Yamawaki Castle (Omi)
Yamawakijō is a yamajiro (hilltop fort) ruin in Kohoku Township, Nagahama Municipality. It is part of a complex of forts based around Yōnoyamajō and Nakajimajō. I thought maybe I found a trench ruin here, but there's not much to see, and I mostly checke
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History
My working assumption was that Yamawakijō (or at least the hilltop portion) was used as a forward defensive position during the siege of Odanijō in order to protect Azai forts opposing Oda Nobunaga's attack. Or perhaps it was just used as a lookout for early detection.
Field Notes
Yamawakijō is a yamajiro (hilltop fort) ruin in Kohoku Township, Nagahama Municipality. It is part of a complex of forts based around Yōnoyamajō and Nakajimajō. I thought maybe I found a trench ruin here, but there's not much to see, and I mostly checked it out for the sake of completion.
Now the site is separated from the hills with the other forts owing to the Hokuriku Expressway cutting through, but in the past they seemed to have been connected by a ridge spur. The trail over this hill goes up behind the temple, Chōkōji ('Osayukidera'), and then to the west. I even went to the end of the hill in the east just to make sure, despite there being no trail, but found nothing I could say was medieval. The village of Yamawaki below the mount is old and beautiful, and seemed to me plenty populated.
There seems to be some confusion as to whether Yamawakijō was located on Yamawakiyama, the hill, or in the village below where the temple Chōkōji is today. In the latter case then Yamawakijō was probably a fortified residence of a local clan pre-dating the 1572-1573 Odani campaign, I thought.
Alternatively, both sites were Wakiyamajō. How? Of course, the pair formed a jōkan pairing, with a fortified redoubt on the hilltop and a kyokan (residence) at the foot of the hill. This is how the castling blog 'Jōshi Meguri Bibōroku' presents the site. Since that gentleman castle-explorer is the only other castle-blogger - as far as I can tell - to visit the hilltop and identify the same trench I did, I'm inclined to defer to his wisdom on the matter.
Jōshi Meguri Bibōroku also refers to the hilltop fort as 'Yamawakiyama(no)jin', denoting a simple fortified encampment. It's possible Yamawakijō was just the kyokan (it's not unusual for simple fortified residences in Ōmi to be grandiloquently called "castles ('-jō')"), and the hilltop portion was added only during the battle for Odani, essentially making them sites from two distinct time periods.
Gallery
| Castle Profile | |
|---|---|
| English Name | Yamawaki Castle (Omi) |
| Japanese Name | 近江山脇城 |
| Alternate Names | Yamawakiyama-no-jin (山脇山陣) |
| Founder | Azai Clan |
| Year Founded | 1572 |
| Castle Type | Mountaintop |
| Castle Condition | Ruins only |
| Historical Period | Pre Edo Period |
| Artifacts | Horikiri |
| Features | trenches |
| Visitor Information | |
| Access | Kawake Station on the Hokuriku Main Line; 5 min walk to trail. |
| Hours | 24/7 free; mountain |
| Time Required | 20 mins |
| URL | Castle Website |
| Location | Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture |
| Coordinates | 35.45197, 136.25184 |
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| Admin | |
| Added to Jcastle | 2025 |
| Contributor | ART |
| Admin Year Visited | Viewer Contributed |
| Friends of JCastle | |
| Oshiro Tabbi Nikki | |
| Jōshi Meguri Bibōroku | |
