Hodarakuji Castle

History

Hodarakujijō was a fortified residence dating to the Muromachi Period.

Visit Notes

Hodarakuji Castle is named for Hodaraku Temple, which is to be found at the castle site today. A community center is also here. Unlike the larger, better preserved Ohharajō nearby, Hodarakujijō is not closed to the public, so I was able to look all around it. It is a basic square in layout, with remains of dorui (earth-piled ramparts) ringing it. If the fort formerly had a moat then it has now been filled in, and there's just grass around parts of it instead. It's possible that this moat has been excavated and refilled in modern times. The mountain name of the temple (all temples have an honourific mountain attached to them even if they're on flatland) is Beffu, the same as another castle site located nearby, of which I found even less remains. The remains of Ichibajin'yamajō are located less than 100m away, of which nearly nothing remains.

Gallery

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  Dorui
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Castle Profile
English Name	Hodarakuji Castle
Japanese Name	補陀楽寺城
Founder	???
Year Founded	Muromachi Period
Castle Type	Flatland
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Artifacts	dorui, baileys
Features
Visitor Information
Access	Kouka Station on the Kusatsu Libe; 10 minute walk
Visitor Information	24/7 free
Time Required	15 minutes
Location	Kōka, Shiga Prefecture
Coordinates	34° 54' 13.46" N, 136° 12' 33.91" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2019
Contributor	ART
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed

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ARTShogun

19 months ago

Score 1

Okay, I updated this profile as it was a bit of a stub. One blog, which I trust and is very matter-of-fact, calls the temple's gate a "castle gate", but I don't know what is meant by that. There's no way the gate (shown in my picture) is from the yakata, and there's no indication that it is intended as a reconstruction, so I think maybe it's a typo, and the author was meant to write 'sanmon' not 'joumon'.

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