Wada Castle (Koka)

History

Seven castles in the Wata Valley were built by the Wada clan. The origins of the Wada family likely date to the 1370's when an ally of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu moved here and took the name Wada. Wada Koremasa, one of the well known Sengoku Period samurai, was from this Wada family. Wada Koremasa befriended Oda Nobunaga and helped sway some of the Koka families to Oda's side. Koremasa was awarded Takatsuki Castle, Akutagawasan Castle and part of Settsu Province for his service to Nobunaga, but was unfortunately killed at the Battle of Shiraigawara in 1571.

The Wada were one of the more senior families among the 53 Koka Families and formed a sub-group of multiple members named Wada. They may have been either direct family relatives or took the family name as part of the alliance. The standing of the Wada clan and the location of the castles made it an ideal place for 15th Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki to seek refuge. The fact that the Shogun temporarily resided here, may have been the reason that the first castle on our list is called Tonoyama Castle. Tono is an honorific for a high ranking lord, but it should not be confused that the castle was built simply for his residence.

Tonoyama Castle sits at the entrance to the valley on top a comparatively higher mountain and was likely used as a lookout for the entire valley. There is a horikiri on one side but otherwise it is a smaller mountaintop style castle as opposed to the single square bailey structure of other castles in the valley.

At the base of this mountain, on the inside of the valley, is Kuboyashiki, the fortified residence of the leader of the Wada clan, but was also known as Wada Izumi Yakata. The name 'kuboyashiki' pays respect to the story that Ashikaga Yoshiaki resided here when he fled Nara on his way to becoming Shogun after the death of his brother. "Kubo" is an honorific title used by the Ashikaga shoguns. Unfortunately, there is very little left of this site. You can easily see the structure of where the Yashiki was and hidden in the thick trees and bamboo you can see some remains of the embankments.

Across the valley from Tonoyama Castle and Kuboyashiki is the Kuboyashikishi Castle. Paired with Tonoyama Castle, it helped to control the entrance to the valley.

The castle furthest down the valley of this grouping is Wada Castle. It is the largest castle with the most extensive defenses and was likely the central fortification of the Wada families, i.e. the Wada home of Wada Koremasa. The core of the castle is a very typical single bailey structure with multiple additional baileys and defenses built around the outside. The castle features 7m high embankments and 7m deep trenches.

In between this castle and the Tonoyama Castle are three (or four) other castles in this castle network.

Wadashi Castle I is located directly across the river from Wada Castle. It has a large second bailey and multiple obikuruwa and koshiguruwa style sub baileys and is the second largest in the network.

Wadashi Castle II is slightly smaller than the previous two but with 5m embankments, large trenches and smaller attached baileys.

Wadashi Castle III is slightly smaller still and sitting on a narrow ridge it starts to lose the square shape of the typical single bailey castles. It sits between Wadashi Castle II and the Kuboyashikishi Castle. In this manner it seems that the farther up the valley you go the castles become larger and more fortified which is why the farthest is considered the main castle.

There is a small castle noted on some maps as Tanadayama Castle situated on the side of the valley between the Kuboyashiki and Wada Castle. I did not have time to explore this one more but will get to it on a future trip. Given how all the other ridges of the valley contain castles it makes sense that this one also had some kind of fortification despite most materials that claim there were "seven castles" in the valley. It's possible that Kuboyashiki was not considered a castle by early accounts so this would be the seventh.

Visit Notes

Of the Koka castles that I have visited the Wata Valley seems to be one of the most ideal locations. The Wata valley is fairly deep into the Koka territory but still a practical distance to the more central areas like Lake Biwa, Kannonji Castle, and Kyoto but not as far as Kurokawashi Castle or Ogawa Castle. The Wata Valley is also geographically mostly enclosed making it more easily defensible than some others. The seven castles were each built at the end of a ridge that extends into the valley. Each is a distinct castle built and managed by a different family and not connected to the others.

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Castle Profile
English Name	Wada Castle
Japanese Name	和田城
Alternate Names	Wata-jo
Founder	Wada clan
Year Founded	14th C.
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Designations	Local Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features
Visitor Information
Access	Aburahi Sta (JR Kusatsu Line), 20 min walk
Visitor Information	mountain, open 24/7
Time Required	60 mins
Website	https://www.biwako-visitors.jp/spot/detail/4013/
Location	Koka, Shiga Prefecture
Coordinates	34° 52' 41.23" N, 136° 13' 31.98" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2022
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2022
Admin Visits	January 29, 2022
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Kojodan - Wada Castle

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