Takeno Castle
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History
Takenojō is thought to have been a branch fort of Inōejō. It was likely renovated by Takeda forces after their conquest of it. See Inoue Castle for more information.
Visit Notes
There is a trail up to Takenojō, a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) site, from the northwest, and I started claiming here and got about a quarter of the way up. I guess it would’ve been fine to continue, but, since I was on a rented e-bike I decided I may as well cycle instead up the forest road which goes to a pass between the mountains linking Takenojō and Inōejō. The climb doesn’t take as long and the relative elevation is only about 20m to the start of the castle ruins from forest road. But I wanted to mostly come this way because the castle is orientated that way - south, so climbing from the north goes to its rear; it’s always best to start at the bottom of a castle rather than the top, I believe. It’s fine to go either way but going from the south is the lazier way, and it’s easier to appreciate the scale of the castle.
Takenojō is like a giant staircase, and its layout is fairly unique. There are three large trenches in the lower part of the site. These are fairly deep and stretch across the wide ridge, retaining good form. Three well-built trenches one after the other like this leaves its impression. And then there is another triple set in the form of baileys, the lower two terraced, at the top of the castle mount. Some of the baileys use bare rock-face as walls. To the rear of the main bailey, trenches, albeit smaller than those below, are sunk into the bare rock of the ridge.
Gallery
| Castle Profile | |
|---|---|
| English Name | Takeno Castle |
| Japanese Name | 竹の城 |
| Founder | Inōe Clan; Takeda Clan |
| Year Founded | Sengoku Period; 1550s |
| Castle Type | Mountaintop |
| Castle Condition | Ruins only |
| Designations | Local Historic Site |
| Historical Period | Pre Edo Period |
| Artifacts | Horikiri, Kuruwa, Dorui |
| Features | trenches |
| Visitor Information | |
| Access | Nearest Station is Murayama Station on the Nagano Line; Suzaka-Nagano-Higashi IC |
| Visitor Information | 24/7 free; mountain |
| Time Required | 40 minutes |
| Location | Suzaka, Nagano Prefecture |
| Coordinates | 36° 37' 45.30" N, 138° 17' 45.56" E |
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| Admin | |
| Added to Jcastle | 2022 |
| Contributor | ART |
| Admin Year Visited | Viewer Contributed |
| Friends of JCastle | |
| Jōkaku Hōrōki | |
| Shirobito | |
| Jōsai | |
| Kojō Seisuiki | |
| Shiro Meguri | |
| Shiro Iku | |
| Yogo | |
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