41 new castle profiles from ART
41 New Castle Profiles From ART
2019/11/09
ART, the dauntless castle explorer, has added 41 new castle profiles from his travels. If you haven't seen his Japanese Castles facebook page, check it out as well. All these photos and more have been posted there at some point.
He has also kindly added new or renewed photos for these castles.
- Iino-Taira Castle
- Hanamaki Castle
- Iinuma Castle
- Owari Ohno Castle
- Yunagaya Jin'ya
- Saimyoji Castle
- Funaoka Castle
- Suginome Castle
- Soma Nakamura Castle
- Ogoe Castle
- Kawawada Castle
- Ishigami Castle
- Kurobane Castle
- Mibu Castle
New Castles
Asahi Castle /
[[|200px|link=Asahi Castle]]
Asahi Castle (Owari) / Owari-Asahijō
Baba Yashiki / 馬場屋敷
Ema Yakata / 江馬館
Fukushima Castle / 福島城
Hanakuma Castle / 花隈城
Hodarakuji Castle / 補陀楽寺城
Iwaki Taira Castle / 磐城平城
Kameyama Castle (Azumi) / 安曇亀山城
Kasane Castle / 重ね城
Kita Kumai Castle / 北熊井城
Each bailey is separated by trenches, some very deep, and each trench slopes off into a chute on eitherside of the castle. To the south a significant trench also flanks the length of the castle, separating it from a depression which leads to a stream, and here at the point between baileys the trenches form intersections; there are at least three of these cross-shaped trenches.
Between the honmaru and the first eastern bailey is a tripple trench system. The most westerly trench is the most shallow and feels more intimately connected with the honmaru. The middle trench is the deepest and most awesome. The most easterly is also quite deep. The deepest and widest trench at the entire castle is between the honmaru and the first western bailey. It's interesting that on one side of the honmaru Kumaijō's builders developed a series of three trenches and on the other they opted for digging out one really big one. The only baileys without a trench seperating them are the second and third west baileys, which merely have an embankment between.Kojima Castle (Hida) / 飛騨小島城
Komatsu Castle / 小松城
Koromo Castle / 拳母城
Magome Castle / 馬籠城
Matsukura Castle / 松倉城
The ninomaru (second bailey) is by now denuded of its stone ramparts but nonetheless its contours are readily appreciated from the yaguradai and honmaru. We climbed up from the sannomaru (third bailey). There is parking just below there.
The short trail starts with a warning about bears and an empty bucket with kosh attached. You whack it to make a lot of noise so as to forewarn any bears which may be around of your presence. Bears really hate it when you sneak up on them, as they are a secretive bunch. I took to this saftey precaution with the enthusiasm of a child permitted to break rules, hammering on the bucket loudly and shouting - we didn't have bear bells. Matsukurajō is also accessed via a trail starting from the Hida no Sato outdoor folkhome museum.
The lower extremities of Matsukurajō or an attached kyokan may extend into that park, as I found what looked like deformed dorui (earth-piled ramparts) there. The castle mount looms over the relocated farmhouses.Minakuchi Okayama Castle / 水口岡山城
Minami Kumai Castle / 南熊井城
Murai Koya Castle / 村井小屋館
Myogi Castle / 妙義城
Nagashima Castle / 長島城
Nagisa Castle / 渚城
Nakahara Yakata / 中原館
Nata Castle / 那谷城
Nishi Aoki Castle / 西青木城
Nishiyama Castle (Azumi) / 安曇西山城
Odayama Castle (Aizu) / 会津小田山城
Oguchi Castle / 小口城
Ryusenji Castle / 龍泉寺城
Sekidousan Castle / 石動山城
Sukegawakaibou Castle / 助川海防城
Takaharasuwa Castle / 高原諏訪城
Takao Castle / 高尾城
Takayama Castle (Hida) / 高山城
Takei Castle / 武居城
Tenjin'yama Castle / 天神山城
Yamazaki Castle / 山崎城
For such a well known site, I was a little disappointed in this one because there were not as many clear ruins as I had expected to see. Around the honmaru you can find a few stones remaining from the original stonework and a few more if you pick around in the wooded sides of the bailey. There is also a bailey with a well and some slight earthen embankments and several side baileys. The most clear embankments are those of the honmaru and the bailey with the well. Looking at the map there should have been a tatedorui (vertical running earthen embankment) from the honmaru but with a lot of similar looking ground it was a bit difficult to make it out. The highlight of this castle is definitely the giant trench around the Northeast side that is not often covered in other materials about the castle. If you visit Yamazaki Castle, it would could be good to plan in some of the other attractions related to the battle with Akechi Mitsuhide like his encampment at the Igenoyama Kofun and Shoryuji Castle. I got a late start due to a long train stoppage and then some unexpected rain dumped on me on the way back to the station so I called it quits after the castle. (Eric 2022)
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