| Founder | Hatakeyama Clan |  |
| Year | 1394-1427 | |
| Type | Mountaintop | |
| Condition | Other Buildings | |
| Alternate Name | Kasumiga-jo | |
| Admin's Rating | ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ | |
| Historical Site | National Historic Site | |
| Historical Value | Top 100 Castles | |
| Location | Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture | |
| Map | Google Map | |
| Access | Nihonmatsu Station (Tohoku Honsen), 15 minute walk | |
| Website | Nihonmatsu City Website | |
| Visited | November 1997, September 13, 2003 | |
| Notes | The honmaru and it's stone walls site on top of the mountain a short hike from the reconstructed Minowa Gate you see in the picture above. It is definitely worth the trip up to see not only this but the awesome view of the surrounding area. The Chrysanthemum Festival which begins in October and runs into November was also quite impressive. | |
| History |
The castle currently known as Kasumiga-jo (Nihonmatsu-jo) actually encompasses two different castles. At the top of the hill are the remnants of the original castle built by the Hatakeyama in the Muromachi period (1333-1573) somewhere between 1394-1427. The exact date is unknown. At the base of the hill are the remnants of the castle built by the Niwa clan. Each of these castles experienced its own separate demise. Hatakeyama Yoshitsugu captured Date Terumune, Date Masamune 's father, in 1585 and tried to take him back to Nihonmatsu. Upon hearing this, Masamune, who was out hunting, took off on his horse and caught up with Hatakeyama Yoshitsugu near the Abukuma River. He and his men shot the whole party dead and Terumune was killed in the struggle. Hearing of the weakness of Nihonmatsu, a group of samurai from Hitachi (Ibaraki prefecture), including men from the Satake, Ashina, Iwaki and Ishikawa clans, set out to take Nihonmatsu for themselves. They clashed with the Date forces near present day Motomiya (between Koriyama and Nihonmatsu). This was known as the battle of Hitotoribashi. The battle ended in a standstill and Kasumiga-jo stood independent from both forces. In April of the following year (1586) Date Masamune's forces once again laid seige to Kasumiga-jo. In July the son of Hatakeyama Yoshitsugu set fire to the castle and fled to Aizu. Thus the original castle at Nihonmatsu met its interesting demise. The second castle was then built at the base of the hill and controlled by various families loyal to the Date, with the Niwa clan controlling it from 1643 until the Meiji Restoration. |
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8 Viewer Comments
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Eric
September 25, 2012 at 08:20 PM
The construction work that is under progress is actually fixing damage from the quake in 2011.
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Ben
September 25, 2012 at 03:21 PM
We visited Nihonmatsu in early September. The grounds were really worth the visit. They are in the process of completely reconstructing the tenshu walls, so this was blocked off -- but it looks like they are getting close to completion, so this will make it even more worthwhile.
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Usagi
on
My Page
January 02, 2012 at 07:44 PM
Visited this castle in combination with Shirakawa. The grounds of the two castle ruins associated with Nihonmatsu are well worth the visit. Kris has a good write up of the features of this castle and I agree walking through the grounds as the sun is setting has a magical feel.
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Eric
January 02, 2011 at 10:18 PM
fixed. Thanks Kris!
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Kris
December 31, 2010 at 09:18 PM
Above link also seems to be broken. Try http://www.nihonmatsu-kanko.jp/kasumigazyo.html
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Kris
on
My Page
December 31, 2010 at 09:17 PM
I walked to the castle from the station – the rekishikan, site of the Otemon, and an old-fashioned sweet store are on the way. The stone steps were a brilliant white and the water near the wisteria arbor was frozen except where the 7 step waterfall splashed into the frozen lake. Along with the white-topped umbrella pine there were many different types of pine trees at Nihonmatsu, making for a nice contrast of green and white. Also, there was something hauntingly magnificent in the sun sinking down over the western mountains and filling the snow-covered keep with light and shadows. They had several bilingual signs explaining the historical significance of the stone walls. (Thumbs up). In the grand Japanese tradition of uta-makura and top 100 lists, Nihonmatsu is one of the top 100 castles, the top 100 scenic places for cherry blossom viewing, but it also has one of the Nihon San-I, the 3 wells of Japan. That was a first for me; Hikage-no-Ido (the well of sunbeams) forms a trio with Tsukikage-no-Ido (the well of moonbeams) and Hoshikage-no-Ido (the well of starlight). The well sits, singularly unimpressive, beside a small shrine to Tengu, but the names really stirred my imagination. Next to the carpark is the 'Stone of Exhortation' – another great name! In 1749, Takahiro Niwa engraved his exhortation to retainers on a block of granite to remind them to be humble. The idea was copied from China but I think it is a good idea – we should have more exhortation stones around.
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Webmaster
June 21, 2009 at 06:24 PM
a lot of museums in Japan tend to be closed on Mondays unless it's a National Holiday. For Nihonmatsu Castle I think it is just a park so you can get in anytime, but for Komine Castle you should definitely go when it is open so you can go inside the nicely reconstructed keep. You can try to call or email them from their website http://www.shirakawa.ne.jp/~kyokai/siro/index.htm
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Anonymous
June 19, 2009 at 09:00 AM
I am thinking of heading up to Nihonmatsujo and Kominejo on a Monday. I have been disappointed on a few trips to other castles, because a lot of castles seem to be closed on Mondays. I can't seem to find any information to say if the above 2 castles will be closed. I don't want to waste another expensive trip to suffer the same fate as before. Does anyone know if they will be open?
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