* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Toki-Takayama Castle
土岐高山城
Toki-Takayama Castle is a historic castle in the Chūbu region (Nanboku-cho period (built during the Ryakuo era, 1338–1342) to early Edo period (abandoned 1615)). Its lord was The Takayama clan (5 generations from Takayama Hideyori); Hirai Mitsuyuki and Tanomo; Mori Nagayoshi; Tamaru Naomasa; the Tsumaki clan.
Overview
Overview
Toki-Takayama Castle was a medieval mountain castle built atop a 181-meter peak overlooking the Toki River in Takayama, Tokitsu-cho, Toki City, Gifu Prefecture. It is said to have been built during the Ryakuo era (1338–1342) by Takayama Hideyori (Iga-no-kami) of the Toki clan, and is counted among the sites associated with the origin of the Mino Genji Toki clan. It is designated a Toki City Cultural Property (Historic Site).
From the Takayama to the Hirai Clan
The castle served as the seat of the Takayama clan for five generations beginning with Hideyori, but the line died out for lack of an heir. It then passed through the hands of the Toki clan before, around 1556, Hirai Mitsuyuki was installed as castle lord on the order of Takeda Shingen; his son Tanomo later succeeded him.
Conflict during the Oda–Toyotomi Period
Because the castle lay on the border between the spheres of Oda Nobunaga and the Takeda under Shingen and his son Katsuyori, it was repeatedly fought over. After the Honno-ji Incident of 1582, the castle lord Hirai Tanomo handed the castle over to Mori Nagayoshi, lord of Kanayama Castle, who was pacifying the Tono region, and it then came under Mori control.
The Battle of Sekigahara and Abandonment
After the Mori, the castle passed to Tamaru Naomasa, lord of Iwamura Castle. In the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Naomasa's forces, aligned with the Western Army, held the castle but fell to an attack by Tsumaki Yoritada of the Eastern Army. The castle then passed to the Tsumaki clan but was abandoned in 1615 under the One Castle per Province edict.
Structure and Present Condition
Built entirely of mudstone with cliffs on three sides forming a natural stronghold, the castle had an outer bailey, second bailey, main bailey, and third bailey, and a roughly 3-meter-high earthen platform believed to be a turret base survives. A reconstructed watchtower now offers a view over Toki City, and in 2016 the surrounding area was developed by Gifu Prefecture as an environmental conservation model forest called "Toki-Takayama Castle Ruins Forest," planted with weeping plum trees and about 350 flowering peach trees, with autumn foliage illumination held each year.
Connection to Takayama-juku
At the foot of the castle lies Takayama-juku, a post town that flourished on the Shimo-kaido road from the Edo through Meiji periods, bustling with pilgrims bound for Zenko-ji and Ise Shrine as well as goods transport.
Highlights
- Toki-Takayama Castle Ruins Forest (weeping plum and flowering peach)
- View from the reconstructed watchtower
* Opening hours and admission fees are subject to change. Please check the official website before visiting.