Sakakikitajou Castle

History

Sakakikitajōjō is thought to have been built by the Satsuma Clan. In 1335 Murakami Nobusada was appointed as a general in Shinano by Ashikaga Takauji, and he fought the Hōjō here. He conquered Sakakikitajōjō where the Satsuma and Hōjō were holed up. At that time Satsuma Saemon was castellan. The castle was destroyed by the ascendant Murakami Clan when they conquered the area.

Visit Notes

Sakakikitajōjō is a castle ruin in Sakaki. The town has traditional districts Nakanojō, where the Nakanojō-jin'ya (see Nakanojou Jin'ya) was located, and Minaminojō, but today there appears to be no Kitanojō. Nevertheless this is where the castle site derives its name, one would think, though the presence of the Hōjō Clan in the area could be a source of confusion. The castle ruin, dating to a time before the taller castle mounts of the Murakami, is difficult to conclude definitively as a castle site due to a lack of features, but the mount is recorded to have been fortified (perhaps only briefly) by the Satsuma Clan before they were stomped by the Murakami Clan. The hill has been extensively modified as farmland and a park, but at the top of the hill there is a shrine site. Here there is a lip which looks like a sub-bailey, and the shrine was positioned at the flattened peak which looks like it could've served as a castle bailey. At the rear there is a depression which might be the remains of a trench, but, as you can see, it's largely guess work. The hill actually connects up with a sort of highland plateau here to the castle's rear.

Gallery

Beneath main bailey

Castle Profile
English Name	Sakakikitajou Castle
Japanese Name	坂城北条城
Founder	Satsuma Clan
Year Founded	Kamakura Period
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Artifacts	Kuruwa
Features
Visitor Information
Access	Sakaki Station on the Shinano Railway; 20 minute walk
Visitor Information	24/7 free; park
Time Required	30 minutes
Location	Sakaki, Nagano Prefecture
Coordinates	36° 27' 51.59" N, 138° 11' 27.74" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2022
Contributor	ART
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed
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