Naegi Castle

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Naegi6.jpg

History

The Toyama clan were lords over this area going back to the 1200's. Naegi Castle itself was built in 1532. In 1583 the Toyama lost control of Naegi Castle in an attack by Mori Nagayoshi and Kawajiri Hidenaga became the new castle lord. Kawajiri died at the Battle of Sekigahara and Naegi Castle was returned to the Toyama clan but Tokugawa Ieyasu. The Toyama clan continued to rule for 12 generations until the Meiji Resoration when when the castle was dismantled in 1871.

In the Edo Period, many mountaintop castles were abandoned in favor of building more accessible castles, but the Toyama clan kept the castle their family had built up over generations. The castle deftly makes use of many of the natural rock outcroppings and boulders found on the mountain. Look at some of the photos of the model of the castle and artist's renderings that can be found at the website link above. Also note that the buildings have a reddish tint to them. They did not coat the clay walls with white plaster earning the castle the nickname of "Red Wall Castle" (Akakabe-jo).

Visit Notes

This is an amazing site and highly recommended for any castle fans despite not having any buildings. The stonework is much more extensive than I had even imagined. The site is well maintained with many signs and great views of the surrounding valleys. This makes it an enjoyable site for anyone. Take your time and be sure to explore all the paths, There is some great stonework and views hidden around the shikirimon area too.

From Nakatsugawa station, take the bus No1 to "Naegi". Takes 15min and costs 380Y. From here, walk 1.5km in the south. If you want to visit other sites in the area, it may be worth taking a taxi for around 2000 yen. If you see other tourist looking types at the station you may be able to split a taxi.
苗木城は大変お勧めできる城跡です。想像以上に石垣が多くて見事です。史跡もよく管理されているし、眺めもいいし、誰でもが楽しめる史跡です。石垣をゆっくり観察して、仕切門への道も是非行っていただきたいです。

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Castle Profile
English Name Naegi Castle
Japanese Name 苗木城
Alternate Names Kasumiga-jo, Akakabe-jo, Takamori-jo
Founder Tôyama Naokado
Year Founded 1532
Castle Type Mountaintop
Castle Condition Ruins only
Designations Next 100 Castles, Top 100 Mountaintop Castles, National Historic Site
Historical Period Edo Period
Features trenches, stone walls
Visitor Information
Access Nakatsugawa Sta. (Chuo Line) 15min Bus
Visitor Information The castle site is always open, free. The museum is open 9:30am-5pm. 320 yen. Closed Mondays (unless a holiday, in which case, closed Tuesday) and 12/27-1/5.
Time Required 2 hrs
Website http://www.city.nakatsugawa.gifu.jp/museum/toyama/naegifort/
Location Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture
Coordinates 35° 30' 48", 137° 29' 7"
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Admin
Year Visited 2014
Visits May 2, 2014
Added to Jcastle 2013


3.33
(6 votes)
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ARTHatamoto

16 months ago
Score 0++
I was just at this incredible ruin. I got the taxi there but walked back. It takes little over half an hour to reach the station if you descend the 48 bend trail [四十八曲り道] from the sannomaru toward the otemon ruin at the foot of the mountain. 30-40 minutes from the otemon trail head to the station, so it's walkable.

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RaymondWHatamoto

58 months ago
Score 0++
My wife and I went to this castle ruin in early October. We took a taxi from Natsugawa Station. It costs around 2,000yen, but I think it saved us a lot of time because of the intermittent buses, and the fact that the nearest bus stop is around a good half an hour walk away to the castle museum and trailhead. Entry into the castle ruin is free, but if you want to see the displays inside the castle museum, it will cost you 310yen. There is a nice model of what the castle looked in its Sengoku days along with the usual displays of armour, weapons and artifacts related to the castle. They have a nice booklet for sale (only 500yen and in Japanese) and worth buying if you want some kind of detailed reference material for Naegi Castle. Well, I don’t know how this isn’t a Top 100 castle because it has plenty of original and restored ishigaki and earthen ramparts. The design of the castle is also quite rare in that the whole castle was built on this hill full of rocky outcrops and massive boulders which have been cleverly integrated into its defensive features and stone walls. The original castle had a lot of its buildings hanging over some of the steep sides, supported by wooden pillars anchored to the steep rocky cliffs. The lookout at the Honmaru tries to recapture some of this architectural feature. The view from the lookout is absolutely fabulous. In the distance looms Mt Ena, which Japanese hikers consider to be one of the top mountains for bushwalking in Japan. We were very lucky as we went to Naegi Castle on a fine day, so we could really enjoy a clear view of the surrounding valleys and mountains. This is a wonderful castle ruin worthy of three stars because of the unusual design, great views, few tourists (not discovered by the masses yet like Takeda Castle), and a good castle museum.

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