Shoumanji Fort

History

Shōmanji-toride was a fortified temple which was part of the Mikawa Ikkō-Ikki uprising in 1563. It was one of three major temple-forts used by the militant sect as their bases, the others being Honshōji and Jōgūji. The temple garrison, under the command of Ôkubo Tadayo, holed up, but were defeated, and the temple-fort complex was burnt to the ground in January, 1564. The uprising was vanquished by Matsudaira Motoyasu (known chiefly to history as Tokugawa Ieyasu) at the Battle of Azukizaka in July, 1564, which took place near the destroyed temple; a stele commemorating this battle can be found a few neighbourhoods to the northeast.

Visit Notes

I visited Honshōji, a largely intact temple-fortress, in 2020 (and again in June 2023), and at that time I mentioned in my write-up for the site that there were two other fortified temples alongside it used by the Mikawa Ikkō-Ikki: Jōgūji and Shōmanji. This is Shōmanji. There’s not much left in terms of ruins from that time, but in the west the plateau slopes off steeply adjacent to the temple’s necropolis, and below here is the trace of a dry moat. These old earthworks are now deformed and overgrown, and some old headstones have been unceremoniously dumped here, but it’s the closest we can get to fortification ruins at this site.

Gallery

Trench

Castle Profile
English Name	Shoumanji Fort
Japanese Name	勝鬘寺砦
Founder	Mikawa Ikkō-Ikki
Year Founded	c. 1563
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Artifacts	Karabori
Features	trenches
Visitor Information
Access	JR Okazaki Station on the Tokaido Main Line; 10 minute walk to temple.
Visitor Information	24/7 free; temple
Time Required	15 minutes
Location	Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture
Coordinates	34° 55' 5.59" N, 137° 9' 14.58" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2023
Contributor	ART
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed
Friends of JCastle
Jōkaku Hōrōki
Umoreta Kojō
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