Kurita Castle
History
Kurita Castle was a medieval flatland earthworks castle built by the Kurita Clan as their residence. Around 1500 the Kurita Clan became vassals of the Murakami Clan, and after that vassals of the Takeda Clan. In 1581 Kurita Tsuruhisa was killed at the siege of Takatenjinjō.
Visit Notes
Since I had time to spare in downtown Nagano I went on a little castle walk, going from site to site. Kuritajō was the best and last, possessing the most substantial ruins, although only a portion of the original castle remains. Kuritajō's layout was square-like; in fact, almost a parallelogram. It had tall earthen ramparts and mizubori (water moats) around the main bailey. An outer enclosure also existed, surrounded by the moat system. Now only the northwestern corner segment of dorui (earth-piled ramparts) survives, but it is still very tall. There is now a shrine built atop, and the remaining ruins are part of the shrine's grounds. The shrine is called the Minochi-sōja Hiyoshi-jinja. The flat ground at the foot of the dorui which is now parkspace is the moat which has been filled in. The stone platform shown here is a modern one built for the shrine's kami house.
Castle Profile | |
---|---|
English Name | Kurita Castle |
Japanese Name | 栗田城 |
Alternate Names | 堀之内城 |
Founder | Kurita Clan |
Year Founded | Before 1500 |
Castle Type | Flatland |
Castle Condition | Ruins only |
Historical Period | Pre Edo Period |
Artifacts | Dorui, Mizubori-ato |
Features | trenches |
Visitor Information | |
Access | Nagano Station; 12 minute walk |
Visitor Information | 24/7 free; shrine |
Time Required | 25 minutes |
Location | Nagano, Nagano Prefecture |
Coordinates | 36° 38' 16.51" N, 138° 11' 39.48" E |
|
|
Admin | |
Added to Jcastle | 2020 |
Contributor | ART |
Admin Year Visited | Viewer Contributed |
Enable comment auto-refresher