ori Mitsutada. Mitsutada's son, Mitsuaki, was loyal to Oda Nobunaga and fortified Ori Castle for his attack on Akechi Castle and Iwamura Castle in 1574.

After the death of Nobunaga, Ori Mitsuaki took the name of Wada, joined with Ieyasu and left Ori Castle. After the Battle of Sekigahara, Mitsuaki's son, Mitsuchika, was granted these same lands and returned to Ori castle. His son MIstushige died in 1623 with no heirs, so the family came to an end and the castle was abandoned. The castle ruins are comprised of the main keep foundation and several baileys around the top of the mountain. also the stone wall remains of the Otemon (main gate) and the stone walls of the lord's palace around the base of the mountain.

Field Notes

You can also take the reverse bus from Akechi getting off at Yamanoda. You could easily do this as a pair with Iwamura Castle or Akechi Castle making use of the Akechi Line bus. There was an incredible number of signs cautioning beware of snakes, but I didn't see any.

This was one of the most delightfully surprising and interesting castles I've been to in a long time. Maybe since Takatori Castle. Of course there were better overall castles, even on this trip, but Ori Castle so exceeded my expectations it was the highlight of this trip. There are well developed stone walls both around the base of the mountain where the lord's palace was located as well as at the top around the Ninokuruwa and Honmaru Baileys. The top of the mountain is especially interesting because you can really see that it was abandoned in the middle of redevelopment. There are large boulders, partially cut stones, and stones marked for splitting scattered all over the top. I've been to several castle stone quarries and the scene around the Honmaru is just like those abandoned quarries. It's also interesting to note that some of the drill holes, or ya'ana, on these stones are really large. My iPhone can fit lengthwise into them. Such holes are usually smaller and more closely spaced in the Edo Period whereas they were larger and more uneven in the Sengoku Period. This normally indicates the stones were split during an older time period so you would think they are left from the 1574 fortification, but my book (岐阜の山城ベスト５０を歩く) claims otherwise.

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Gallery

Main keep foundation
Castle entrance
Stone walls along the outside of the palace foundation
Stone walls of the palace grounds
Palace foundation stone walls
Otemon Gate ruins
Palace stone walls
Palace grounds
palace embankment
Palace grounds
View
Ote Bailey
Ninokuruwa stone walls.
Ninokuruwa Bailey
Stone walls of the Ninokuruwa
Ninokuruwa Bailey
Main keep foundation
Main keep foundation entrance
Main keep foundation
Main keep foundation
Main keep foundation
Main keep foundation
Main keep foundation
Main keep foundation
Main keep foundation
Main keep foundation
Inside the main keep foundation
Honmaru
Top of the main keep foundation
Inside the main keep foundation
Obikuruwa and Koshiguruwa
Koshiguruwa
Main keep foundation
Ya'ana holes
Uncut stones of the Honmaru
Partially cut stones of the Honmaru
Partly split stone
Map

Castle Profile
English Name	Ori Castle
Japanese Name	小里城
Alternate Names	Orishiro Yamajiro
Founder	Ori Mitsutada
Year Founded	1534
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Designations	Prefectural Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	trenches, stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	Mizunami Sta. (Chuo Line), Bus (Akechi Line) for Akechi, get off at Yamanoda stop, walk 10 mins.
Hours	Hiking trails open anytime.
Time Required	90 mins
URL	Castle Website
Location	Mizunami, Gifu Prefecture
Coordinates	35.3345, 137.28301
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2014
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2014
Admin Visits	May 3, 2014

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