Norisada Castle

History

Norisadajō was a castle used by the Norisada-Suzuki Clan. It is said to have been built by Suzuki Tomonosuke, but 'Tomonosuke' was a patronymic middle name used by many patriarchs of the Shachinomi-Suzuki, so that doesn't tell us much. Norisadajō is also said to have been a satellite fortification of Shiijō, but may have been the main base of the Norisada-Suzuki at one point. The Suzuki Clan in Mikawa submitted to the Matsudaira Clan following the defeat of the Asuke-Suzuki to Matsudaira Kiyoyasu. Norisadajō was abandoned in 1590 when Suzuki Shigetsugu relocated to Kantō alongside his liege, Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Visit Notes

Norisadajō is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin in Norisada Township, Toyota Municipality. Ruins are earthworks. The trail goes from the west, at the bottom of the road in the shadow of the hill, beside the quarry. Beware: the trail is narrow and slippy.

There is a row of baileys along the ridge leading up to the hilltop where the main bailey is located. The lowest of the sequential ridge baileys actually has the highest berm, and it appears well sculpted like for a fortification. The upper baileys only have low berms and thus may have been converted to agricultural use after the castle was abandoned. The lower castle is now used as a cedar plantation, and the upper is full of bamboo groves.

The main bailey is accessed via an angled ramp climbing to a gate site atop tall earthen embankments. This gate complex is the most impressive feature of the castle ruins in my view. There is also a segment of dorui (earthen ramparts) remaining by the bailey entrance, which would've formed a parapet wall. The main bailey is wide and is surrounded by an obikuruwa (belt bailey) below. The obikuruwa was either roped off or completely overgrown with bamboo, so I didn't access it, but looked at it from the main bailey above. The rear of the castle site also evidently has sub-baileys, but they are difficult to access.

Gallery

Dobashi / causeway to bailey and ramparts

Castle Profile
English Name	Norisada Castle
Japanese Name	則定城
Founder	Norisada-Suzuki
Year Founded	Sengoku Period
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Artifacts	Dorui, Dobashi, Kuruwa, &c.
Features
Visitor Information
Access	Toyota City Bus. Access ridge from west road.
Visitor Information	24/7 free; mountain
Time Required	30 minutes
Location	Toyota, Aichi Prefecture
Coordinates	35° 6' 7.49" N, 137° 15' 26.35" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2024
Contributor	ART
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed
Friends of JCastle
Jōkaku Hōrōki
Kojōshi Tanbō
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