Takiyama Castle

Connection to Swords

Takiyama Castle's connection to swords is deeply intertwined with the Later Hōjō clan's martial culture and the history of sword distribution in the Kanto region. Hōjō Ujiteru was a military commander who possessed both practical ability and cultural refinement, establishing the Sōshū sword tradition—rooted in Odawara, the Later Hōjō's stronghold—at Takiyama Castle. "Sōshū blades" (sōshuumono) are a sword tradition originating with Masamune in the Kamakura period, and the Later Hōjō became inheritors of this sword culture by controlling Sagami Province. Ujiteru's lord, Hōjō Ujimasa, was renowned as a sword collector, and Odawara Castle housed numerous celebrated blades. Takiyama Castle, serving as a western defensive stronghold, also functioned as a relay point in the sword distribution network flowing from the Kyoto and Kinai regions. Modern Hachioji City is renowned as a center of blade production, with swordsmiths known as the "Shimohara smiths" (Shimohara blades) operating from the Muromachi through Edo periods. Swordsmiths are believed to have also conducted business in Takiyama Castle's castle town, and this historical connection between the castle and swords has been inherited to the present-day local industries. After Ujiteru moved from Takiyama Castle to Hachioji Castle, smiths from the old castle town remained in place and became the founders of Hachioji's blade and metalworking industries. The "Hōjō Path," connecting Takiyama Castle ruins to Hachioji Castle ruins, serves as an ideal historic walking route linking sites of sword-related heritage.