Uenotaira Castle

The ruins of Uenotairajō, an earthworks castle classified as a hirayamajō (hilltop castle), consist of dorui (earthen ramparts), karabori (dry moats) and kuruwa (baileys). The castle is situated on a long, projecting foothill with baileys arranged sequentially from the second bailey at the tip of th

History

It is said that Uenotairajō was first built by Minamoto Tametomo in the Late Heian Period. In the Kamakura Period it was the base of the Chiku Clan, vassals of the Suwa Clan. It was once thought that the castle was abandoned by Chiku Nobusada in 1221 following the Jōkyū War, but archaeological investigations in the Heisei Period have determined the castle was used during the Sengoku Period.

Field Notes

The ruins of Uenotairajō, an earthworks castle classified as a hirayamajō (hilltop castle), consist of dorui (earthen ramparts), karabori (dry moats) and kuruwa (baileys). The castle is situated on a long, projecting foothill with baileys arranged sequentially from the second bailey at the tip of the promontory, onto the first in the center, up to the fourth uphill at the back. Each bailey was separated by a dry moat, but today the first and third moat systems are best preserved. The third moat is how I entered the castle. In the middle it forks off and climbs uphill past the third and fourth baileys. The castle is bordered to the east by mountains, to the west by the plain, and to the north and south by rivers, the Chikusawa and the Terasawa respectively.

Gallery

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Castle Profile
English Name	Uenotaira Castle
Japanese Name	上ノ平城
Founder	Minamoto Tametomo
Year Founded	Late Heian Period
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Designations	Prefectural Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Artifacts	Dorui, Karabori, Kuruwa
Features	trenches
Visitor Information
Access	Sawa Station on the Iida Line; 25 minute walk
Hours	24/7 free
Time Required	60 minutes
Location	Minowa, Nagano Prefecture
Coordinates	35.93155, 138.00126
Loading map... {"minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"mappingservice":"leaflet","width":"auto","height":"200px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"Castlemarker.png","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"zoom":6,"defzoom":14,"layers":["CartoDB.Positron"],"image layers":[],"overlays":[],"resizable":false,"fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":true,"cluster":false,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clustermaxradius":80,"clusterspiderfy":true,"geojson":"","clicktarget":"","imageLayers":[],"locations":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":35.93155,"lon":138.00126,"icon":"../images/1/1e/Castlemarker.png"}],"imageoverlays":null}
Admin
Added to Jcastle	2020
Contributor	ART
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed

2.00

(2 votes)

Loading comments...