Tsutsuhata Castle III

History

The history of Tsutsuhatajō mostly goes along with that of Karidaôjō. It was part of a complex of fortifications built by the Takanashi Clan on their southern border to protect against the advances of the Takeda Clan. Takeda Shingen conquered the castle in 1561. For more information see Karidaôjō (Karidaoh Castle).

Visit Notes

Tsutsuhatajō is a fortification complex consisting of five distinct fort sites. The castles are numbered one through five, with the third being Tsutsuhatajō-Sannoshiro (Tsutsuhata Castle III). Sannoshiro is the most engaging of the ruins of Tsutsuhatajō and appears to have served, at its centre, as the main fort in the group. It has a lower portion, made up of terraced baileys which climb the ridge like a staircase, and an upper portion. The upper portion contains the fort’s integral baileys, which are divided by horikiri (trenches) and dorui (earthen ramparts). Dorui still ensconces the main bailey.

Sannoshiro also has the most masonry remaining of all the forts, and, whilst most of the ramparts have collapsed, remaining standing segments can be found throughout, though some are quite perilous to get a good look at. After seeing so much collapsed masonry, I was very pleased to find these surviving intact segments. Although the scale of the collapsed stone blocks would appear to indicate tall walls, we can see from what survives that the ishigaki (stone-piled ramparts) at Tsutsuhatajō were not so tall, but instead stacked in terraced bands.

Gallery

Ishigaki

Castle Profile
English Name	Tsutsuhata Castle III
Japanese Name	二十端城三ノ城
Founder	Takanashi Clan
Year Founded	From 1492
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Artifacts	Ishigaki, Horikiri, Kuruwa, Dorui, &c.
Features	trenches, stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	Tsusumi Station on the Nagano Electric Line; 25-minute walk to trailhead at Ichinoshiro
Visitor Information	Mountain
Time Required	60 minutes
Location	Obuse, Nagano Prefecture
Coordinates	36° 42' 14.87" N, 138° 20' 36.42" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2022
Contributor	ART
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed
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