Sagaki Kuniyoshi Castle
佐柿国吉城
Sagaki Kuniyoshi Castle is a historic castle in the Chūbu region (Traditionally founded in 1556 (Kōji 2) by Awaya Katsuhisa; said to have been abandoned in 1615 (Genna 1)). Its lord was Awaya Katsuhisa (founder); Kimura Sadamitsu.
Overview
Overview
Sagaki Kuniyoshi Castle was a mountain castle built in the hills of Sagaki, Mihama Town, Mikata District, Fukui Prefecture. Positioned as a "border castle" astride the boundary between Wakasa and Echizen provinces, it is best known as the stronghold from which Awaya Katsuhisa, a senior retainer of the Wakasa Takeda clan, repeatedly repelled invasions by the Asakura clan of Echizen during the Sengoku period. As the power of the Wakasa Takeda clan waned, Katsuhisa maintained the castle as a semi-independent local lord and later allied himself with the Oda regime, establishing a firm foothold in eastern Wakasa.
History and Succession of Lords
The castle is traditionally said to have been built in 1556 (Kōji 2) by Awaya Katsuhisa, a senior retainer of the Wakasa Takeda clan. From 1563 (Eiroku 6) to 1569 (Eiroku 12), the Asakura clan of Echizen invaded Wakasa in nearly every year, and each time Katsuhisa held out under siege at Kuniyoshi Castle and drove them back — a struggle later recorded in the "Kuniyoshi-jō Rōjō-ki" (Record of the Siege of Kuniyoshi Castle). In 1570, when Oda Nobunaga campaigned against the Asakura clan in Echizen, he is said to have entered this castle and used it as his base of operations, praising Katsuhisa for his years of military service. From 1583 (Tenshō 11), Kimura Sadamitsu became lord of the castle and rebuilt its originally earthen fortifications with stone walls. It is said to have been abandoned in 1615 (Genna 1).
Structure
Located near Tsubaki Pass, a key transportation route linking Wakasa and Echizen, the castle's residential lower compound retains earthen ramparts, stone walls, stone-lined drainage channels, and building foundations, attesting to its role as a peacetime residence. The upper stronghold includes an outer bailey (the former second enclosure) ringed by earthen ramparts over 2 meters high, and the main enclosure, which had flat-ground gates (hira-koguchi) at its eastern and northwestern sides with stonework partially surviving. The northwestern ridge preserves a renkaku-shiki (linear-enclosure) arrangement of five terraced enclosures. Stonework incorporated after Kimura Sadamitsu's renovation survives, and the site preserves the remains of one of eastern Wakasa's representative Sengoku-period mountain castles.
Present Condition
Selected as No. 139 in the Continuation of the 100 Fine Castles of Japan, the site has the Wakasa Kuniyoshi Castle History Museum at its foot, built on the former site of the Sagaki magistrate's office. The museum displays historical materials related to the castle and the Wakasa Takeda clan. From the museum, it is about a 30-minute hike one-way to the main enclosure. The site is preserved as a Mihama Town Historic Site.
Connection to Swords
Highlights
- Traditionally built in 1556 by Awaya Katsuhisa as a border fortress between Wakasa and Echizen
- Renowned for the sieges in which Katsuhisa repeatedly repelled Asakura clan invasions in the 1560s
- Used by Oda Nobunaga as his base of operations during his 1570 campaign against the Asakura
- Rebuilt with stone walls under Kimura Sadamitsu after originally being an earthen fortification
- Selected as No. 139 in the Continuation of the 100 Fine Castles of Japan; the Wakasa Kuniyoshi Castle History Museum stands at its foot
* Opening hours and admission fees are subject to change. Please check the official website before visiting.