Kuroi Castle

History

Kuroi-jo was originally built by the Akamatsu Clan, a tributary of Akai Clan in 14th century. In 1575, Nobunaga ordered his confident general Akechi Mitsuhide to advance into Tanba province. Akechi surrounded Kuroi castle, and the siege continued over two months but failed. Akechi attacked again later and the castle fell in 1579. Akechi placed his trusted general Saito Toshimitsu as lord of the castle. After the fall of Mitsuhide, Hideyoshi placed his general Horio Yoshiharu in 1582, but next year Yoshiharu moved and at this time Kuroi Castle was abolished.

Visit Notes

The castle offers a stunning 360° scenic view of the surrounding area and with a little zoom you can easily see the mountaintop stone walls from far away. It must have been an impressive site! There are a couple ways to get here. From Osaka through Sasayama and then Fukuchiyama Line to Kuroi, or from Kyoto to Fukuchiyama and and then Fukuchiyama Line to Kuroi. Both routes offer other famous castles that could be combined for a day trip.

This was a great mountain castle to visit. The views of the surrounding plains are absolutely stunning and you can really understand why a castle was built here. The mini castle site used by Akechi Mitsuhide as his encampment for his attacks on Kuroi Castle looks like a child's fort in comparison. It is not particularly huge nor sprawling across the mountain like many mountaintop castles but given the size and shape of the mountain it didn't really need to be! It is mostly isolated with great views and lines of fire. There are no easy to access ridges that would allow for a surprise attack. Anyone who tried to attack could be easily seen.

From the bottom, the climb probably looks harder than it really is. There are two trails. The "easy way" is the main trail and is obvious from the signs and parking area below. It starts from the left of the parking area and takes a somewhat more indirect winding path to the top. The "harder" and supposedly faster route starts from the right side of the parking area and goes much more directly to the top. I planned to go up the easy route and down the harder one but from the top I couldn't find the way back down via the harder route. Once at the bottom I turned around and took the harder route maybe 1/3 of the way back up to catch some terraced baileys that I did not want to miss.

The red gate is picturesque but unfortunately has nothing to do with the castle. It was moved here when the temple it was located at was abandoned. It is obviously a temple gate with spots on either side for Nio type statues. There is however a gate from the castle that now serves as the Somon Gate to the Kozenji Temple. This temple itself is also a very interesting site. It was the site of the lord's residence at the foot of the mountain. The moat and high stone walls are definitely a must see part of this castle site.

I visited on Dec. 21, my first day of winter vacation. With snowfalls in the forecast, I jumped at the last likely opportunity for the year to visit this site that was high on my to-do list. I had planned to visit some other spots in the area too but it was so windy and so cold that just hiking up and back drained all my energy. It was absolutely worth the trip though. If you go in the wintery season though maybe you should be prepared for more wind and colder temperatures than you might expect.

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Gallery

gate is not original to the castle
terraced baileys
Lord's palace, now a temple

Castle Profile
English Name	Kuroi Castle
Japanese Name	黒井城
Alternate Names	Hogetsu-jo
Founder	Akamatsu Sandanori
Year Founded	1334 ~ 1338
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	No main keep but other buildings
Designations	Next 100 Castles, Top 100 Mountaintop Castles, National Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	trenches, stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	Kuroi Station (JR Fukuchiyama Line), 12 min walk to hiking trail
Visitor Information	open any time
Time Required	180 mins
Website	https://www.hyogo-tourism.jp/spot/1009
Location	Tanba, Hyogo Prefecture
Coordinates	35° 10' 43.75" N, 135° 6' 16.96" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2020
Contributor	Andrew A
Admin Year Visited	2023
Admin Visits	December 21, 2023
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