Shishiudo Yakata

History

It is really not known when this castle was first built, but probably early to mid 1400s when the Kobatake started to govern the area. The castle design is like others of local landholders around the country at the time with a fortified residence as the main castle and a mountaintop castle (tsume-no-shiro) in case of attack and to watch over the valley (see Shishiudo Castle). The Kobatake were one of the first clans in the area to ally themselves to Oda Nobunaga when he initiated the pacification of Tanba. Kobatake Nagaaki become one of the most trusted advisors to Akechi Mistuhide and acted as a guide and strategist for campaigns throughout the region. When Nagaaki and his father Kuniaki died in the siege of Yamagami Castle, Akechi adopted the young heir Ise Chiyomaru and gave him the Akechi name to help support and protect the family. It is not clear if they supported Hideyoshi at the Battle of Yamazaki but they continued to govern the lands after the Honnoji Incident.

Visit Notes

For something called a "yakata" or fortified residence, the scale of this castle ruin is astonishing with features of more advanced castles and mountaintop castles. It is built nearly on a slightly elevated flattened area from the main agricultural area of the valley below. There are three large baileys of a scale you more often seen in smaller Edo Period castles with trenches dividing each and earthen embankments surrounding them. The largest main bailey may have been later modified for a vegetable field removing the embankment and trench that divided it across the middle in parallel with the two baileys across the deeper trench. The two baileys on the north side may have also been residences for vassals.

Compare this with the Koide Yakata about 150m away across the gulley on the next rise over. Even though the Koide Yakata is at a higher elevation, the set looks much more like the Koide Yakata was a fortified residence matched to this formal castle. The Koide Yakata was in fact a much later construction for the Koide Clan while they built Sonobe Jin'ya, see Koide Yakata for more details.

Taken as a pair, the Shishiudo Yakata and Koide Yakata are highly recommended for castle fans and fairly easy to get to along the bus line between Kameoka and Sonobe. You could easily visit this site along with Habu Castle and Sonobe Castle among other nearby options in a single day.

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Castle Profile
English Name	Shishiudo Yakata
Japanese Name	宍人館
Alternate Names	Shishiudo-jo
Founder	Kobatake clan
Year Founded	1400s
Castle Type	Fortified Manor
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	trenches
Visitor Information
Access	JR Kameoka Station, 40 min bus to Shishiudo, 10 min walk; or Sonobe Station, 30 min bus to Shishiudo, 10 min walk
Visitor Information	park open any time, but private property, stay on the designated paths
Time Required	90 mins
Location	Nantan, Kyoto
Coordinates	35° 5' 6.47" N, 135° 26' 18.17" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2024
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2023
Admin Visits	November 23, 2023
Friends of JCastle
Jokaku Horoki
Woodland Kyoto
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