Matsugasaki Castle (Yamashiro)

History

Matsugasaki Castle appears in a few records from the 1500's but the exact origin is unknown. It was likely a satellite castle of the Yamamoto clan's castle network in Northern Kyoto centered around Iwakura. The Yamamoto came to the aid of Ashikaga Yoshiaki when he was besieged by Oda Nobunaga, but lost their lands. Matsugasaki Castle was likely abandoned at this time.

Visit Notes

Matsugasaki Castle is a satellite fortification situated on a small promontory with a fantastic view of Kyoto, Mt. Hiei, overlooking the roads into Northern Kyoto and naturally protected by the Takano River. Despite its small size (roughly 100m along the ridge) it has a most ideal position for helping to control northern Kyoto.

This is a very short and simple walk from Shugakuin Station. Shiroyama is covered in trails that are frequented by locals for good walking and light hiking. Some of them are hard to find and follow. The first trail I tried from the Daikokuten Temple (closest to Shugakuin Station) seemed to disappear and I ended up scrambling up the mountainside to reach the top well beyond where I was supposed to come up. It is probably easiest to take the well marked "A Course" from the Takaragaike Lake, which is about 20+ minutes walk from Shugakuin. Once at the top just keep following the ridge past the marked hiking trails to the end of the ridge. The last 100m or so is the castle ruin and you should be able to see some slight embankment and trench ruins that remain.

Despite very few ruins that only an experienced mountain castle go'er would likely recognize, the mountain is castle shiroyama, or "castle mountain". On the opposite side of the castle (left of the photos below) you will see a cleared open space. This is the famous 法 character that is light up as part of the O-bon "okuribi" festival. The 大 or "dai" character is most well known but there are actually 5 symbols on the mountains around Kyoto.

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Gallery

dead end trail
Mt. Hiei

Castle Profile
English Name	Matsugasaki Castle (Yamashiro)
Japanese Name	松ヶ崎城
Founder	Yamamoto clan (?)
Year Founded	15th C.
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features
Visitor Information
Access	Shugakuin Sta. (Eizan Railway); 25 mins walk
Visitor Information	mountain trails, open any time
Time Required	20 mins
Location	Kyoto, Kyoto
Coordinates	35° 3' 19.22" N, 135° 47' 18.92" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2022
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2021
Admin Visits	October 23, 2021

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