Kita Wakamiko Castle

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KitaWakamikojou (4).JPG

History

Even though Kita-Wakamikojō ('North Wakamiko Castle') was sometimes called Wakamikoôjō ('Wakamiko Big Castle') and Wakamikojō called Wakamikokojō ('Wakamiko Old Castle'), perhaps implying that the former was more important, Kita-Wakamikojō was actually a satellite fortification of Wakamikojō (Wakamiko Castle).


Visit Notes

Kita-Wakamikojō is located on the plateau to the north of Wakamikojō. The southern tip of this northerly satellite fort is now a solar panel array, and this has inexcusably damaged the castle ruins - specifically a gate ruin with embankments. Solar panels are, however, a vital prop in the pantomime of renewable energy which is artificially extending the burning of fossil fuels (which is why gas and oil companies are funding the show!), so I mustn't complain. As for castle ruins, which aren't renewable, earthworks nonetheless appear to remain at Kita-Wakamikojō, and several lines of defences can be found in the cedar plantation between the solar panels and a complex of tennis courts (which may also have been built over some outer ruins of the castle). There are segments of dorui (earthen ramparts) overlooking the cliff to the west, and what look like the remais of karabori (dry moats), spanning the plateau, but since dorui can also be found without ditches below, some of these moats may have been filled in if / when the land was subsequently cultivated. One gets the impression of a castle here, but its structure never comes sharply into focus due to the advanced degradation of the earthworks. Yogo-sensei says that the site's large foot print and flat profile is very like Hōjō castles elsewhere, but he also speculates that much of this flatness paradoxically owes to later cultivation of the area rather than the Hōjō themselves. Ranmaru-sensei treats the castle as essentially an unfinished castle which Hōjō Ujinao started building before he peaced out with the Tokugawa. It seems there are yet many mysteries to uncover here. The site is no longer maintained and I found no marker for the castle (though there used to be one). There was a car parked at the beginning of the dirt track and it so happened that as I was entering the site another castle fan was leaving. He had a sort of clipboard attached to himself via a lanyard. In exchanging a few words with him about the castle I glanced down and saw that he had a map of the castle on it. Haha, I'm such an amateur!




Gallery
  • Dorui


Castle Profile
English Name Kita Wakamiko Castle
Japanese Name 北若神子城
Alternate Names Wakamikoôjō (若神子大城)
Founder Takeda Clan; Hōjō Ujinao
Year Founded Kamakura Period; 1582
Castle Type Mountaintop
Castle Condition Ruins only
Historical Period Pre Edo Period
Artifacts Dorui, Karabori, Kuruwa
Features trenches
Visitor Information
Access Hinoharu Station on the Chūō Line; 75 minute walk.
Visitor Information 24/7 free; fields / forest
Time Required 45 minutes
Location Hokuto, Yamanashi Prefecture
Coordinates 35° 47' 59.42" N, 138° 25' 23.20" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle 2022
Contributor ART
Admin Year Visited Viewer Contributed
Friends of JCastle
Yogo
Ranmaru
Jōkaku Hōrōki


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