Difference between revisions of "Ichijojiyama Castle"

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(Created page with "{{Castle |English Name=Ichijoji Enryakujiyama Castle |Japanese Name=一乗寺延暦寺山城 |Romaji Name=Ichijojienryakujiyama-jo |Alternate Names=Ichijoji-jo, Ipponsuginishi...")
 
 
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{{Castle
 
{{Castle
|English Name=Ichijoji Enryakujiyama Castle
+
|English Name=Ichijojiyama Castle
|Japanese Name=一乗寺延暦寺山城
+
|Japanese Name=一乗寺山城
|Romaji Name=Ichijojienryakujiyama-jo
+
|Romaji Name=Ichijojiyama-jo
|Alternate Names=Ichijoji-jo, Ipponsuginishi-jo
+
|Alternate Names=Ichijoji-jo
|Founder=Asakura / Asai clans
+
|Founder=Watanabe clan
|Year Founded=1570
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|Year Founded=15th C. (?)
 
|Castle Type=Mountaintop
 
|Castle Type=Mountaintop
 
|Castle Condition=Ruins only
 
|Castle Condition=Ruins only
Line 14: Line 14:
 
|City=Kyoto
 
|City=Kyoto
 
|Prefecture=Kyoto
 
|Prefecture=Kyoto
|Notes=The castle can be approached by several of the hiking routes around Mt. Hiei as part of the "Kyoto Trail" that circumnavigates Kyoto. Unfortunately, it is not near the entrance of any of them so expect a long mountainous walk. The route I took started from Shugakuin Station and went up the Kirarazaka Hiking trail which is the famous Mt. Hiei climbing trail that starts from the Kyoto side of the mountain. Along the way up the mountain, you will run into the [[Shugakuin Kirarazaka Castle]], which is actually a satellite fortification of Ichijoji Castle, protecting the northern side and roughly parallel across the valley from [[Matsugasaki Castle]]. From just beyond Kirarazaka Castle, you need to take a small path off the Mt. Hiei climbing trail that goes south along the Kyoto Trail.  It is well marked if you watch for it. Another 20 minutes or so walking will bring you to Ichijoji Castle, but it is completely unmarked so you really need a good map and some guesswork to find out where the castle ruins are.  I explored around here for awhile until it was starting to get dangerously late in the afternoon for a long walk back to civilization. There are some trenches and possible embankments along one ridge but others marked on the map were unrecognizable on the site today.   
+
|Notes=The castle can be approached by several of the hiking routes around Mt. Hiei as part of the "Kyoto Trail" that circumnavigates Kyoto. Unfortunately, it is not near the entrance of any of them so expect a long mountainous walk. The route I took started from Shugakuin Station and went up the Kirarazaka Hiking trail, which is the famous Mt. Hiei climbing trail that starts from the Kyoto side of the mountain. Along the way up the mountain, you will run into [[Kirarazaka Castle]], which is actually a satellite fortification of Ichijoji Castle, protecting the northern side and roughly parallel across the valley from [[Matsugasaki Castle (Yamashiro)|Matsugasaki Castle]]. From just beyond [[Kirarazaka Castle]], you need to take a small path off the Mt. Hiei climbing trail that goes south along the Kyoto Trail (see photos at the end).  It is well marked if you watch for it. Another 20-30 minutes hiking will bring you to Ichijoji Castle, but it is completely unmarked so you really need a good map and some guesswork to find out where the castle ruins are.  The trail actually runs along side the castle maybe 10m-20m above the trail at the top of the ridge so you need to find a good spot to climb up. My first guess was probably too early and ended in nothing but heavy undergrowth and no discernible castle remains. Eventually I found a good path up and when I double back I realized I was just a few meters from the beginning of the castle in my first attempt anyway! I explored around here for awhile until it was starting to get dangerously late in the afternoon for a long walk back to civilization. There are some trenches and embankments along the ridge but some of the tatebori and vertical trenches on the map I had (近畿の城郭 IV) were unrecognizable today.   
  
On the way back, I first tried to take the shorter side trail down to the Manshuin Temple, but about 1/3 of the way down it was too washed out and slippery that I deemed it too dangerous to go on and walked the long way back around Kirarazaka and Kirarazaka Castle back to Shugakuin Station. By this time it was dark.
+
On the way back, I first tried to take the shorter side trail down to the Manshuin Temple, but about 1/3 of the way down it was too washed out and slippery that I deemed it too dangerous to go on and walked the long way back around Kirarazaka and [[Kirarazaka Castle]] back to Shugakuin Station. By this time it was dark.
|History=This castle was likely built by the Asakura / Asai forces for they 1570 siege of Kyoto. There are very steep trails to get to the castle but the area itself is relatively even ground and could hold many troops for attacks. It may have been paired with Tsubokasayama Castle on the opposite side (Shiga Prefecture) side of Hieizan.
+
 
??
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This castle should not be confused with Ichijoji Enryakujiyama-jo (Ipponsuginishi-jo), which is a mistake I have seen a few websites/bloggers make and caused me some grief figuring out the different castles and their relationships/histories. Ichijoji Enryakujiyama-jo is another castle along the Mt. Hiei mountain range that I will try to find this spring.
"It is not well known, but there were actually several castles spread across Mt. Hieizan that looked down over Kyoto during the Sengoku Period.  Ichijoji Castle was one of the main ones. it was intended to protect the city from any force that might try to sneak over Mt. Hiei from the Enryakuji Temple area and attack Kyoto. "
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|History=This castle was built as a "tsume-no-shiro" to [[Kunaishoyu Castle]] to protect Kyoto from any force that might try to sneak over Mt. Hiei and attack the city. It is a large castle built alongside the "Shiratori-goe" road that crossed the top of Mt. Hiei as a shortcut between Kyoto and Shiga Prefecture (modern day Sakamoto). Several other castles also lay along this route including [[Shogunyama Castle]], Ipponsuginishi Castle and Tsubokasayama Castle. The exact route is not known today but can be guessed from historical records and the position of these castles.
 +
 
 +
The castle was expanded by the Asakura / Azai forces for exactly the same purpose it was built to prevent, their combined threats on Kyoto in 1570. The castle area itself has some relatively even ground around it compared to other parts of the mountain range nearby and could hold many troops for attacks. It is likely that the Asakura forces based at Ichijojiyama Castle launched attacks on Northern Kyoto, burning parts of modern day Ichijoji, Matsugasaki and Shugakuin, from here. The Shiratori-goe highway eventually gave way to a new highway developed by Nobunaga called the Shiga-goe road after he removed the threat of the Asakura/Azai alliance.
 
|Year Visited=2021
 
|Year Visited=2021
 
|AddedJcastle=2022
 
|AddedJcastle=2022
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|GPSLocation=35.05245, 135.81375
 
|GPSLocation=35.05245, 135.81375
 
|Contributor=Eric
 
|Contributor=Eric
 +
|FriendsLinks={{FriendsLinks
 +
|FriendWebsiteName=Kojodan: Ichijojiyama-jo
 +
|FriendWebsiteURL=https://kojodan.jp/castle/1750/
 +
}}
 
}}
 
}}

Latest revision as of 09:20, 27 February 2022

Ichijojiyama2.jpg

History

This castle was built as a "tsume-no-shiro" to Kunaishoyu Castle to protect Kyoto from any force that might try to sneak over Mt. Hiei and attack the city. It is a large castle built alongside the "Shiratori-goe" road that crossed the top of Mt. Hiei as a shortcut between Kyoto and Shiga Prefecture (modern day Sakamoto). Several other castles also lay along this route including Shogunyama Castle, Ipponsuginishi Castle and Tsubokasayama Castle. The exact route is not known today but can be guessed from historical records and the position of these castles.

The castle was expanded by the Asakura / Azai forces for exactly the same purpose it was built to prevent, their combined threats on Kyoto in 1570. The castle area itself has some relatively even ground around it compared to other parts of the mountain range nearby and could hold many troops for attacks. It is likely that the Asakura forces based at Ichijojiyama Castle launched attacks on Northern Kyoto, burning parts of modern day Ichijoji, Matsugasaki and Shugakuin, from here. The Shiratori-goe highway eventually gave way to a new highway developed by Nobunaga called the Shiga-goe road after he removed the threat of the Asakura/Azai alliance.


Visit Notes

The castle can be approached by several of the hiking routes around Mt. Hiei as part of the "Kyoto Trail" that circumnavigates Kyoto. Unfortunately, it is not near the entrance of any of them so expect a long mountainous walk. The route I took started from Shugakuin Station and went up the Kirarazaka Hiking trail, which is the famous Mt. Hiei climbing trail that starts from the Kyoto side of the mountain. Along the way up the mountain, you will run into Kirarazaka Castle, which is actually a satellite fortification of Ichijoji Castle, protecting the northern side and roughly parallel across the valley from Matsugasaki Castle. From just beyond Kirarazaka Castle, you need to take a small path off the Mt. Hiei climbing trail that goes south along the Kyoto Trail (see photos at the end). It is well marked if you watch for it. Another 20-30 minutes hiking will bring you to Ichijoji Castle, but it is completely unmarked so you really need a good map and some guesswork to find out where the castle ruins are. The trail actually runs along side the castle maybe 10m-20m above the trail at the top of the ridge so you need to find a good spot to climb up. My first guess was probably too early and ended in nothing but heavy undergrowth and no discernible castle remains. Eventually I found a good path up and when I double back I realized I was just a few meters from the beginning of the castle in my first attempt anyway! I explored around here for awhile until it was starting to get dangerously late in the afternoon for a long walk back to civilization. There are some trenches and embankments along the ridge but some of the tatebori and vertical trenches on the map I had (近畿の城郭 IV) were unrecognizable today.

On the way back, I first tried to take the shorter side trail down to the Manshuin Temple, but about 1/3 of the way down it was too washed out and slippery that I deemed it too dangerous to go on and walked the long way back around Kirarazaka and Kirarazaka Castle back to Shugakuin Station. By this time it was dark.

This castle should not be confused with Ichijoji Enryakujiyama-jo (Ipponsuginishi-jo), which is a mistake I have seen a few websites/bloggers make and caused me some grief figuring out the different castles and their relationships/histories. Ichijoji Enryakujiyama-jo is another castle along the Mt. Hiei mountain range that I will try to find this spring.


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Gallery


Castle Profile
English Name Ichijojiyama Castle
Japanese Name 一乗寺山城
Alternate Names Ichijoji-jo
Founder Watanabe clan
Year Founded 15th C. (?)
Castle Type Mountaintop
Castle Condition Ruins only
Historical Period Pre Edo Period
Features
Visitor Information
Access Shugakuin Station (Eizan Railway); 90 mins walk
Visitor Information mountain trails, open any time
Time Required 90 mins
Location Kyoto, Kyoto
Coordinates 35° 3' 8.82" N, 135° 48' 49.50" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle 2022
Contributor Eric
Admin Year Visited 2021
Admin Visits October 24, 2021
Friends of JCastle
Kojodan: Ichijojiyama-jo


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