Azuchi Castle - Eastern Baileys

東の曲輪群

This album covers the areas on the eastern side of the castle that are outside the main area of paid admission. it is not on most maps nor signposted but it is full of amazing stone walls to explore, equal to parts of the main castle. Some areas of the mountain are off limits (please obey the signs), including the entire karamete area, but there are also some areas that you can reach via trails around the Eastern side of the mountain.

First, behind the parking area you will see a large round flattened hill, that is called the Eto Kaga Uemon Residence and may have functioned as a kind of extended fortification or dejiro. The residence/bailey itself was divided by large earthworks and just behind this bailey you will also find a large stone walled horikiri buried in the bamboo (no clear entrance). These seem to add further legitimacy to this possibly being an important fortification.

Following around the base of this hill you will see the stone wall remains of several other former residences until you find a trail up into the mountain. This is known as the Higashimon Road. From here the main trail will take you to the Higashimon Gate and the Babadaira Bailey, but there are some minor side trails where you may also find stonework scattered throughout the site.

It is really unfortunate that they don't develop more of this mountain and the castle ruins for the general public. Instead of spending 20 yrs excavating and rebuilding some minor stonework near the entrance, I would have rather seen that time spent developing the rest of the mountain and making these great stone walls more accessible. They could probably double the size of the "park" you know today with moderate efforts. Additional interest, materials, and a gift shop would surely bring in more funds for preservation too.

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Feature Pages

Eastern Baileys