Takiyama Castle

History

In 1521, Oishi Sadashige moved his castle here from nearby Takatsuki Castle. The power of the Oishi waned and this area came under the control of the Hojo in 1559 when Oishi Sadahisa adopted Hojo Ujiyasu's son Ujiteru. Ujiteru greatly expanded and fortified the castle into the best mountaintop castle in the Kanto region. After turning back difficult attacks by both Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen, Ujiteru moved his castle to what is now called Hachioij Castle. This was a stronger location and better built castle.

Visit Notes

Hidden in the outskirts of Tokyo is a gem called Takiyama Castle. It has started to gain more attention since being added to the "Next Top 100" castles, but I think it still does not get the recognition it deserves. Most visitors will probably stay on the main concrete trail and think that's all there is to see. In fact, Takiyama Castle is probably one of the most vast and intricate mountaintop castles in Kanto. It is much bigger than you might expect so please plan an appropriate amount of time to enjoy this castle. Some people call Sugiyama Castle the "textbook" of earthwroks castles, but I think Takiyama is an even better example. Further it displays elements of both early and later Sengoku Period earthworks. The castle is generally well signposted and has some good maps so be sure to get a map and pay attention to the non-paved side trails. The maps, photos and descriptions will not do this site justice. You need to take some time to explore and enjoy it for yourself. It's well maintained so it's easy to go off the main road and learn about Sengoku Period earthworks castles without the concern of getting lost in the mountains like you might elsewhere.

There is a volunteer corps that meets on the third Sunday of every month to help clear brush from the trenches and trails and keeps the site open for all. Thanks to their dedication and hard work this castle is made accessible to all. You can see more details on their website (sorry, Japanese only). I try to help when I can too so if you're interested in joining sometime feel free to reach out, maybe we can join together some time. It's a great opporunity to see a castle from new angles and climb down into so normally off limits areas.

The bus stops almost right in front of the castle entrance. The bus stop is called

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Gallery

Red area
Main entrance.
Oteguchi
Oteguchi
Oteguchi
Outer trench of the Komiya Bailey, one of my favorite spots
Yamanokami Bailey
Yamanokami Bailey
Blue area
Senjojiki Bailey
Small umadashi between the Senjojiki and Ninomaru
Narrow entrance to the Large Umadashi
Large Umadashi
Looking from the Large Umadashi to the Ninomaru
Green Area
Large lake you see on the map
Large trench along the edge of the Kazono Yashiki
Pink Area
Ninomaru trench
Narrow entrance to the east umadashi
Ninomaru entrance
Entrance out to the Large Umadashi
Ninomaru trench
Nakanomaru Bailey
Nakanomaru Bailey
Honmaru Masugata entrance
Honmaru Masugata entrance
Honmaru Masugata entrance
Honmaru bailey
Honmaru bailey
Orange area
Terrace overlooking the Benten Pond
Benten Pond
Benten Pond

Castle Profile
English Name	Takiyama Castle
Japanese Name	滝山城
Founder	Oishi Sadashige
Year Founded	1521
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Designations	Next 100 Castles, Top 100 Mountaintop Castles, National Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	trenches
Visitor Information
Access	Hachioji Sta (Chuo Line), 20 min bus to the Takayama Castle stop
Visitor Information	Park, open any time
Time Required	120 mins
Website	http://www.city.hachioji.tokyo.jp/kankobunka/002/005/p003412.html
Location	Hachioji, Tokyo
Coordinates	35° 42' 5.22" N, 139° 19' 44.51" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2009
Admin Year Visited	2009, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Admin Visits	May 19, 2009; March 22, 2019 (excl. volunteer days)

2.80

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RaymondWDaimyo

50 months ago

Score 0

Thanks for updating this castle profile with more photos. Takiyama Castle has to be one of the great earthwork castle ruins in the Kanto Region along with the likes of Hachigata Castle (Saitama) and Sakura Castle (Chiba). As Eric has mentioned, some of the moats have "No Entry" signs, and they were already there when I visited in April 2017. Of course, if you approach those moats from the other end, you can "technically" circumvent them. This is a massive castle ruin, so looking back on the time recorded for my first and last photo taken at this castle, it showed that I had spent 4.5 hours on site.

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EricShogun

52 months ago

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"Technically" two of these trenches say "do not enter" but if you happen to go around to the other side where the trench starts or there are other routes into it, there are no such signs...

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Anonymous user #1

144 months ago

Score 1

Takiyama castle has possibly the best maps ever for remnant earthwork. There is the usual topographical map overlaid with the locations of castle structures, but next to that they have sketched a close up of the current location, and then a corner box of little ashigaru fighting, showing how the structures would have been used in defensive operation. My favourite was the ni-no-maru, which had the Takeda troops in red battling it out against the blue-clad Hojo poking spears through the fence and firing down a rain of arrows. The fact that the Takeda forces made it as far as the ni-no-maru in what was considered to be one of the famously difficult to attack mountaintop castles of the time was the spur that lead to the construction of Hachioji castle. I agree completely, this is a beautiful site to visit and a lot of fun to wander around.

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Anonymous user #1

149 months ago

Score 1

We visited this castle in combination with Hachioji castle and Jindaiji castle in Chofu. Similar to Hachioji with grounds and moats to explore but less features or atmosphere.

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