Tedori Castle

History

The Tamaki moved into this territory from Yamashiro during the Nanbokucho Period (1300's) establishing castles at (Kii) Tsuruga Castle and Tedori Castle from which they established their territory abolishing the Kawakami who ruled it from (Kii) Yamazaki Castle.

The Tamaki ruled for around 200 years splitting the Hidaka River basin with the Yukawa at (Kii) Kameyama Castle. In 1585, in response to Hideyoshi's invasion of Kishu, Naoharu Yukawa, the lord of Kameyama Castle, proposed that they join forces to oppose Hideyoshi, but the Tamaki refused. They set fire to the Yukawa's lands and the Yukawa attacked Tedori Castle in response. In the face of impending invasion but Hideyoshi, the Yukawa took Tedori Castle. When attacked by Hideyoshi's forces under Sengkou Hidehisa the Yukawa set fire to the castle and escaped. The Tamaki remained as minor allies of Hideyoshi and retained Tedori Castle. The Tamaki sided with the Western Forces at the Battle of Sekigahara and were exiled following their loss. The castle was abandoned at this time.

Visit Notes

Tedori Castle is a fairly easy mountaintop castle to visit and enjoy as a mountaintop castle without the worry about steep climbs, good hiking wear etc. It also offers a lot for the more adventurous castle explorers who want to search out the stone wall remains and Horikiri trenches too. The trailhead for the castle is about a 40 min walk from the station. From here you can follow a paved road right to the East Bailey just off the main Bailey. As you are walking along this road most of the ridgeline to your upper left is part of the castle. The main compounds around the center of the castle are well maintained but it takes a little more work to investigate the minor baileys around here to find various bits of remaining stonework. The main baileys offer some great views but the highlight of this castle is probably several large horikiri trenches. Another feature I found quite interesting is a series of three obikuruwa type baileys built in steps along the Eastern Bailey. They are easy to miss and not well identified on most of the maps you find online.

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Gallery

Honmaru Bailey
Tatebori
Atop the embankment
Obikuruwa in steps
Stepped obikuruwa form above
Tatebori
West Bailey Noroshidai
Tatebori

Castle Profile
English Name	Tedori Castle
Japanese Name	手取城
Founder	Tamaki clan
Year Founded	1300's
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Designations	Top 100 Mountaintop Castles, Local Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	trenches, stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	Wasa Sta. (Kisei Line); 40 min walk to trailhead
Visitor Information	park, open any time
Time Required	120 mins
Website	https://www.pref.wakayama.lg.jp/prefg/130500/chiikisinnkoubu/hidaka-kankou.html
Location	Hidakagawa, Wakayama Prefecture
Coordinates	33° 54' 9.40" N, 135° 13' 45.16" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2023
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2023
Admin Visits	February 5, 2023
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4.00

(2 votes)

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RaymondWDaimyo

18 months ago

Score 0

There is a very detailed model of what this castle looks like during the Sengoku Period in the Wakayama Prefectural Museum.

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RaymondWDaimyo

18 months ago

Score 1

I’m glad to see that Eric has put up this mountaintop castle profile. There aren’t many castle profiles for Wakayama Prefecture, not because there aren’t many castles and castle ruins in Wakayama, but because it is so time-consuming to get them. Well, Tedori Castle is absolutely worth the effort. As Eric’s photos has shown here, this yamajiro is chock full of the earthwork features that castle fans love seeing such as baileys, horikiris (ditches), tateboris (ditches cut running vertically down the side of the mountain), earthen ramparts, and stone wall remnants. If this castle ruin was closer to where I live, I would visit it once every year or two, but unfortunately, it’s not, so I have only been to this magnificent castle ruin only once.

The website owner mentions seeing sets of obikuruwa (long terraced baileys which wraps around a higher and more important bailey) running up the side of the mountain. In some ways, it is just like having several concentric sets of increasingly higher curtain walls at European castles. Some Pre-Edo period Japanese castles have this feature of layered obikuruwa such as at Mariko Castle near Shizuoka City. That is another highly enjoyable yamajiro to visit.

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EricShogun

18 months ago

Score 0

Wakayama is just not often on my radar so I'm glad I could add this site on a great recommendation. This was a great little site so it was nice to find an accessible and enjoyable mountaintop castle in Wakayama for a day trip. Nearby Kameyama Castle (Kii) makes a nice one to visit too once you know the history of these 2 sites. Though it is not often obvious from the profiles I like to combine historically relevant or interesting sites into one trip. It just so happens that in this case they are both recommendable and accessible sites.

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