Shiori Castle
Shiorijō is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin in Shiori Township, Maibara Municipality. Ruins remain in the form of earthworks, such as baileys, horikiri (trenches) and dorui (earthen ramparts), and some remnant masonry. The main bailey is long along the ridge, with the western side embanked in
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History
Shiorijō was built by Doi Sanekatsu in the 14th century. Sanekatsu was descended of Doi Sanetô, a vassal of Minamoto Yoritomo, served Ashikaga Takauji and participated in the pacification of Ōmi and Mino provinces. The Doi would expand throughout the area, producing three branches in Banba, Tawada and Samegai respectively. The Samegai-Doi resided at Shiori.
In the Sengoku period this territory was controlled by the 'Doi Eight Band' of eight families from clans descended of the Doi consisting of the Nose (能勢), Nose (野瀬), Eryū, Hori, Ikeda and Momo clans (the Nose (野瀬) and the Eryū clans consisted of multiple branches).
Field Notes
Shiorijō is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin in Shiori Township, Maibara Municipality. Ruins remain in the form of earthworks, such as baileys, horikiri (trenches) and dorui (earthen ramparts), and some remnant masonry.
The main bailey is long along the ridge, with the western side embanked into dorui. To the rear of the main bailey is an earthen yaguradai (platform for a keep). Sub-baileys sit in shallow terraces below the main bailey. There are horikiri to the fore and aft / north and southwest of this bailey cluster. Along the ridge below the main precincts is a koguchi ('tiger maw') gate complex ruin.
To reach Shiorijō ruins I climbed from Rinzōbō, a temple with a small dōjō set in a forested creek. Fudōmyōō is enshrined in a hall surrounded by managed streams tinkling throughout the mossy copse. The scene is like a garden created from the augmentation rather than sublimation of nature, with autumunally tinged colours drifing through the canopy.
There's no clear path up from here, but the ridge spurs above are in any case not so high, so one can pick a spot and scramble up. Going up, the ridge should be followed to the left; the right goes to the designated peak of Mount Shiori, but the fort ruins are located further south and up.
Gallery
| Castle Profile | |
|---|---|
| English Name | Shiori Castle |
| Japanese Name | 枝折城 |
| Founder | Doi Sanekatsu |
| Year Founded | 14th Century |
| Castle Type | Mountaintop |
| Castle Condition | Ruins only |
| Historical Period | Pre Edo Period |
| Artifacts | Kuruwa, Dorui, Koguchi, Horikiri |
| Features | trenches |
| Visitor Information | |
| Access | Samegai Station on the Tōkaidō Line; 20 min walk to Rinzōbō. |
| Hours | 24/7 free; mountain |
| Time Required | 40 mins |
| URL | Castle Website |
| Location | Maibara, Shiga Prefecture |
| Coordinates | 35.31603, 136.35254 |
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| Admin | |
| Added to Jcastle | 2025 |
| Contributor | ART |
| Admin Year Visited | Viewer Contributed |
| Friends of JCastle | |
| Jōkaku Hōrōki | |
| Oshiro Tabi Nikki | |
| Jōshi Meguri Bibōroku | |
