ART's New Profiles for Aichi Prefecture

2024/09/30

These are sites ART visited between the end of 2023 and the middle of 2024. Over all there are over 120 new profiles, focusing on western Mikawa Province, particularly Okazaki (Nukata County) and Toyota (Kamo County). These are the 'highlights', numbering 30 for this update.

I'm particularly excited to see more of the sites around Asuke Castle. When we visited in 2019, I first learned about the seven castles of Asuke. I received a map and some information at the time, but never had the right chance to go back. Kudos to ART for helping to fill in the holes.

If you haven't seen ART's Facebook Japanese Castle Group yet I highly encourage you to do so. There are contributions from many members including discussion about castle related news new discoveries and photos from members' travels.

Ashinoya Jin'ya / 芦谷陣屋

Ashinoya-jin'ya is a jin'ya and medieval residence site in Kōta Township, Nukata County. It has extant architecture and the remains of fortifications. Moat segments, dorui (earthen ramparts) and stone-piled walls are in evidence. The residence's nagayamon (rowhouse gate) dates to at least 1626, and possibly as early as the mid' 16th century - according to records, which would make it one of the oldest such nagayamon. The omoya (main living halls) dates to the mid' Edo period. The residence is still inhabited, and it is not open to the public. The residence is set back from the surrounding roads and accessed via small lanes. The front entrance twists through a masugata (square) entrance area, and continues along a tree-lined path. It is possible to proceed as far as the main gate this way, where there is an explanatory board about the site.

Chausuyama Castle (Nukata) / 額田茶臼山城

Chausuyamajō is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin on the border of Sumi village, Kōta Township in Nukata County, and Kira Township in Nishio Municipality. The ruins feature earthworks such as kuruwa (baileys), koshikuruwa (terraced baileys), karabori (dry moat), dobashi (earthen bridge), dorui (earthen ramparts) and perhaps a tatebori (climbing trench). There is also some ishigaki (stone-piled retaining walls), but this appears to have been built for a temple which occupied the castle-mount in later times.

The main bailey is surrounded by the remains of dorui, and, below, a ring bailey. Parts of the ring bailey, particularly to the south where there is another terraced bailey, look like they also had dorui piled up there. There is a depressed bailey in the east where there is a 'saddle' in the ridge, and beyond that there is a tertiary bailey protected by a dry moat complex with a deformed dobashi. This outer bailey has dorui around the western edges. Beneath the western bailey, though it was not shown on the map I was using, there is another koshikuruwa on the northern side.

The outer, tertiary bailey has a nice moat complex toward the main bailey, as mentioned, but not, oddly enough, to the rear. The rear of this outer bailey appears to be undeveloped, and this is somewhat mysterious as it would appear to constitute a major breach in the fort's integral defence. Either construction was not completed here or, as I figured, landslides have effaced the footprint of the fortress here.

On a small peak above the rest of the castle-mount it is said there was a noroshidai (tower or kiln for smoke signals). The map I had showed a tatebori just beneath here on the approach from the fort proper. I identified this excavation but it's very short and doesn't go down very far; the terrain beneath is gently sloping, so maybe this was also the result of landslides or natural degradation.

Although not well known as a castle ruin, Chausuyama is popular with hikers, and the trails are easy to walk. I came from a trail to the south, just a little way down from the quarry. The entrance to the trail is well hidden with only a break in the bushes along the roadside as a tell, but once one steps into the forest the trails become clear; take the trail going left. This trail goes by a kofun (ancient burial mound) which has the stone vaulting removed and the burial chamber exposed. It then proceeds up to the castle ruins via a path between the quarry and a bamboo grove. The route is quite scenic and there are good views throughout of the surrounding countryside and Mikawa Bay.

This site is Chausuyamajō in Nukata County, not to be confused with Chausuyamajō in Toyota Municipality (historical Kamo County), or Chausyamajō in Shinshiro Municipality (historic Shitara County), all in Mikawa Province and Aichi Prefecture.

Daikannon Castle / 大観音城

Daikannonjō is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin in Asuke Township, Toyota Municipality. The ruins are primarily earthworks and consist of kuruwa (baileys) and terracing. The main bailey is surrounded wholly by an obikuruwa (belt bailey) with terraced spurs radiating out like the limbs of a deformed starfish. The ridge between the main bailey and the castle's name-sake temple, Kannonji, is heavily terraced, and may have been repurposed for agriculture at some point, though now everything is shaded by a gloomy bamboo forest.

I wasn't sure I would visit Daikannonjō, since I was initially heading for Asuke-Shiroyamajō when I came across a sign pointing to the temple associated with the site. I checked for information and saw that one of my favourite local castle bloggers had wrote about his visit there, providing a simple map. That gentleman blogger has got me out of more than one scrape with his wonderful blog, and I trust him with my life. So I decided to climb up past the temple to Daikannonjō.

The fort's lower footprint with its extensive terracing may include the temple grounds of Kannonji. The hachimaki-like stonewall beneath the temple is presumably a relic of the temple rather than the castle. The temple is itself now abandoned, and the main hall is a roped-off derelict. I gingerly stepped around the side of the temple where it seemed like landslides might soon engulf the ridge, and entered into the gloomy bamboo forest. This site has a sense of foreboding. There are no paths and everything is fallen bamboo and slippery earth. The hilltop does not take long to get to but caution is advised.

Daita Castle / 大田城

Daitajō, also known by several other names, including Matsudaira-Shiroyamajō - not to be confused with Matsudairajō - is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin in Ôuchi Township, Toyota Municipality. Ruins feature earthworks, such as kuruwa (baileys), dorui (earthen ramparts), and various trenches, as well as ishigaki (stone-piled ramparts) which can still be found in places. The segments of ishigaki are well hidden and searching for them is like an Easter egg hunt. The castle-mount further is distinguished by the presence of clusters of larger boulders along the western ridge. Some were likely used as gates or chokepoints by the castle garrison.

The layout of Daitajō forms a 'V'-shape on the mountaintop and along its ridges. The western ridge is made up of a series of baileys divided by wide, deep horikiri (trenches bisecting the ridge). The main bailey complex is interesting. It is surrounded by an obikuruwa (ring bailey terrace). The main bailey itself is partitioned by dorui and ditches into three parts.

The eastern ridge ruins contain some exciting features. Firstly the eastern ridge is separated by a large horikiri. This horikiri is spanned by a dobashi (earthen bridge). The dobashi is shored up with ishigaki. There are dorui and ditches beyond the dobashi forming an umadashi (barbican). These are intricate arrangements of berms and ditches are quite sophisticated for what I took to be an unassuming yamajiro!

The eastern bailey cluster has tatebori (climbing moats) protecting the mountainside. There is a complex arrangement of karabori (dry moats) or yokobori (lateral moats) around the ôtemon (main gate) area. The ôtemon features dobashi between trenches. One bailey is surrounded by an angled yokobori, almost like one might see at a flatland castle site.

The eastern ridge continues on further than I expected, all the way to where there is a forest road cresting the ridge. This is the end of the castle ruins and it is only when one has come this far will one turn back and see the longest segment of ishigaki at Daitajō. Many maps of the castle ruins don't show this part and it must be often missed. I'd recommend this site to intermediate yamajiro-explorers; it could be visited alongside nearby Ogyūjō.

Note: Daitajō is a good name for this site. It is also locally known as Shiroyamajō, but since there are many castles with the name, it meaning 'Castle Mountain', this site is also called Matsudaira-Shiroyamajō, Ogyū-Shiroyamajō, Toyota-Shiroyamajō, and so on. This site is not to be confused with Ogyūjō, Matsudairajō, Hosokawa-Shiroyamajō, Hadanashi-Shiroyamajō, or Asuke-Shiroyamajō, all in Aichi Prefecture / Mikawa Province.

Ganryakuji Castle / 岩略寺城

Ganryakujijō is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) site in the Nagasawa Township of Toyokawa Municipality. I had a rip-roaring romp about here and I’d highly recommend it to yamajiro fans. Of course, no buildings remain, but this castle ruin is a tour de force of earthworks and mountain-sculpting. Features include horikiri (trenches), tatebori (climbing moats), kuruwa (baileys), lots of dorui (earthen ramparts), and wells.

The shukuruwa (main bailey) is a well-developed square in shape, surrounded by dorui on three sides. The southeast corner is particularly bulky and probably hosted a tower. The northwestern rampart corner has the remains of two wells. This scenery is impressive. Of course, having access to water during a siege is crucial to survival, so the presence of many deep wells is arguably the castle’s most formidable feature.

The shukuruwa is impressive, but I went there last, slowly circumlocating around and up to it as I tramped through the many baileys. Ganryakujijō has several spurs of fortifications which follow ridges in the north and northeast. It takes a while to inspect these and come back up, but they contain trenches and dorui, so it’s worth it.

See also the historically related site of Nagasawa Castle.

Ha Castle / 羽城

Hajō / Ôhama-jin'ya is a medieval fort / proto-modern jin'ya site in urban Hekinan Municipality. The site is now maintained as a park called 'Jin'ya Hiroba', and is a partial pseudo-reconstruction of the jin'ya's gates and walls. Inside the gate there is just an open area with some plants and benches, as well as information boards about the history of the site. There are some monuments to commemorate this history. It's nice to see recognition of the site's history, though the restoration efforts seems to have been of a lesser quality than, say, Ôhira-jin'ya (Okazaki), which is similar in scale and scope. Ôhama-jin'ya's reconstruction is a little on the cheap side, it seems, in terms of construction materials. Happily there is also an original gate from the jin'ya which has been relocated to Jōgyōin, a temple in town. The reproduced gate at the park actually seems based on this relocated gate (did the temple not want to give it back? haha); both are small kōraimon-type gates.

Visiting Jōgyōin to see the relocated gate was very fortuitous. Jōgyōin is a small temple, basically a priest's house, but it is in an old part of the town where there is a traditional mirin brewery. Mirin is rice wine used in cooking. The brewery has traditional architecture and a café where visitors can buy mirin-based goods and mirin icecream (which was surprisingly good!). Adjacent is a temple called Saihōji. This temple has impressive street-facing buildings and a drum tower. The drum tower dates to 1863 and was used as part of a terakoya, a temple-run school for commoners during the Edo period.

There was more to see here than I expected.

Hadanashi Castle / 秦梨城

Hadanashijō is an elevated kyokan (residential castle) ruin in Hadanashi Township, Okazaki Municipality. The ruins consist of a flattened ridge terminus with a long, 5m wide, 3m deep horikiri (trench) and dorui (berm) system on the ridge above. There is a narrow terraced band between the dorui and bailey space. There is a signboard and monument for the castle in the former bailey.

Hijika Castle / 日近城

Hijikajō is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin in Sakuragata Township, Okazaki Municipality. The ruins feature medieval earthworks such as dorui (earthen ramparts), kuruwa (baileys) and horikiri (trenches). There are several koguchi ('tiger maw') gate complexes evident. The main bailey is protected by the mountain's steep terrain to the west, as well as baileys; a large terraced bailey in the south, and a trench complex which wraps around the mountainside in the north and east. The castle ruins are for the most part very well maintained as a park overlooking the Oto River. The main bailey, which is ensconced with dorui, contains a signboard with information about the castle and a map. I was also pleasantly suprised to see such handsome toilet facilities to the rear of the park / castle site (near the carpark off the mountain road) which looked suitably like a castle building, such as a guardhouse or barracks. When I visited, the autumunal colours, particularly at the foot of the castle-mount beside the Oto River, were fiery beautiful. The kyokan (residential area) of the castle stood at the foot of the castle mount, on the hillside beside where the temple Kōshōin now stands. Okudaira Clan cenotaphs can be found in Kōshōin's necropolis.

Iimoriyama Castle (Asuke) / 足助飯盛山城

Iimoriyamajō is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin in Asuke Township, Toyota Municipality. I had wanted to visit this site for a long time, since first visiting Asuke in 2019. The two times I went to Asuke to see Asukejō, I wasn't able to visit Iimoriyamajō. This time I cycled the 33km from Okazaki to visit Asuke, which took only a little longer than getting the express bus, plus I got to stop for goheimochi, a local snackfood, along the way. I also had a much more extensive look around Asuke's townscape. Asuke is a beautiful mountain town.

Iimoriyamajō is accessed via Kōjakuji, a temple in the Kōran Gorge. The gorge is famous for its autumnal scenes, but I've only ever been during warmer months. There is a recreated traditional farmstead by the Tomoe River called Asuke-yashiki; it's intended as a farmer's residence rather than samurai, and it's not a historical site, but it's nonetheless nice to see. Kōjakuji, which has fine stonewalls, was the site of the kyokan (residential area for the lord) of Iimoriyamajō. The terraces behind the temple's main hall are earthworks sculpted for fortifications.

Iimoriyamajō was a fortified mountaintop. Ridges leading up the hill were terraced. Since Iimoriyamajō is especially well maintained as a park, many of these terraces, a feature of yamajiro which often get neglected, are also cleared of overgrowth, giving castle fans an unobstructed view.

Other ruins include kuruwa (baileys) and the remains of trenchwork. The main bailey is at the top of the hill, and a spacious secondary bailey sits below. There is a tertiary baily to the rear, below which is a trench ruin. The middle section of the trench appears to have been filled in as part of the mountain trail, but the cuttings into the ridge at either side are clear indications of a rear-guarding trench.

In the main bailey, which has nice views of Asuke town, there are a cluster of rocks. There is a story that the rocks were used by a giant as a foot rest or something, thus the name of the town, Asuke, being made up of the kanji for 'foot (足)' and 'assist (助)'. People hang votive tablets in the shape of a footprint or sandal on the rocks. A gazebo was constructed in the main bailey in 1989 by a bunch of Anglos from England, Scotland, Canada, America and the Bahamas, with friends from Japan.

Iroganeyama Fort / 色金山砦

Iroganeyama-toride is a fortification and encampment site in the Yazako district of Nagakute Municipality. The small mountain is now the Mount Irogane History Park (色金山歴史公園), and the site is designated as a national historic site. There is a large stone, the shōgiishi ('camp stool stone'), where Tokugawa Ieyasu is said to have perched, at the top of the hill. There is also an observation terrace built to suggest a medieval fortification, though it is a work of fantasy, which has a faux-reconstructed watchtower (mogi yagura). I came here as part of my walking tour (which would've been a cycling tour except the Nagakute Historical Museum in Kosenjō Park which loans bicycles was closed that day) of battlefield, fortification and encampment sites in Nagakute, and I found the giant lattice work of support structures for the wooden terrace with the watchtowers atop to be like something out of a themepark. The murals and monuments gave the place a pseudo-sacrosanct air. It was all very mogi, but quite engaging, and I'd recommend it as part of a casual pilgrimage for history fans.

Isshiki Castle (Chita) / 知多一色城

Isshikijō is a hilltop fort site in Utsumi, a coastal town in Minami-Chita Township, Chita County. Features include earthworks such as baileys, dorui (earthen ramparts) and horikiri (trenches). The layout is that of a small yamajiro (mountaintop castle), with a main bailey complex protected to the rear by a trench and embankment, and some terracing of the ridge below. I cannot confirm whether more of the ridge above was terraced and fortified, though some maps seem to suggest it may have been.

Isshikijō was an incidental visit for me. I knew something was up there but I was visiting the old Uchida house at the foot of the castle mount and was going to ignore it since it was summer and on a wooded hill, but the guide at the house started talking about it so I got too curious. The old guide said there was a viewing platform up there in previous years, but he didn't seem to understand when I asked him if it was a 'castle-style observation deck'. I've since seen old pictures of a garishly painted observation tower made from concrete and steel with a traditional roof which might've been an attempt at making a mogi watchtower. Called 'Utsumi Observation Platform', it was in the lower terrace beneath the main bailey. Reading old blogs from about a decade or so ago which say things like "I enjoyed the view of the beach and could relax in the cool sea breeze" is incredible because this site is now a gloomy jungle.

The ruins of Isshikijō are impenetrably overgrown with bamboo grass taller than a tall man. Going in autumn or winter wouldn't make any difference, except for there maybe being less pests, and so it was well that I had a look. I made it up to the main forward bailey which has a signboard for the site, and behind that, where there should be earthworks, a wall of vegetation rose up, and so, seeing the way was barred, I called it quits there. This site won't be worth visiting unless the tangle of flora is cut back.

There is a temple at the foot of the castle-mount called Jikōji. It has some handsome ishigaki, presumably Edo period, and I wondered if it could've been the site of the castle's kyokan (residential annex where the lord actually lived). Adjacent to Jikōji is the (presumably) related temple of Senzōin, and the there are terraced areas above here alongside the path to the castle ruins. There is a an impressive shōrōmon (belfry-gate) at Jikōji, and a sign at the temple says that this gate was originally the ôtemon (main gate) used at Isshikijō.

Note: this is Isshikijō in the historical Chita County, not to be confused with Isshikijō in historical Aichi County or Katahara-Isshikijō in historical Nakajima County, all in Owari Province (the eastern part of Aichi Prefecture), or any of the other sites called 'Isshikijō' in Aichi Prefecture, of which there are several.

Iwakura Castle (Mikawa) / 三河岩倉城

Iwakurajō is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin in Iwakura Township, Toyota Municipality. Ruins are earthworks, including kuruwa (baileys), horikiri (trenches), dorui (earthen ramparts), dobashi (earthen bridges) and an umadashi (barbican). Iwakurajō is the centrepiece of a complex of fortifications in the Iwakura Township. Since the whole complex could be refered to as Iwakurajō, sometimes this site, the main castle of the group, is distinguished as 'Iwakurashironōrajō', which either has the intended meaning of 'Iwakura Rear Castle', or is taken from the neighbourhood name which is Shironōra ('behind the castle'). I don't know but to me this seems a little redundant. Iwakurajō consists of a series of baileys separated by horikiri. The main bailey complex is encirculed by terraced koshikuruwa (sub-baileys). The bailey furthest west appears to be an umadashi, connected to the next bailey by a dobashi. A large horikiri separates the main bailey complex from a tertiary bailey. To the east there is a 'saddle' in the ridge, and then the eastern stretch of the ridge is carved into terraced baileys, some of them now under plough. This eastern area, where the ruins are less clear, is sometimes referred to as a tsumenoshiro (satellite castle) of the main castle. Beneath the castle to the south is a kyokan (residential area) with a rear trench complex.

Iwazu Castle / 岩津城

Iwazujō is an okajiro (hilltop castle) type yamajiro (mountaintop castle) in the Iwazu Township of Okazaki Municipality, north of downtown Okazaki. It is the main castle of a cluster of fortification sites in Iwazu, known as the ‘seven castles of Iwazu’, though I counted nine sites in total. There are substantial ruins at only two of the sites, Iwazujō and Iwazushinjō; very little to see at two more, Iwazu-Inojō and Iwazu-Kibirajō, and nothing castle-related to see at the others, those having been developed over with housing and such. Iwazujō itself, however, is a fantastic site, a nice, compact earthworks castle ruin for castle fans to appreciate. The site is now mostly a bamboo grove but the castle precincts are well maintained by a group of dedicated volunteers.

Iwazujō features kuruwa (baileys), dorui (earthen ramparts), karabori (dry moats), dobashi (earthen bridges) and other bridge remains. I entered the site via the second karabori where somebody has constructed what looks like a railroad made of bamboo. There is a cart on the track. It runs much of the length of the second karabori and I don’t know its purpose, but it looked fun. The dorui of the second and third baileys rise above the karabori. There is a depression in the ramparts, and opposite at a sort of diagonal angle there is a platform on the other side of the moat. It is thought that a wooden bridge was built here to grant access to the castle.

The second and third baileys have tall, thick dorui protecting them. These berms are thick enough to have hosted towers. Between these baileys and the main bailey is the first karabori. The first karabori is spanned by a beautiful earthen bridge (I find earthen bridges beautiful), which the ramparts of the first bailey loom above. On either side of the dobashi there are deep dry moats.

The main bailey of Iwazujō is spacious. In the middle there is a small information board; leaflets are kept in a plastic jar there. The dorui remains in the south because this is where the karabori was dug, and the excavated earth was heaped up into ramparts for the bailey. The other sides of the main bailey are protected by terraced baileys which create a giant stairway out of the hilltop. Exploring this site was very satisfying.

Other sites in this fortification complex are as follows:

Iwazushin Castle

Iwazu Ino Castle

Iwazu Myoshinji Castle

Iwazu Kibira Castle

Iwazu Daizen Castle

Iwazu Daizennishi Castle

Iwazu Dannoue Castle

Iwazu Naruse Castle

Higashi Kuramae Castle

Nishi Kuramae Castle

Kamakata Jin'ya / 蒲形陣屋

Kamakata-jin'ya is both a kyokan (medieval fortified residence) and jin'ya (proto-modern fortified administrative facility) site in the middle of Gamagôri Municipality. Ruins remain on-site in the form of tall, thick segments of dorui (earthen ramparts). These remains date to the time of the latter jin'ya. It appears this was an entrance area at the site's southwestern corner, the original environs were considerably larger. A surviving structure, a small kōraimon gate, has been relocated to Gamagôri City Hall.

Note: Some castle-explorers distinguish between the later Kamakata-jin'ya site and the earlier site of Kamakatajō, otherwise known as Shimonogōjō in relation to Kaminogōjō to the north. There is a tendancy for explorers / scholars to separate out castle 'profiles' if they are from different time periods, particularly if there is intervening time of inactivity. However, in this case both forts seem to have been on the same land, albeit the core of the jin'ya was to the southwest of the core of the medieval fortified residence (I do not know to what extent they overlapped exactly). Thus 'Kamakata-jin'ya', 'Kamakatajō', and 'Shimonogōjō' are all used as names for this site, and I am treating Kamakata-jin'ya and Kamakatajō as a single site here, and I will write about the history of both forts. Some bloggers also make reference to a 'Gamigôrijō', but this is surely a mistake, as the municipality name 'Gamigôri' is a modern one. A separate map pin on the website Jōkaku Hōrōki (and now consequently Google Maps) for Kamakatajō is used, but it is now just a carpark around the corner from the jin'ya remains, so I decided affirmatively not to look at that; no ruins remain of the earlier medieval residence.

'Kamakatajō' could also be used to refer to Shimonogōjō, a kyokan (residential annex), and Kaminogōjō, a hilltop fort, as a single complex, though unlike in a typical jōkan arrangement wherein the low-lying fort was permanently inhabited but the castle-mount wasn't, but rather used as a redoubt, Kaminogōjō was also a permanent residence, and eventually Shimonogōjō ('Lower Town Castle') and Kaminogōjō ('Upper Town Castle'), split into rival factions.

Kogane Castle (Mikawa) / 三河小金城

Koganejō is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) site on a ridge between the townships of Makihira and Kakatsugawa in Okazaki Municipality. An old forestry road leads up to a small clearing where there is a ‘boat stone’ monument. I think boat stones are used as basins for storing water at temples, but this one has been stood erect and surrounded by stone blocks. It looks like a short, dark, hooded figure in the forest. According to the map I was using, this was formerly considered the site of the castle. But why? For castle-explorers the actual ruins may not be much but they’re unmistakable. Maybe it was a topographic error! Anyway, I continued on from here onto the real site of the castle. There was no path and I had to pick my way through foliage whilst following the ridge.

Koganejō is an earthworks fort site featuring baileys and some indications of trenches and gate sites. I was anticipating not being able to easily identify the site due to apparent confusion over its location, but, coming upon it from below, I saw the distinctive artificial mounds of a castle bailey and knew immediately that I’d arrived. There are two very small but well-levelled pocket baileys beneath the crest of the main bailey. My map indicated a tatebori (climbing trench) segment to the north here but it was hard to make out with the interceding foliage. There is a sort of inubashiri (“dog’s run”), or narrow trail, which goes beneath the main bailey on its northern side, with a small pocket bailey adjacent to the tatebori. Following the inubashiri brings one to another tatebori trace at the opposite end of the bailey. The main bailey is elevated, spacious, and retains a mostly flat surface. It’s obviously a fortification site. Depressions may indicate sunken gate sites.

Beneath the main bailey is a koshikuruwa (‘hip bailey), the terraced second bailey, divided by a slight change in elevation, but basically forming a single large bailey that wraps around the main bailey above. There are sunken pits in these baileys. I thought they may have been pits used for making fire signals, but the blogger I was following suggests that they may have had some defensive function, perhaps for soldiers waiting in ambush or hiding. The pits are in the lower half of the second bailey. There is a koguchi (tiger’s maw) gate ruin in the upper part of the second bailey. There is a smaller third bailey beneath the second bailey. Koganejō has some mysteries but is otherwise fairly standard for a small scale yamajiro based around a single bailey complex.

Marune Castle / 丸根城

Marune is a moderate scale earthworks hirajiro (flatland castle) site in Nomi Township, Toyota Municipality. These ruins chiefly feature large karabori (dry moats), which are impressive. There are two baileys, the main bailey and north bailey. The north bailey is entirely surrounded by well-preserved karabori. The karabori continues to wrap around the main bailey in the northwest. In the southwest there are terraces without dorui (earthen ramparts), giving the impression that the earth has collapsed here. There is a prominent corner segment of dorui in the main bailey's northeast. The main bailey is itself very spacious, and could’ve easily accommodated a palace or, and perhaps more likely, barracks for a large garrison. Marunejō (Marune Castle) is not to be confused with Marune-toride (Marune Fort), also in Aichi. Marune-toride, which I visited not long after this site, is a minor site but has some renown in association with the siege of Ohdaka Castle and the Battle of Okehazama. Is this a rare instance of a ‘fort’ being better known than a ‘castle’ of the same name? Marune Castle, this site, doesn’t have a well-known history, but it is certainly the more interesting and better preserved site.

Natsuyama Castle / 夏山城

Natsuyamajō is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) in Natsuyama Township, Okazaki Municipality. Ruins include kuruwa (baileys) and horikiri (trenches). It's quite the adventure just getting to the castle site. One should cross the river via a make-shift pedestrian bridge opposite Natsuyama Elementary School. There's a forested play area for the grade-schoolers. Here there is a lot of impressive ishigaki (stonewalls), but these were built for the cultivation of the hillside long after the abandonment of the hilltop fort.

Just beneath the castle ruin is a shrine. Its causeway, which goes directly up the hillside, is so steep that it could make a good climbing trench for a castle. The small shrine building is the castle bailey. It seems the fort originally consisted of two baileys, with the one where the shrine building now is being the lower of the two. Behind the shrine there is an altar made from piled slabs of rock. The earth is turned up here, and it is thought that a trench ran beneath here between the fort's two baileys. However, the appearance today is of a single space with a slope in the middle. The highlight of the castle ruins is a horikiri cut into the bedrock of the ridge at the rear of the main bailey.

The castellan probably did not live on the castle mount itself, but perhaps on the hillside, though it is not clear where this kyokan (residential area) would've been. To the north of the mountain there is a hamlet with abandoned cottages called Sonjin. If one enters the forest behind these old homesteads, one finds an impressive array of tiered ishigaki. These stone-piled retaining walls are so impressive that for a long time people were under the impression that these were castle ruins. However, they were built to terrace the mountainside for agriculture. Natsuyamajō refers to the yamajiro on the mountain above, but is it possible the castle's kyokan was here? Either way, it was nice to see all of the old ishigaki.

Noda Castle (Shitara) / 設楽野田城

Nodajō is a hirayamajiro (hilltop-and-plains castle) ruin in the Toyoshima Township of Shinshiro Municipality. The castle ruins are situated on a hill beneath which is a small valley containing a temple with a main gate said to have been repurposed from the castle. Opposite the castle-mount, a short climb from the below temple, is a cliff where, according to local tradition at least, Takeda Shingen was shot by a marksman.

Nodajō features include karabori (dry moats), dobashi (earthen bridges), dorui (earthen ramparts) and kuruwa (baileys). There are also speculative reconstructions of kabukimon (timber portals) and babōsaku (palings).

The fort consists of three integral baileys.The karabori on either side of the main bailey are most prominent. Between the second and first bailey the moats are deep. The earthen platform on which a shrine now sits is thought to have supported a turret or small tower. There is also a wide, deep well. The main bailey is well maintained.

The outer baileys are more overgrown, but there are signs all over the place pointing out features. In the third bailey there is a crescent-shaped moat.

This site is Nodajō in Shinshiro Municipality (historical Shitara County), not to be confused with Nodajō in Kariya Municipality (historical Hekikai County), also in Aichi Prefecture (Mikawa Province).

Ohnoda Castle / 大野田城

Ônodajō is a castle ruin in Noda Township, Shinshiro Municipality. Sources disagree on how to categorise this castle, with some saying hirajiro (flatland castle) and others saying okajiro (hilltop castle) or hirayamajiro (hill-and-plains castle). For what it's worth, I think that because the main bailey is slightly elevated, but it is surrounded by the kind of moats we see at hirajiro, that it's a low-lying hirayamajiro; it's also at the edge of a low plateau. Perhaps it's also an okajiro if okajiro can be a type of hirayamajiro, though most castles called okajiro appear to be yamajiro (mountaintop castles) on small mounts.

Ônodajō surprised me because, though it appears less known as its somewhat famous neighbour, a related castle called Nodajō, there're some great ruins here, and the site is well maintained and is slowly gaining a park-like atmosphere. I can't find many pictures online showing what I saw, so it may be that the castle's current good condition is a recent development. I even saw someone near the castle building what looked to be outdoor furniture, perhaps for the park. The site is primarily still a cedar plantation surrounded by fields.

Ônodajō's layout is of a large single bailey complex. The main bailey is handsomely surrounded by dorui (earthen ramparts), and a segment of dorui cuts into the bailey, partitioning it into two parts. To the south is the bailey's entrance, what appears to be a crude masugata (square gate complex) formed from dorui. To the southeast or maybe south-south, there is a horikiri cutting off access from a small ridge terminus / pick-shaped blob of earth. To the north and west the fort is surrounded by karabori (dry moats), and the western stretch is a double-layered moat complex with two bands of dorui (or, alternatively, the inner moat has been interpreted as a narrow terraced bailey, but to me the surface looked slightly bowl-shaped).

The east of the fort is bordered by a large pond; if this existed at the time of the castle then it was certainly used as a barrier and water source, but to me it looks like a man-made reservoir and probably dates to the Meiji period. The fort was likely serviced by wells and only surrounded by dry moats. If the reservoir eats into the castle footprint then that's probably why we don't see an east moat segment today. This eastern karabori would've faced the plain.

Ohshima Jin'ya / 大島陣屋

Ôshima-jin'ya is a hillside jin'ya site in the township of Higashi-Ôshima, Toyota Municipality. The jin'ya has several terraced baileys carved from the hillside, supported with ishigaki (stone-piled retaining walls). Since the site is now that of a private homestead, I only looked at the site from below. Some of the ishigaki did indeed appear to be quite old, though some sections look they have been restored in more recent times, particularly the tall portion with the long ishidoi.

Beneath some of the most castle-like ishigaki I found a tiny signboard, partially broken, announcing the jin'ya site. The forced perspective of the ishigaki looming over this tiny signboard made the ishigaki seem larger than it is.

From a distance I could see that there was another segment of ishigaki in what looked like the residence's garden; obviously I couldn't get close to this part, but it indicates an uppermost bailey was present which is now perhaps used only as an agricultural plot. Altogether there are three bands of ishigaki.

Okayama Jin'ya / 岡山陣屋

Okayama-jin'ya is a jin'ya site in Okayama village in the Kira Township of Nishio Municipality. No ruins remain, but there is a sign board and some monuments along with a half-sized reconstructed gate. The gate represents the jin'ya's omotemon (main gate). I hadn't seen such a gate reproduced at half-size before, and thought it was cute. I have included in this set some pictures of a large dike called Kogane-źumi. The dike, which is 180m long and 5m tall, was built by Kira Yoshinaka in the 1670s in a reclaimed swamp called Yoroiǵafuchi. The name of that locality gets it name from the 1561 battle wherein Kira Yoshiaki decisively defeated Matsudaira Yoshikage. It is said that, after the battle, armour and weapons were pulled from the swamp in great quantities.

Okutono Jin'ya / 奥殿陣屋

Okutono-jin'ya is a jin'ya site in Okutono Township, Okazaki Municipality. It contains a shoin (palatial drawing room) from the Edo period. The shoin was actually located off-site when the jin'ya was decommissioned, and was used at a temple, with the jin'ya just being fields in the meantime, but from 1985 the jin'ya was restored, and the shoin was moved back. Other facilities such as a restaurant were built, and the jin'ya garden was restored. It's hard to miss this site as there is a topiary or hedgerow spelling out the word 'ジンヤ (JIN'YA)' on the hillside. I've been twice. Behind the restored palatial area there are further remains of fortifications in the form of dorui (earthen ramparts). On the mountainside there are mausolea or cenotaphs of the former castle lords, as well as some ishigaki (stone-piled walls) with dobei (wattle and daub walls).

Shii Castle / 椎城

Shiijō ('Chinkapin Castle') is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin in Norisada Township, Toyota Municipality. Ruins are chiefly earthworks, including kuruwa (baileys), horikiri (trenches) and tatebori (climbing trenches). The layout of the fort is complex and contains several integral baileys. I will describe the ruins sequentially as I came across them.

Climbing from the Suzuki Shōsan History Park, one sees that there are two easterly outer baileys with a large horikiri at either side. Probably there was a horikiri between each of these two east baileys too, but it was filled in for the erection of the cenotaph to Suzuki Shigeuji -- my guess; there is a tatebori below the ridge here so it stands to reason.

The main bailey contains a signboard about the castle. Beneath it has a koshikuruwa (sub-bailey) on the south side. It's easy to appreciate the castle's smoothly sculpted embankments from here. This koshikuruwa is very interesting because although it terraces the south side of the main bailey, it wraps around, via a horikiri, and terraces the north side of the eastern baileys, forming a straggling 'S'-shape which would've doubly exposed the attackers' flanks as the moved toward the main bailey. There are several tatebori on the south-facing side of the fort.

The western portion of the castle I also had fun exploring. There are several westerly baileys and the westernmost are separated by a dobashi (earthen bridge). The small ridges beneath here on the north-facing side of the castle are terraced. One spur has a horikiri and earthen bulwark forming a satisfying bowl-like shape. This wasn't clearly depicted on the map I was using so I was happy to have found it.

Shiroyama Castle (Asuke) / 足助城山城

Shiroyamajō is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin in Asuke Township, Toyota Municipality. Ruins consist of kuruwa (baileys), terracing and ishigaki (stonewalls). The hilltop portion of the castle consists of two spacious kuruwa. The lower of the two, the second bailey, has what appears to be the site of a gate, and there is remnant ishigaki here. There are many more segments of ishigaki remaining on the north face of the main bailey. There doesn't seem to be much ishigaki at other sites around Asuke, so the generically named Shiroyamajō, often called Asuke-Shiroyamajō, is a little special in that regard.

Some parts of the castle mount I found too overgrown with fetid bamboo groves to explore further, and so I could not check the ridge ends for trenches. I looked from above in the main bailey, and the ridge seemed very far below; anyway, it seemed folly to go down, and I could see nothing. There is a significant southeastern spur made up of ridgeline terracing along the approach to the castle. Some of the lower terraces are cultivated but the site is now mostly used as a cedar plantation and is overgrown in parts.

I went sort of the wrong way to this site by climbing up along a modern retaining wall which appears to have been installed about two decades ago to protect a new access ramp leading to Route 153 from landslides. This brought me to the castle's truncated southwestern spur. Since the sculpted embankments of the fortification were evident immediately above where the modern patchwork retaining wall ended, I wondered if some lower parts of the castle hadn't been demolished when the new road was constructed. I went back down via the southeastern spur which has a path.

This site is called Asuke-Shiroyamajō to distinguish it from many other castles called 'Shiroyama', but it is not to be confused with Asukejō, which is in fact a modern name for a castle originally called Mayumiyamajō, also in Asuke.

Takiwaki Castle / 滝脇城

Takiwakijō is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) in Takiwaki Township, Toyota Municipality. Ruins consist of earthworks, including baileys and trenches. The layout of the fort is of an extended single bailey complex; the western ridge terracing could be considered a second bailey, since the change in elevation is not so great. Since the peak bailey is very small, it is also possible to view this area as a single bailey in several stages. A streak of taller terraces runs down the northern ridge. There is an indentation in the lower bailey which may indicate where there was a gate. To the rear of the peak bailey is a horikiri (trench).

Tanno Castle / 丹野城

Tannojō is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin located between the borders of Toyôka and Sagara townships in Gamagôri Municipality, and the township of Mito in Toyokawa Municipality to the north. Ruins include a horikiri (trench) and kuruwa (baileys). The layout is of a single bailey complex with a wide trench to the rear. Sub-baileys sit below and partially surround the main bailey. The western slope is terraced but if there is terracing on the bay-facing side then it must be only a thin slip of earth, a feature commonly called an inubashiri (dog's run). Since the area below Tannojō is maintained as a park, many people come up from there; indeed, I saw several people at the castle ruins. However, I had cycled to Gamagôri and opted to cycle up a mountainroad to the Kunisaka Pass. From here there is a hiking trail that goes to the castle site, but it does not seem highly trafficked.

Terabe Castle (Hazu) / 幡豆寺部城

Terabejō is a hilltop fort ruin in Terabe Township, a hilly peninsula in Mikawa Bay between the townships of Higashi-Hazu and Nishi-Hazu in Nishio Municipality. The fort ruins are situated on a low hill on a plateau with good views of the bay. Ruins feature earthworks such as dorui (earthen ramparts), kuruwa (baileys) and trenches. The site is for the most part maintained as a park and shrine, and some babōsaku (cheval de frise) has been erected atop of the dorui in the main bailey. There is a walkway going by a tatebori (dropping moat), but a landslide has knocked it out of place, so that it is safer to walk on the displaced earth instead.

The fort's layout consists of two parts: an eastern fort and a western fort, with a large karabori (dry moat) between. The eastern section seems to be a series of terraced bailey spaces, but it is now used as an orchard for citrus fruits and the terrain may have been augmented heavily for this purpose.

The western part of the castle is larger and better preserved. There are at least three integral baileys here. The main bailey contains a shrine and has prominent dorui segments in the east and north, with babōsaku atop. The second bailey spreads out to the west, and beneath it is a third bailey which is a koshikuruwa (terraced bailey). To the north of the second bailey there appears to be a tatebori with dorui embanked to the side, protecting a lower bailey, but it's not easily accessible.

Koaza (neighbourhood names) such as Baba ('Stables') and Shirokoshi remain in the vicinity of the castle-mount. This may indicate that the castle's footprint also extended inland on the plateau side. There is a significant drop in terrain on the coastal side.

Note: this is Hazu-Terabejō in historical Hazu County (analogous to modern Nishio Municipality), not to be confused with Terabejō in historical Kamo County (analogous to modern Toyota Muncipality), both in Aichi Prefecture and Mikawa Province. Incidentally, the bay-facing stretch of coast where Hazu-Terabejō is located is itself called Hazu (probably the name of a court era township), and this is where the name of the county comes from.

Touyagane Castle / 登屋ヶ根城

Tōyaganejō is a hilltop castle site in Nagasawa Township, Toyokawa Municipality. The ruins feature impressive karabori (dry moats), kuruwa (baileys), and dorui (earthen ramparts). I searched nearly the whole hill, but most of the ruins can be found in the northwest. The site is now fields, bamboo groves, and an abandoned ‘short-stay’ hotel, the latter inhabiting the main bailey. The karabori is most accessible in the southeast of the second bailey. That portion terminates in an old shed, but on the other side it continues, though the southwestern portion is choked with bamboo and quite difficult to enter. There is karabori and dorui around the main bailey on two sides, south and west; the east moat between the first and second bailey was likely filled in to provide for the hotel’s parking area, and the northern perimeter is now a road. I was very happy with my findings, and so tried to check for outer ruins too. At one point I found a very obvious ditch, but I think it was probably built in later times as a measure against boars. Speaking of which, opposite the hill is a large orchard surrounded by a beautiful stone wall. It almost looks like something one would see at an Okinawan gusuku (castle). This stone wall, piled in the middle Edo period, is an important cultural property, and was erected to prevent wild boars from invading the orchard.

Ueno Castle (Mikawa) / 三河上野城

Uenojō, also known as Uenokamimurajō, is a hirajiro (flatland castle) ruin in Kamigō Township, Toyota Municipality. The ruins consist of a corner segment of tall, thick dorui (earthen ramparts). The site is now used as a park, shrine and civic hall.

Loading map...