Kitanosho Castle

History

Shibata Katsuie built this castle in 1575. The castle lasted only 8 years so there are few records about it. The information we do have shows that it had a very large 9 story main main keep making it the largest castle of its time. When Shibata Katsuie lost the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583, he shut himself and his wife up in the main keep, set it to fire and killed himself.

Visit Notes

The estimated site of the Honmaru is currently a shrine called Shibata Jinja.

Gallery

Statue of Shibata Katsuie
reconstructed wall
Walkways over the excavated site

Castle Profile
English Name	Kitanosho Castle
Japanese Name	北ノ庄城
Founder	Shibata Katsuie
Year Founded	1575
Castle Type	Flatland
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	Fukui Sta. (Hokuriku line), 10 minute walk
Visitor Information
Time Required
Location	Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture
Coordinates	36° 3' 36.86" N, 136° 13' 10.96" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2006
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2006
Admin Visits	June 13, 2006

1.25

(8 votes)

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FurinkazanHatamoto

3 months ago

Score 0

12/05/2023. I had still some time left before leaving Fukui, so I decided to go for the Kita no show, euh excuse me, the Kitanoshō castle ruins. Apart from the statues of Shibata Katsuie, his wife Oichi and her daughters, there isn't much to see of this once formidable castle. There is a shrine, dedicated to Shibata, and a small museum, where there is almost nothing to see. I found there an infomation page in English about Shibata and his castle.

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ARTShogun

66 months ago

Score 1

nfortunately they have taken away the model of the tenshu that used to stand here. I took a picture of a picture of it. There is a small museum here. It's free entry. The curator told me the model was made for an NHK program. There are some stone wall remains and troughs delineating moats, but not much to see. Most interesting is that the castle was unearthed and displayed without disturbing the shrine structures here, or the shrine structures were built over the dig site, so that now the castle site is oddly merged into the shrine complex, as though two platforms in a video game awkwardly glitched and spliced together. The walkway goes between the shrine buildings and overlooks the archaeological dig sites. Everything is encased in concrete though. I think the stone walls shown are attempts at restoration. The original stones sit in beds of concrete at the bottom of the troughs. The statue is of Shibata Katsuie, who built the castle. Now the site is called Shibata Park. The shrine on site is also dedicated to Shibata.

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ARTShogun

69 months ago

Score 1

I went here in December. Unfortunately they took away the cool model. I really wanted to see it! The lady in the (free) museum told me it was originally made for an NHK program.

Eric, 圧 > 庄 ^ ^

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EricShogun

69 months ago

Score 0

Good catch. This is fixed.

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PhibbyfanAshigaru

129 months ago

Score 0

There is a small recreation of the castle in the park beside the statue now. There is also a small museum about the castle and the city's famous bridge.

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RaymondWDaimyo

147 months ago

Score 0

As already commented on below by Furinkazan about the paucity of structures, ruins, and things to see, this must be one of the most disappointing and smallest castle sites that I have ever visited in Japan. Apart from the statue of Shibata Katsuie and a few stone blocks, there is nothing here…almost zippo. The castle ground has been pretty consumed by modern Fukui City. Of course, at one stage, it had a 9-storey castle keep and is famous for Shibata’s suicide after his forces lost the Battle of Suzugatake. Still, they could have built a small museum nearby to promote this site better. With almost nothing here, this castle ruin should be renamed Kita No Show. If Fukui Castle is a one-star site, this site must surely be a no-star site.

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FurinkazanHatamoto

157 months ago

Score 0

After Fukuijo i visited this place(not far from each other). I really don't know what to say about this one. There is almost nothing left. Only the statue of Shibata Katsuie is nice. I give it 1 star because of the story behind this castle.

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