Ogoe Castle

From Jcastle.info

Ogoe2.jpg

History

It is believed that the castle was founded as early as 1566 by Ōgoe Akimitsu, though this is unclear. Ōgoe served Tamura Kiyoaki, lord of Miharu Castle. By 1586 the Ōgoe clan, possessing a fief of about 10,000 koku, were fighting for the Sōma in the long-standing war for territory between them and the Date clan. In 1588 the Date assaulted the castle and set fire to the town at its base, but their attack was ultimately repulsed. In 1589, war broke out between the Date and Iwaki clans and Ōgoe submitted to the Date and fought for them but he was captured by Iwaki Tsunetaka and was compelled to commit seppuku. Initially Ōgoe’s descendants retained control of the castle but thereafter the Tamura clan took over.


Visit Notes

Ogoe Castle is actually quite a large and interesting mountaintop castle. There are terraced baileys down two or three ridges, a few trenches, embankments and huge boulders scattered about the site. It is moderately well marked for some of the main areas. I went off trail and tried to go down a couple of the ridges but the dense woods make it impossible to get photos that show off much of these baileys or other ruins.

The story of the Jcastle.info website actually begins when I was an assistant Junior High School English Teacher in a little town in Fukushima called Ogoe (now part of Tamura City) in 1997. At the time I started to develop some interest in castles through my "blog" (even though the word didn't exist yet) about travels around Tohoku. One of the Board of Education people told me there was a large castle on the mountain right behind the Board of Education offices (Ogoe Budokan). We once took the afternoon off and walked up there to look around but I didn't see any castle. I only saw weeds and mosquitoes. At the time I was only interested in castles that had "something to see" (buildings, big stone walls). Ohh, how naive I was back then! Had I known more I could have easily made it a daily walk since I lived nearby too.

Original profile contributed by ART (2016), Profile updated and photos replaced by Eric (2021)


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Gallery
  • East Yakata
  • East Yakata Horikiri trench
  • Honmaru Entrance
  • Honmaru
  • Ninomaru
  • West Yakata
  • well


Castle Profile
English Name Ogoe Castle
Japanese Name 大越城
Alternate Names Narukami-jo
Founder Ōgoe Akimitsu
Year Founded 1566
Castle Type Mountaintop
Castle Condition Ruins only
Historical Period Pre Edo Period
Features trenches
Visitor Information
Access Ban'etsu East Line, Ogoe Station (15 min walk)
Visitor Information park, open any time
Time Required 120 mins
Location Tamura, Fukushima Prefecture
Coordinates 37° 22' 59.27" N, 140° 37' 27.01" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle 2016
Contributor ART
Admin Year Visited 2020
Admin Visits December 13, 2020
Friends of JCastle
Kojodan - Ogoe Castle
Jokaku Horoki - Ogoe Castle


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ARTShogun

90 months ago
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I had an enjoyable time picking out the remains of this mountain castle: these included worked stones which supported gates, troughs cut through mountain ridges in impressive “V” shapes and the flattened baileys. The mountainside was also covered in huge boulders. I also saw, when I was inspecting a boulder for signs of masonry, the largest ant I’ve ever seen, about an inch long or more with red markings. Those mandibles look like they could cut into human flesh. Go back to your cave, mountain ant!
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ARTShogun

95 months ago
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Ha! I was just looking at the sites along the Suigin Line. 雲霧城&守山城 both look interesting too. Tanakura's moats are very neat like a Kofun's. I'll be sure to go at some point. Close to me are also sites in North Ibaraki and a site north of Iwaki which has become recently accessible owing to evacuation orders being lifted around the Fukushima Daiichi plant. I'm not planning any big trips over the next month so these local sites may be ideal.
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Jcastle.oldHatamoto

95 months ago
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Your next mission, should you choose to accept it, is to scope out Tanakura Castle. :)
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ARTShogun

95 months ago
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Thank you, Eric, for recommending this site to me. I had a good time exploring these ruins.