Otowa Castle

On 15/05/2023, from Minami-Kusatsu, i took a train to Kusatsu. From there another to Kibukawa and from there, on the Ohmi line, thus not JR, a third one. This is a very small line, and there are mostly only hourly trains. I descended at Hinō station. In front of the station I took a bus to Otowa bus

History

The castle was build on a small hill next to the Hinô river during the Ônin and Bunmei eras, by Gamô Sadahide, as the main castle of the Gamô. It was attacked several times during the first decades of the 16th century. The enemies were always repelled, but not in 1523, when it was besieged by the Rokkaku. It was destroyed and the Gamô moved their castle to Nakanô castle, aka Hinô castle (Hino Castle). During the Meiji period, several baileys were destroyed for the construction of the water dam in the vicinity.

Field Notes

On 15/05/2023, from Minami-Kusatsu, i took a train to Kusatsu. From there another to Kibukawa and from there, on the Ohmi line, thus not JR, a third one. This is a very small line, and there are mostly only hourly trains. I descended at Hinō station. In front of the station I took a bus to Otowa bus stop. Since there were several buses, I asked the bus driver if he passes that stop. There is also only one bus per hour. From the bus stop, it isn't far walking to Otowa castle. I first read about this castle in Terje Solum's book: Saga of the samurai 7: Gamō, the struggle begins'. I was pleasantly surprised by this site. There are several sign boards. The site is well preserved and it is bigger than I expected. You clearly see the different kuruwa(baileys) as the dorui(earthen ramparts), horikiri(trenches), hori(moats).

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Gallery

Hill of Otowajô
Explanation board and closet behind, containing some maps
Map
entrance to the castle site
horikiri
bailey with shrine
Part of the honmaru
Explanation board in the honmaru
Another view of the honmaru
Well of the castle
descend to a deep moat
Bailey with dorui
Dorui and koguchi
several baileys
an obikuruwa

Castle Profile
English Name	Otowa Castle
Japanese Name	音羽城
Founder	Gamo Sadahide
Year Founded	end of the 15th century
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features
Visitor Information
Access	with a bus from Hinô station
Hours	free access
Time Required	45min
URL	Castle Website
Location	Hinô, Shiga Prefecture
Coordinates	34.99973, 136.28596
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2023
Contributor	Furinkazan
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed

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