Kariyahara Castle

History

Kariyaharajō is said to have been built by Kariyahara Yukitsuna, founder of the Kariyahara Clan, an off-shoot of the Unno Clan. In the Sengoku period the lord of the castle was Kariyahara Yukimune. By 1523 the Kariyahara Clan had fallen into decline and was replaced by the Ōta Clan, vassals of the hegemonic Ogasawara Clan, who took over Kariyaharajō and made it their main base.

In the middle 16th century Takeda Shingen invaded Aida so as to gain a new area from which to attack Murakami Yoshikiyo (Shingen had already made progress into the province via Saku County). Hirasejō fell in 1551, allowing access to Aida via Tazawa. Takeda forces besieged Kariyaharajō in 1553 and Lord Ōta Suketada fell on his sword.

Visit Notes

Kariyaharajō proved to be a nice castle ruin to visit, but the initial climb to reach it was quite punishing. Upon the advice of several castle bloggers I came up via the ridge with Meitokufudō shrine. There is an old trail here but it was very overgrown and strewn with fallen trees. I ducked, weaved, and hopped my way up and lost the path, taking the ridgetop instead. Since fallen trees were everywhere progress was slow. On the way back I was able to stick to the old trail but in getting back down to it – it passed under the castle site – I touched a spiky tree (honey locust? an invasive species) which pierced through my glove and into my hand.

The principal baileys of Kariyaharajō, the main bailey and one below it, are covered in fallen trees. Looking at some other blogs it wasn’t like this before 2020; some storm must’ve come through? I found the marker for the castle amidst shambolic, fallen trees in the topmost bailey. The marker was dated 1980! Amazing that it has survived so long.

Kariyaharajō has a southern spur, an eastern spur and a western spur. I came up via the overgrown, dangerous southern spur, but the other spurs proved easier to navigate. Each spur is made up of small baileys divided by horikiri (trenches). The western spur was very clear with no fallen trees, as though it had escaped whatever storm had ravaged the other parts of the site. Here the autumn leaves fell thick and blanketed the forest floor like a lush snow. The sunlight was transmuted through the foliage and the mountain here was bathed in a yellow glow. For better or worse some lyrics by Coldplay came into my mind...

Gallery

Main bailey with castle marker to right
Entrance to the trail is just by these statuettes

Castle Profile
English Name	Kariyahara Castle
Japanese Name	刈谷原城
Alternate Names	鷹巣根城
Founder	Kariyahara Clan; Ōta Clan
Year Founded	Sengoku Period; 1523
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Artifacts	Horikiri, Kuruwa, &c.
Features	trenches
Visitor Information
Access	Bus from Matsumoto to Shiga
Visitor Information	24/7; free; mountain
Time Required	60 minutes
Location	Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture
Coordinates	36° 18' 58.57" N, 137° 58' 57.04" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2022
Contributor	ART
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed
Friends of JCastle
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Kojō Seisuiki

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