Notose Castle (Omi)

From Jcastle.info

OumiNotosejou (3).JPG

History

Notosejō was a fortified residence of the Hori Clan. The Hori were vassals of the Kyōgoku Clan, as well as later the Asai and various other hegemonic clans in the area. It’s amazing that the Hori family withstood the ravages of the Kyōgoku, Rokkaku, Asai and even Oda, serving all those factions at one point, as well as the interventions of the Kinoshita and Tokugawa clans. The family apparently still lives within the moats of the castle to this day, which I suppose is a testament to their mastery of bamboo diplomacy. This branch of the Hori also served Rokkaku Sadanori, and fought for him on two occasions (1525, 1538) when he attacked the Asai.


Visit Notes

Notosejō was a fortified residence. Although the site has been developed over with housing, traces remain of the castle. Namely, there are waterways on three sides, and these used to be moats fed from the Amano River. Though wider than irrigation channels and more angular that natural waterways, they are still rather narrow and may have lost their width in more recent times. From the waterways we can tell that the castle occupied an area which spread about 180m east-west and 120m north-south. Some bloggers say that the layout of the road into the area within the moat is indicative of a koguchi (castle gate) ruin. I became more interested in the old houses within the moat space (the same family which owned the castle still live here apparently), however, but the waterways were interesting, and in one place a walkway runs over one stretch parallel. It’s a nice agri-suburban scene.


Loading map...


Gallery
  • Mizubori


Castle Profile
English Name Notose Castle (Omi)
Japanese Name 近江能登瀬城
Founder Hori Clan
Year Founded c. 1500
Castle Type Fortified Manor
Castle Condition Ruins only
Historical Period Pre Edo Period
Artifacts Mizubori
Features water moats
Visitor Information
Access Nearest stations are Maibara Station and Samegai Station on the Tōkaidō Main Line
Visitor Information Private Property
Time Required 20 minutes
Location Maibara, Shiga Prefecture
Coordinates 35° 19' 51.64" N, 136° 19' 6.71" E
Loading map...
Admin
Added to Jcastle 2022
Contributor ART
Admin Year Visited Viewer Contributed
Friends of JCastle
Yamajiro Ōmi
Jōkaku Tanbō


1.00
(one vote)
Add your comment
Jcastle.info welcomes all comments. If you do not want to be anonymous, register or log in. It is free.