Yonako Castle (Shinano)
Yonakojō is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin in the village of Shiono, Suzaka Municipality. This site is not to be confused with Yonagojō in San'in, which is written with the same kanji. The structure of Yonakojō is proposed to be quite vast, but the most obvious ruins are at the site known as
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History
Yonakojō was first built before 1352 during the wars of the northern and southern courts and the Kannō disturbances. Ashikaga Naoyoshi was opposed in Shinano by the Ogasawara and Takanashi clans who fortified the mountain above Yonako valley. The fort withstood an enemy siege, no doubt in part due to its rugged terrain.
Field Notes
Yonakojō is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin in the village of Shiono, Suzaka Municipality. This site is not to be confused with Yonagojō in San'in, which is written with the same kanji.
The structure of Yonakojō is proposed to be quite vast, but the most obvious ruins are at the site known as 'Yonako Castle I' - others sites, 'Yonako Castle II' and 'Yonako Castle III', are also proposed. Yonakojō proper, then, consists of a single bailey complex with horikiri (trenches) along three spurs of the ridge protecting the way up to the flattened peak which forms the only integral bailey. Other parts of the ridge may have been levelled once, but the site is overgrown and it's hard to tell. The double rear trenches are quite prominent, and so we can say with certainty this is a fortification site.
However, the outer environs of this castle, spread thinly over the mountain, I found to be much more of a mystery. My suspicion is was that what I found were Sengoku period ruins, and that the other less processed areas may be from earlier fortification sites from the Nanbokuchō period. So I attempted to climb to these other areas.
I found nothing more on that mountain except calamitous peaks, hoary boulders, and uninviting cliffs. I came to the site of castle II, and the peak which should've been a bailey lay ahead. This portion of the ridge was just a series of standing rocks balanced precarious upon the ridge. It could not have been more clearly contrived for a video game, but the way across was to leap between these boulders! I felt like an anthropomorphised bandicoot. But there were no little, floating ART heads around for me to collect should I fall between one of the platforms and perish. I explored Castle II that way, though there were no ruins to behold. There was a peak with a collapsed and shambolic shrine building. I had to go back over the stone platforms.
Castle III is up where there is a hall to Kannon, and this site is the largest of all of them. I came to a smaller peak before the climb to Kannondō. The ridge was nothing but jagged rock, and on each side a fall to oblivion. Plus the weather was souring. I decided that I would rather die beneath a cloudless sky, and retreated before Castle III to fight another day.
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| Castle Profile | |
|---|---|
| English Name | Yonako Castle (Shinano) |
| Japanese Name | 信濃米子城 |
| Founder | Before 1352 |
| Year Founded | Ogasawara Clan |
| Castle Type | Mountaintop |
| Castle Condition | Ruins only |
| Historical Period | Pre Edo Period |
| Artifacts | Kuruwa, Horikiri |
| Features | trenches |
| Visitor Information | |
| Access | Suzaka Station on Nagano Line; rental bicyle |
| Hours | 24/7 free; mountain |
| Time Required | 120 minutes |
| Location | Suzaka, Nagano Prefecture |
| Coordinates | 36.62486, 138.33872 |
| Admin | |
| Added to Jcastle | 2023 |
| Contributor | ART |
| Admin Year Visited | Viewer Contributed |
| Friends of JCastle | |
| Yogo | |
