Kameyama Castle

History

The original Kameyama Castle was founded by Seki Sanetada in 1264 to the west of the present Kameyama Castle. When Seki Kazumasa was relocated to Shirakawa in 1590, Okamoto Munenori was given control of the castle. Okamoto moved the castle ot the southeast and constructed all the main structures. In 1632 when the Tokugawa Government issued a declaration that the main keep of Kameyama Castle in Tanba be rebuilt, Horio Tadazane confused it with this Kameyama Castle (in Ise) and destroyed the main keep and started work on the stone walls before the mistake was discovered. Even so, the Tokugawa government would not grant them permission to rebuild the main keep at (Ise) Kameyama Castle, so it was never rebuilt. Some also say, that this was all part an elaborate plan by the Tokugawa government. In 1636, Honda Toshitsugu moved into the castle and built a tamon yagura on the site of the original main keep that was mistakenly destroyed. He also renamed a three story yagura in the honmaru and used it as a main keep.

Visit Notes

The tamon yagura in these pictures is original

Gallery

main keep
tamon yagura

Castle Profile
English Name	Kameyama Castle
Japanese Name	亀山城
Alternate Names	Kocho-jo
Founder	Okamoto Munenori
Year Founded	1590
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	No main keep but other buildings
Historical Period	Edo Period
Features	turrets, stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	Kameyama Sta. (Kansai Line); 10 min. walk
Visitor Information
Time Required
Website	http://www.city.kameyama.mie.jp/kanko/shiseki.html
Location	Kameyama, Mie Prefecture
Coordinates	34° 51' 22.21" N, 136° 27' 2.02" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2008
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed

1.83

(12 votes)

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ARTShogun

15 days ago

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I have embossed the gallery with some more recent pictures showing the renovated yagura, and some other stuff like earthworks and surrounding architecture.

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ARTShogun

85 months ago

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Kameyama Castle is a small site with an originally built turret atop of a high and sturdy ishigaki (stone wall) segment. There are archaeological remains of dorui (earthen ramparts), particularly where you can tell that yagura (turrets) and a gate once stood by the shape of the mounds.

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ARTShogun

88 months ago

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Now i completely understand, thanks for clarifying, Eric.

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Jcastle.oldHatamoto

88 months ago

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ART, you have the facts basically together. The original main keep on this site was destroyed. What you see is an original yagura that was built on the site of the main keep. Restoration work done in the Meiji Period and later neglected to cover the walls with white paster. The restoration work this time added the plaster returning it to the way it looked at the end of the Edo Period.

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ARTShogun

89 months ago

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What's the deal with the yagura? It's now white. So far i've read that, 1. The above pictured yagura is original, 2. The original yagura was destroyed somehow and 3. The new white yagura is truer to the original.

Well not all of these things can be true!

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FurinkazanHatamoto

116 months ago

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The works are done and i'll send some photos to the webmaster when back home. There is really not much to see here. If i wasn't in the vicinity, i wouldn't get at this site.

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RaymondWDaimyo

145 months ago

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Missed the connecting train to Matsusaka, so decided to pop out of the JR station and quickly re-visit this castle ruin before the next train came in 45 minutes. Well, there isn't much to see as the turret built on top of the tenshudai is being restored to a more original condition. Once it is finished, it will have white walls and more authentic windows like the ones you can see in other turrets and gates found at other Japanese castles. The restoration is scheduled to finish by 31st March 2012.

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RaymondWDaimyo

182 months ago

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Went to Kameyama Castle on the same day as Iga-Ueno. The place in early December looks pretty much as it does in the photos on this website. However, you cannot walk around most of the area around the yagura as part of the tenshu base is being repaired. On the sign, it said that it would be done by Boxing Day 2008. You cannot go inside the yagura as it is closed to the public. This castle ruin is easily accessible from JR Kameyama Station, around 8 to 10 minutes on foot. From JR Iga-Ueno to JR Kameyama, it takes around 45 minutes. There is only one train every hour. Go and see this castle if you are in the area, but I would not go out of my way to seek this out.

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