Yagami Castle (Mino)
Yagamijō is a hirajiro (flatland castle) ruin in Yagami village, Kuwabara Township, Hashima Municipality. Dorui (earthen rampart) remnants remain on site beside an explanatory board and a huge gingko tree, the 'Yagami Castle Ruins Gingko', believed to be over three centuries old. It is said that the
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History
Yagamijō was built in the mid' 16th century by the Mōri Clan who had previously occupied Owari-Ishidajō. The Mōri Clan, vassals of Oda Nobunaga, built Yagamijō and relocated there as their main base. The clan was not related to the Mōri Clan fought against by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the west of the country. The layout of Yagamijō has been described 'rugby ball-shaped', but now only sparse ruins remain.
In the Edo period the clan became vassals of the Owari-Tokugawa, retaining Yagamijō as a residence on their small pseudo-fief. Given their holdings were valued at only 3,000 koku, Yagamijō was not officially a castle, but it was nonetheless retained, making it an interesting example of a smaller fortified space which transitioned from the Sengoku to Edo period when most of its contemporaries did not. Yagamijō was decommissioned in 1868.
Field Notes
Yagamijō is a hirajiro (flatland castle) ruin in Yagami village, Kuwabara Township, Hashima Municipality. Dorui (earthen rampart) remnants remain on site beside an explanatory board and a huge gingko tree, the 'Yagami Castle Ruins Gingko', believed to be over three centuries old. It is said that the Mōri Clan, castellans of Yagamijō, brought the sapling gingko with them from their previous castle, Ishidajō in Owari Province, to Mino Province, at the start of the Edo period. The site is a prefecturally designated historical site.
Yagamijō has remnant Edo period archictecture, as despite being a medieval fortification and residence originally, it was retained in the Edo period under Owari-Tokugawa hegemony. However, these gates have been relocated away from the site. I visited them both. One is at Shinpukuji, a temple in Maeno village of the same township as Yagami, and the other is at a private residence in neighbouring Kaiźu Municipality.
The relocated gate in Seko village, Kaiźu Township, Kaiźu Municipality, is actually a sizeable nagayamon (single-storey gatehouse with wing annexes). It is now on private property. There was an overgrown path between trees like a black yawning orifice beside the road. There was a small barrier of cones tangled in pest plants. I figured the barrier was for cars, so I stepped past. There was an old stone-piled and earthen wall on one side of the gloomy path. Like a castle! I came to another barrier which was a rope strewn across. It would be trespassing to go any further so I didn't. Luckily I could see the gatehouse from behind the rope. It's abandoned and is clearly becoming dilapidated. This is unfortunate and I think this historical building will inevitably be lost.
Gallery
| Castle Profile | |
|---|---|
| English Name | Yagami Castle (Mino) |
| Japanese Name | 美濃八神城 |
| Founder | Mōri Clan |
| Year Founded | Mid' 16th Century |
| Castle Type | Flatland |
| Castle Condition | No main keep but other buildings |
| Designations | Prefectural Historic Site |
| Historical Period | Edo Period |
| Artifacts | Nagayamon (Relocated), Dorui |
| Features | gates |
| Visitor Information | |
| Access | Nearest station is Shin-Hashima Station on the Meitetsu-Hashima Line / Gifu-Hashima Station on the Tōkaidō-shinkansen; taxi, cycle or walk 90 mins. |
| Hours | 24/7 free; fields |
| Time Required | 10 mins |
| Location | Hashima, Gifu Prefecture |
| Coordinates | 35.26762, 136.69265 |
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| Admin | |
| Added to Jcastle | 2025 |
| Contributor | ART |
| Admin Year Visited | Viewer Contributed |
| Friends of JCastle | |
| Jōkaku Hōrōki | |
| Jōshi Meguri Bibōroku | |
