Matsuo Castle (Mino)

History

Matsuo Castle was used as a base by the turncoat Kobayakawa's troops at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600.

Visit Notes

Ground surface-wise...What is Gifu Prefectures’ largest Yamajiro, mountain castle site?

In fact it’s Matsuo Castle, overlooking Sekigahara and used as a base by the turncoat Kobayakawa troops in the 1600 Battle of Sekigahara. It’s a 40 plus minute climb up the mountain, made easier by recent development work. The site still retains large Horikiri, Koguchi, dorui, kuruwa, tsuchibashi, and other features. The Honmaru also has an early version Masugata Koguchi with a left, instead of the usual right hand turn! The view over the Sekigahara basin and the site of the Battlefield is absolutely fantastic!

Profile by Chris Glenn (edited by ART).

Gallery

Dorui (Earthen Ramparts)
Tsuchibashi (Earthen Bridge)
Dorui
Proto-Masugata

Castle Profile
English Name	Mino Matsuo Castle
Japanese Name	美濃松尾城
Alternate Names	Matsuoyamajō
Founder
Year Founded
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Designations	Local Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Artifacts	Horikiri, koguchi, dorui, kuruwa, tsuchibashi
Features	trenches
Visitor Information
Access	Sekigahara Station on the Tokaidō Main Line
Visitor Information	24/7 free; mountain
Time Required	60 minutes
Location	Sekigahara, Gifu Prefecture
Coordinates	35° 20' 50.24" N, 136° 27' 15.52" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2022
Contributor	豪谷
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed

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RaymondWDaimyo

7 months ago

Score 1

I went to this castle ruin back in 2014 when I visited many of the locations around the Sekigahara Battlefield. Even back then, it was easy to get up to and down from this yamajiro as the lower part of the trail is basically a fire trail before one takes a turn into a well-maintained path leading up to the main bailey of this castle.

Matsuoyama Castle has a lot of earthworks remaining including ditches, earthen ramparts, and sites of gate ruins. Four of the photos on this profile clearly show the main bailey’s dorui and its masugata gate ruin on the south side. If one stands on the dorui facing north at the main bailey and look down, a long tatetori (ditch running vertically down the mountain) can be seen.

This is certainly an impressive and enjoyable castle ruin to visit for a castle fan as I have seen gate ruins, earthen ramparts (both dorui and kirigishi), a well, and ditches which aren’t shown in the photos here. However, if you want to see all of this extensive yamajiro, you will have venture off the trail into the less maintained parts of the castle ruin. If one is visiting the Sekigahara Battlefield, be sure to make time to visit this yamajiro.

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