Kukyudaira Castle (Mikawa)

History

Kukyūdairajō was a Suzuki Clan base in the Sengoku period. The Mikawa-Suzuki's origin point was to the north, and they spread eastward toward Asuke. The Suzuki became vassals of the Matsudaira.

Suzuki Shigemasa fought against an invasion into Mikawa by Takeda Shingen in 1559. When he was killed, his younger brother, Suzuki Yasumasa, retreated and took up a position at Kukyūdairajō; the ruins of the castle may date to this time. Suzuki Yasumasa was a vassal of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

In 1625, Suzuki Masatsugu, a hatamoto (shogunal bannerman), was enfeoffed here with 500 koku, and set up a daikansho (hatamoto's office) at the castle site. It was apparently in place until the Meiji period.

Visit Notes

Kukyūdairajō is a former hilltop castle site in Kugyūdaira Township, Toyota Municipality. Scant ruins remain, and the site is now a school. The hillside around the school, which dominates the hill, is terraced, and these terraces appear to have been sculpted as baileys for the castle. I couldn't enter the school, so I went into an overgrown field just below it where the castellan's living hall is thought to have been, and also visited Kōtokuji, a temple used as a pet cemetery; the temple has nice stonewalls and its main hall appears to be built in a Swiss logcabin style, so that was new. Some castle-bloggers report stonewalls for the castle on the hillside, but these may be too overgrown to see now.

Note: Most castling blogs give the reading of this site as 'Kukyūdairajō'. The modern place name is Kugyūdairajō.

Gallery

Kyokan site
Terraced hillside
Castle mount
Koutokuji

Castle Profile
English Name	Kukyudaira Castle (Mikawa)
Japanese Name	九久平城
Alternate Names	Kukyūdairajō
Founder	Suzuki Shigemasa
Year Founded	c. 1559
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Edo Period
Features	stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	Aim for Kōtokuji
Visitor Information	Access Limited
Time Required	10 minutes
Location	Toyota, Aichi Prefecture
Coordinates	35° 3' 10.55" N, 137° 12' 50.69" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2024
Contributor	ART
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed
Friends of JCastle
Jōkaku Shashin Kiroku
Umoreta Kojō
Oshiro Tabi Nikki
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