Tsutsuhata Castle V

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.

Visit Notes

Tsutsuhatajō is a fortification complex consisting of five distinct fort sites. The castles are numbered one through five, with the fifth being Tsutsuhatajō-Gonoshiro (Tsutsuhata Castle V). Gonoshiro is a castle with terraces and terraced mini baileys demarcating integral baileys, and although there are no horikiri (bisecting trenches), there is some evidence of tatebori (climbing trenches). Another unique feature compared to the other forts in its group is the terracing of the southern slope of the mountain with various terraced minor baileys. In particular a ledge of baileys divided by tatebori is formed. I wasn’t sure I would get down the slope, considering I wanted to save my energy, but I could clearly see some earthworks from above, and so I went down to investigate. It’s lucky I did because I also found what looked like kofun (ancient burial mounds) here (the fact that they weren’t on the map I was using by Yogo-sensei made me think that he had skipped this part of the castle complex). The entrance to the kofun appeared to make use of arched stones, a method I did not consider to have been available in the Kofun period, and so I also wondered if these weren’t built or augmented as wells or storage spaces for the castle.

Sometimes I comment on nature. I was surrounded by thousands of small butterflies at Gonoshiro, and they appeared to be disguised as autumn leaves falling from the trees. That was incredible.

Gallery

Castle Profile
English Name	Tsutsuhata Castle V
Japanese Name	二十端城五ノ城
Founder	Takanashi Clan
Year Founded	From 1492
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Artifacts	Tatebori, Kuruwa, Ishigaki, &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	40 minutes
Location	Obuse, Nagano Prefecture
Coordinates	36° 41' 56.94" N, 138° 20' 51.68" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2022
Contributor	ART
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed
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