Nochiseyama Castle

History

A branch of the Takeda Clan from Kai (present day Yamanashi Prefecture) moved to Wakasa (western Fukui Prefecture) sometime in the middle of the Muromachi Period (1338-1573). The earlier Takeda lords based themselves in Kyoto and were lords in absentia. However, Takeda Motomitsu, a fifth generation Wakasa Takeda lord, decided to live in Wakasa. In 1522, he built Nochiseyama Castle on a 168m mountain overlooking Obama Bay. The castle stretches 500 metres from north to south, and there are 139 baileys spread out over this mountaintop fortress. It is the biggest mountaintop castle in Wakasa. The Wakasa Takeda lords ruled Nochiseyama Castle until the eighth generation lord, Takeda Motoaki. After the defeat of the Wakasa Takeda Clan by the Echizen Asakura Clan in 1568, the castle was abandoned.

In 1574, one of Oda Nobunaga’s generals, Niwa Nagahide, became the new lord of Nochiseyama Castle. The stone stairs and wall remnants found mainly around the honmaru (main bailey) were not built by the Takeda Clan, but instead they were the results of successive improvements made to the castle by the following castle lords, Asano Nagamasa (1587-1593) and Kinoshita Katsutoshi (1593-1600). After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Kyogoku Takatsugu became the lord of Nochiseyama Castle. Within a year, he decided to relocate and construct a new castle, Obama Castle at the river delta of Kitagawa (North River) and Minamigawa (South River). Subsequently, Nochiseyama Castle was decommissioned in 1615 according to the sign found at the trailhead. However, another Japanese source states that it was only decommissioned at a much later date in the 1640s after the completion of both Obama Castle and the new castle town. In 1997, it was designated a national historic site.

Visit Notes

The trailhead is around a ten minute walk from Obama Station. It is near the tunnel on Route 27 and just behind a small Panasonic Service shop located opposite a petrol station. There is a free colour pamphlet about Nochiseyama Castle provided by Obama City available at the trailhead. During the Edo Period, the Atago Shrine was built at the site of the main bailey.

Gallery

Honmaru Stone walls
View of the mountain from Route 27
Stairs up to the main bailey
Atago Shrine
Dobashi, earthen bridge.
terraced baileys
Path in the mountain
Kuruwagun Set of Terraced Baileys
Map
Ishigaki around Main Bailey (ART)
Large horikiri (trench)
Map (Large)
Shukuruwa ishigaki from below
Dobashi (earthen bridge) and trenches along the ridge
Ishigaki beneath shukuruwa dorui
Tatebori (climbing moats) in rows
Atop of earthen ramparts of main bailey; dorui
Approach to main bailey and ramparts

Castle Profile
English Name	Nochiseyama Castle
Japanese Name	後瀬山城
Alternate Names	Takedashi-jo
Founder	Takeda Motomitsu
Year Founded	1522
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Designations	Top 100 Mountaintop Castles, National Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	trenches, stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	Obama Station on the Obama Line; 5 minute walk to trailhead at the torii of Atago Shrine
Visitor Information	Hiking trail. Open 24/7. Free.
Time Required	2 hours
Website	http://info.pref.fukui.jp/bunka/bunkazai/sitei/siseki/obama-nochiseyamajo.html
Location	Obama, Fukui Prefecture
Coordinates	35° 29' 18.06" N, 135° 44' 20.98" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2014
Contributor	RaymondW
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed
Friends of JCastle
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2.50

(2 votes)

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RaymondWDaimyo

17 months ago

Score 0

ART, thanks for adding some photos and a comment to enhance this castle profile, so Jcastle users wanting to go to this castle can get a better idea of what to expect and plan for on their visit. You have certainly explored this castle ruin more thoroughly than I did when I went nearly a decade ago. I guess this is another castle ruin that I will have to re-visit. No worries, I love re-visiting castles as that is the best way to fully appreciate castles and castle ruins.

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ARTShogun

17 months ago

Score 0

The lead picture does not represent the masonry at this site, so I’ve added pictures of the main bailey ishigaki as seen from without, and other features to the gallery.

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ARTShogun

21 months ago

Score 1

I went here and was made up with it. I visited most of the vast site, climbing up from behind the Hachiman shrine to see that ridge spur. There was a well formed dobashi and trench complex there, as well as lots of terracing, so I’m glad I went up that way. Much of the old stone work is difficult to see as it is on the outside of the main bailey without sub-baileys to give easy purchase below. So, rather dubiously in the muddy conditions, I got down at various points around the slope, and took some pictures of it. It appears that the ishigaki on the inside of the dorui next to the kami house is possibly re-piled in later times, and that the outer cladding of ishigaki is older. I was also impressed by the tatebori lining the slopes in the southwest. There is a (very modest) restored portion of dorui at the kyokan site. I’ll add more commentary later, as well as some more pictures for the gallery. Top site!

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RaymondWDaimyo

128 months ago

Score 0

This castle ruin is also easy walking distance from JR Obama Station, you can easily get in Obama Castle and Nochiseyama Castle in one day. It is on the opposite side to Obama Castle and takes only around 8 minutes to get to the trailhead from Obama Station. The initial part of the trail up to the castle ruin is fairly steep, but the local authorities have put in steps on the trail, so it is fairly easy to get up and down the trail. At the start of the trail, there is a massive vertical ditch (Tatebori in Japanese) which can be seen. About 15 minutes or so up the steep trail, it levels out, and there is a sign in Japanese indicating a series of terraced baileys. No original structures have survived at this castle ruin, but you can see some stone walls up at the main bailey, stone stairs, earthworks, moats, and an earthen bridge linking two baileys. Around the main bailey, the ishigaki (stone walls) are around 1.5 metres high. Also, on the main path just below the main bailey, there are some stone wall remnants on the terraced baileys and stone stairs. This is one castle ruin off most castle fans’ radar, so my wife and I practically had the whole place to ourselves. We only bumped into one other castle fan while we were there. It is a national historic site, and for those who enjoy a bushwalk around a castle ruin, this is a nice one, worthy of at least a one-star rating.

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