Takeda Castle

The Mountain Castle Floating in Heaven — The Legend of Takeda Castle

Takeda Castle is a mountain castle located at the summit of Kojosan (353.7 meters elevation) in Asago City, Hyogo Prefecture, and is a spectacular castle ruin nationally known as the 'Castle in the Sky' and 'Japan's Machu Picchu.' From autumn through winter, in the early morning hours, temperature differences create a sea of clouds in the valley of the Maruyama River, and the sight of stone walls rising above the clouds as if floating in mid-air is among the most striking castle vistas in Japan, captivating photographers and visitors alike.

Regarding Takeda Castle's founding, several theories exist, but the most widely accepted is that it was constructed around the Kakitsu era (1441–1444) on the orders of Yamana Sozen, a daimyo guardian of Tajima Province, by his retainer Otagaki Terukaage. The Yamana clan held immense power as one of the Four Shogo (deputy shogunate positions) of the Muromachi shogunate, and Takeda Castle served as a key point of their control over Tajima.

The Beauty of Stonework — Technique Carved into a Mountain Castle

One of Takeda Castle's greatest attractions is the network of precisely crafted stone walls built by the Anao craftsmen that spread across the mountaintop. The Anao craftsmen were a group of stonemasons originating from Anao in Omi Province (present-day Shiga Prefecture), and from the Sengoku through Edo periods they undertook the construction of castle stonework throughout the nation. Takeda Castle's stone walls extend across 400 meters north to south and 100 meters east to west—a scale that ranks among Japan's largest for mountain castles.

The walls were primarily constructed using ashlar masonry, skillfully combining carefully dressed stones to achieve high precision and durability. Over four hundred years after its construction, the vast majority of the stonework remains intact and unbroken, serving as living testimony to the advanced stone-working techniques of the Sengoku period.

Standing at the summit and surveying in all directions, to the north lies a succession of Tajima's mountains, to the south spreads the farmland of Harima, to the east extends the highway toward Kyoto, and to the west runs the Sanin Highway. At a glance, it is clear that this was built at a strategic location commanding the approaches from all four directions—a testament to the military geographic acumen of the warlord who constructed Takeda Castle.

The History of Takeda Castle — The Arc of Rise and Fall

Takeda Castle's history is a story condensed from the Sengoku period's rise and fall. Beginning as a castle of the Yamana clan, Takeda Castle developed while changing hands amid various conflicts over dominion of Tajima Province. It was Yamana Shiro Suketoyoshi who held actual power over Tajima from the late Muromachi through Sengoku periods, and Takeda Castle came under his control.

In the latter sixteenth century, during Toyotomi Hideyoshi's (then known as Hashiba Hideyoshi) conquest of Inaba and Tajima provinces, Takeda Castle came under attack by Hideyoshi's forces and fell in Tensho 5 (1577). Thereafter, Kuwayama Shigeharu, who had come under Hideyoshi's command, became castle lord, and subsequently Akamatsu Hirohide entered as the final lord.

Akamatsu Hirohide, after the Battle of Sekigahara (1600), joined the Eastern Army in the assault on Tottori Castle, but was ordered by Tokugawa Ieyasu to commit seppuku after taking responsibility for fires set in the castle town. From that point forward, Takeda Castle fell into disuse, and no castle lord was ever appointed again. The fact that more than four hundred years have passed since abandonment yet the stonework remains is testimony to both the quality of Takeda Castle's construction and the history of the people who have carefully preserved this ruin.

Viewing the Sea of Clouds — The Best Times and Places

The sea of clouds at Takeda Castle is most easily observed in the early morning hours during autumn through winter (roughly September through November, between 4 and 8 a.m.). When rain falls the previous night, the next morning is windless, and temperatures drop low, dense clouds form in the Maruyama River valley. The most popular viewing spot for the sea of clouds is 'Ritsunkyo' (Asago City), located west of Takeda Castle. Ritsunkyo features an observation platform at approximately 350 meters elevation, offering the ideal angle to photograph Takeda Castle and the clouds from across the valley.

The view from Takeda Castle's main keep ruins is equally extraordinary, and the experience of standing directly within the sea of clouds from the castle site is unique to this location. The sea of clouds at dawn—visible only to those who rise early and climb to the summit—is truly a spectacular worthy of the name 'Castle in the Sky.'

The Philosophy of the Sengoku Mountain Castle — Martial Arts and Beauty at the Summit

The philosophy embodied by Takeda Castle represents the Sengoku mountain castle's approach of maximizing the defensive power inherent in steep terrain itself. While flatland castles required vast compounds and complex systems of baileys and moats, mountain castles made the rugged topography itself the primary defense—allowing a small garrison to resist even large attacking forces. In Takeda Castle's case, with only one or two routes to the mountaintop, a small number of troops positioned at the summit could defend for considerable periods.

This design principle of 'fusion between terrain and human artifice' resonates deeply with the philosophy in Japanese sword-making of 'fusion between material and technique.' In the katana, too, artisans maximize the inherent properties of the iron sand as raw material while, through their skill, achieving beauty that transcends the material itself. Takeda Castle's stonework similarly respects the power of the mountain's form as 'raw material,' and through the Anao craftsmen's technique, realizes that power at its fullest expression.

Takeda Castle and TOUKENZA

TOUKENZA's presentation of Takeda Castle is not simply because it is a famous tourist destination. The Sengoku mountain castle's embodiment of 'fusion of harmony with nature and strategic thought' carries a deep philosophy that resonates with the aesthetics of the Japanese katana. The experience of standing at a windswept summit and gazing upon stone walls floating in the heavens is one of the most direct ways to intuitively understand how Japanese samurai culture synthesized nature, material, and technique to simultaneously achieve both beauty and function.

For sword enthusiasts visiting the Kansai region, Takeda Castle, together with Himeji and Sasayama castles, forms a rewarding castle-touring course through which one can experience the Sengoku culture of Tajima and Harima. An autumn dawn spent contemplating Takeda Castle floating in the sea of clouds, while reflecting on the 'Tenka Bushu' (unification and martial prowess) that the Sengoku warlords pursued, brings a singular emotion to the Japanese sword aficionado.