* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Wakasa Onigajō Castle
若桜鬼ヶ城
- Lord
- Yabe Terutane (founder); the Yabe clan; Kinoshita Shigekata; Yamazaki Iemori and Ieharu
- Era
- Traditionally founded after 1200 (Shōji 2) by Yabe Terutane; abandoned in 1617 (Genna 3) under the one-castle-per-domain edict
- Designation
- National Historic Site (designated March 28, 2008); Continuation of the 100 Fine Castles of Japan (No. 168, selected April 6, 2017)
- Location
- Mount Tsuruo (452m), Wakasa Town, Yazu District, Tottori Prefecture
- Access
- About 45 minutes on foot from the Yahata Plaza trailhead near Wakasa Station on the Wakasa Railway Wakasa Line, and other trailheads, to the main enclosure (honmaru) at the summit. From the free parking area, it is about 10 minutes on foot to the main enclosure.
Wakasa Onigajō Castle is a historic castle in the Chūgoku region (Traditionally founded after 1200 (Shōji 2) by Yabe Terutane; abandoned in 1617 (Genna 3) under the one-castle-per-domain edict). Its lord was Yabe Terutane (founder); the Yabe clan; Kinoshita Shigekata; Yamazaki Iemori and Ieharu.
Overview
Overview
Wakasa Onigajō Castle is a mountain castle built on Mount Tsuruo (452 m) in Wakasa Town, Yazu District, Tottori Prefecture. Located at a strategic point in eastern Inaba Province where the roads leading to Harima and Tajima provinces converge, it was a prize contested from the medieval period through the early Edo period.
History and Succession of Lords
It is said to have been built by Yabe Terutane after Shōji 2 (1200), and the Yabe clan governed the area from the Kamakura period to the late Sengoku period. In the Sengoku period it became a stage for rivalry among the Amago, Mōri, and Oda forces. In the 6th month of Tenshō 3 (1575), the castellan, a Yabe whose given name is unrecorded, was captured through a stratagem by Yamanaka Yukimori (Shikanosuke), and the castle fell into the hands of the Amago restoration army. In the same year, Yamanaka and others resisted an attack by Kikkawa Motoharu, but the following year, Tenshō 4, they abandoned the castle and withdrew. Afterwards, when the Oda army under Hashiba Hideyoshi invaded Inaba Province, the castle became their base. After the siege of Tottori Castle in 1581 (Tenshō 9), Kinoshita Shigekata took up residence with 20,000 koku; after the Battle of Sekigahara, Yamazaki Iemori entered with 30,000 koku, and the Yamazaki clan continued to hold the castle through the time of Yamazaki Ieharu. In 1617 (Genna 3), the castle was abandoned under the one-castle-per-domain edict.
Structure
A renkaku-shiki (linear enclosure) mountain castle, with the main enclosure (honmaru), second enclosure (ni-no-maru), and third enclosure (san-no-maru) lined up in steps on the summit. From the tenshudai, the roads extending toward Tajima and Harima provinces can be seen at a glance, allowing visitors to experience the site's position as a road junction. Besides the masugata gate enclosed by stone walls, special gates remain, including the "corridor bridge gate" (rōka-bashi koguchi) and the "dead-end gate" (ikidomari koguchi). Most of the stone walls at the summit were thoroughly destroyed, while the hexagonal stone walls (rokkaku ishigaki) remaining north of the main enclosure are nearly completely intact, with characteristically obtuse-angled joints. It has been pointed out that they were built in an era earlier than the summit remains and were likely used during the medieval period.
Present Condition
Designated a National Historic Site on March 28, 2008 (Heisei 20), and selected as No. 168 in the Continuation of the 100 Fine Castles of Japan in 2017 (Heisei 29). The view of the stone walls on the mountaintop above the townscape of Wakasa-juku, a post town at the foot of the mountain, is said to be rare even nationally. From the Yahata Plaza trailhead near Wakasa Station on the Wakasa Railway Wakasa Line and other trailheads, it takes about 45 minutes on foot to reach the main enclosure at the summit.
Highlights
- Traditionally founded after 1200 by Yabe Terutane at a strategic crossroads in eastern Inaba Province
- Briefly seized in 1575 through a stratagem by Yamanaka Yukimori (Shikanosuke)
- Features a "corridor bridge gate" (Rōka-hashi-guchi) and a "dead-end gate" (Ikidomari-guchi), unique gate types
- A hexagonal stone wall north of the main enclosure, believed to be a medieval-era structure
- Designated a National Historic Site in 2008; selected as No. 168 in the Continuation of the 100 Fine Castles of Japan
* Opening hours and admission fees are subject to change. Please check the official website before visiting.