Kuroi Castle is a local hero, Naomasa Ogino’s castle. On the other hand, it is known for the activity of the nationwide hero, Mitsuhide Akechi as well.
Features
Arriving at Top
You will reach the top of the mountain with a little more climbing. After you pass the second wire gate, you will see a different appearance of the castle ruins from what you have seen so far. The enclosures on the top are all surrounded by stone walls which you can see from the foot as well. The difference came from the period each part was finally built. The part above the gate was completed by Mitsuhide Akechi or the later lords, while the part below the gate was left as it was after Naomasa Ogino built it. The gate was installed probably in order to protect the stone walls from being destroyed by animal invasion.
Arriving at the top soonThe second wire gateThe Eastern Enclosure in the front and the Third Enclosure in the back
Three Enclosures on Top with Great Views
The layout of the top area is connected by three enclosures, the front Third, the central Second, and back Main Enclosures. They are surrounded by plain other enclosures, such as the Eastern Enclosure, and each has its own altered gate on their side. The stone walls use natural stones which were collected from neighboring places. Historians point out these features can be seen in other castles Nobunaga or his retainers built. They also say the stone walls of Kuroi Castle were built to show authority to the people.
The map arond the main portion of the castle
The Third Enclosure in the front and the Second Enclosure in the backThe entrance of the Second EnclosureLooking at the Third Enclosure from the Second EnclosureLooking at the Main Enclosure from the Second EnclosureThe entrance of the Main EnclosureThe inside of the Main Enclosure
Finally, please enjoy a great panoramic view of the area around from the top. It’s worthwhile to climb over 200m from the foot of the mountain.
A view from the Third EnclosureA view from the Main Enclosure
Later History
The ruins of Kuroi Castle were designated as a National Historic Site in 1989 while they have long been part of hiking courses on Inokuchi Mountain. Therefore, it needs to be established both how to preserve the ruins and how to use the courses. Tanba City made the basic plan for the development of the Kuroi Castle Ruins in 2018. It installed an aluminum stairways into the stone wall gates on the top to preserve it based on the plan. However, some hikers argued that the stairways spoiled the scenery. As a result, the city painted the stairways brown in response. The controversial discussion will continue.
The brown-painted stairway at the Second Enclosure
My Impression
I met a person who said he climbs the mountain to the castle ruins on the top every day, wearing a T-shirt of Naomasa Akai (Ogino). I thought that Kuroi Castle is his local hero, Naomasa’s castle. On the other hand, officials also feature Mitsuhide Akechi who took the castle away from Nomasa’s successor and probably built its stone walls. The castle is known for the activity of the nationwide hero as well. The appearance of the castle ruins actually indicate the two periods, which is a great legacy of the Japanese history. I would like to visit other forts Naomasa built next time, which I didn’t visit on my first visit.
The illustration of Naomasa Ogino on the left and Mitsuhide Akechi on the right, exhibited by the rest house at the foot of the mountain
A distant view of the ruins is so good that you can see great stone walls on the top and a red gate building on the middle slope, which indicate where you should go.
Features
Castle Ruins seen from Town area
Today, the ruins of Kuroi Castle now belong to Kasuga Town in Tanba City, Hyogo Prefecture. The area around was called Kasukabe Manor in the past, so it is said the name of Lady Kasuga originated from the land’s name. The town recommends visiting both of the ruins and places related to the lady. A distant view of the ruins is so good that you can see great stone walls on the top and a red gate building on the middle slope, which indicate where you should go.
The distant view of the castle ruins seen from the town area
As you get close to the ruins, there will be the rest house with a parking lot for visitors and Kozenji Temple behind. You can get some information and pamphlets about Kuroi Castle there. The temple has stone walls and water moats in front of its entrance gate, which looks different from other common temples. In fact, it is said that it is the former residence for the lord of the castle at the foot area. It is also said that Lady Kasuga grew up there when she lived with his father, Toshimitsu Saito. This spot should be the starting point of visiting the castle ruins.
The rest house and the parking lot Kozenji TempleThe stone walls and water moats in front of the entrance gate of the temple
Two Routes to Top of Mountain
One of the pamphlets says there are two routes to the castle ruins on the top of the mountain; the Gentle Course and the Steep Slope Course. The former one goes around the western ridge which seems to be not one of the original routes to the top. While the latter is certainly the original one on the eastern ridge because the Three-tiered Enclosure is still on the route. Both routes eventually meet at the Sekito Tiers on the middle slope of the mountain, so it may be better to choose either one when you climb up and the other when you return. However, both routes cover very few forts of Kuroi Castle, therefore, it may also be better to try visiting other forts as you experience more.
The starting point of the routesThe yellow broken line shows the Gentle Course and the green broken line shows the Steep Slope Course, from the pamphletPart of the Gentle Course
The warning board says “Beware of bears” and whichever you choose from the routes, you have to open and close two wire gates to contain animals between the gates. Therefore, it is recommended to have a bear-avoiding bell to prevent from provoking wild animals.
The warning boardThe first wire gate
If you choose the Steep Slope Course, you will first climb the very steep stone steps of the Toyooka-Inari Shrine. Then, you will also climb a steep slope on the eastern ridge of the mountain, which may have been the Main Route to the castle. The Three-tiered Enclosure is still on the ridge, where you can see its foundations made of soil.
The map arond the castle
The stone steps of the Steep Slope CourseThe Three-tiered EnclosureThe foundations of the enclosure
After you continue to climb, you can visit the Drum Tier off the route. It is an empty space but a good viewing point. It is said there was a drum turret and a lookout tower when the castle was active. The drum might have been used to inform time and instruct soldiers.
The Drum Tier
Sekito Tiers with Red Gate
You will eventually arrive at the Sekito Tiers below the top. Though it is uncertain what the name “Sekito” or “Stepping on Stones” in English came from, the rocky terrain around it might have been its origin. It is also a good viewing spot, but the view from it seems to be in a different direction from that of the Drum Tier. It is also spaceous for a mountain area and has a red-colored gate building which you can see from the foot as well. The building was not originally part of the castle, but was moved from the foot of the mountain by local people when a temple which had had the gate was abandoned. Several other buildings of the castle might have been built when the castle was being used.
Going to the Sekito TiersThe Sekito TiersA view from the enclosure
Kuroi Castle was the home base of Naomasa Ogino who was a strong warlord, called “the Red Devil in Tanba”. When Mitsuhide Akechi attacked the castle, its fall was at hand but…
Location and History
Tanba, Important Province to protect Kyoto
Kuroi Castle was located in the western part of Tanba Province which is now part of Hyogo Prefecture. Tanba Province is not popular for the present generation because the province was small and finally merged with Kyoto and Hyogo Prefectures. However, it was very important in the past because of its location just northwest of Kyoto, the capital of Japan. Especially, in unquiet times like the Sengoku Period, it was critical area for protecting or attacking Kyoto. In 1467 when the Onin War occurred in Kyoto, Sozen Yamana, the head of the West Squad went to Kyoto through the province. Since then, local lords in the province were involved in politics and battles over the central government.
The range of Tanba Province and the location of the castle
A scene of the Onin War, from a picture scroll of the Origin of Shinnyo-do Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Home Base of Naomasa Ogino, called “Red Devil in Tanba”
The Akai Clan was one of them, which served great warlords in Kyoto, like the Hosokawa Clan, and improved its power and territory in Tanba Province. Naomasa Akai was born in 1529 and was adopted to the Ogino Clan during his childhood because the Akai wanted to take in the Ogino’s power to get their lager presence. Since then, Naomasa was renamed his family name to Akai, however, he united with his parents’ home during all his life. Kuroi Castle was originally the home base of the Ogino Clan and eventually belonged to Naomasa. In 1554, Naomasa killed his foster father, Akikiyo. It is said this was because Akikiyo tried to follow the rule of Nagayoshi Miyoshi, the ruler at that time, which Naomasa never allowed. After that, Naomasa called himself Aku-emon as his nickname (Aku means evil but strong). However, he built a temple for worshiping Akikiyo, which may have meant his action didn’t come from his desire for revenge.
The illustration of Naomasa, from the signboard at the site
Naomasa was not a political person, but an excellent general, who just wanted to maintain his clan’s independence by the alliance with other local lords, even though they sometimes needed to serve greater warlords outside their province. For example, he defeated Munekatsu Naito in 1565, who was the deputy military governor of Tanba Province and supported the Miyoshi Clan. In 1571, Suketoyo Yamana in Tajima Province, next to Tanba in the northwest, invaded Tanba. Naomasa repelled the invasion, counterattacked Tajima, and even captured Takeda Castle in the province instead in 1575. People often called him the Red Devil in Tanba, for his strength.
The ruins of Takeda Castle
Group of small Forts
Kuroi Castle was built on Inokuchi Mountain (357m above the sea level). It was very large (around 8km perimeter) as the home base of the Ogino Clan, but was also one of mountain castles made of soil using natural terrain, which were usually seen throughout the whole country for warriors to live and protect themselves under the severe Sengoku Period. To cover its large range, Kuroi Castle worked as a group of small forts. The main portion of the castle including the Main Enclosure was on the top of the mountain to monitor the area around and all the branch forts so that the lord of the castle was able to instruct the defenders. Each fort had a distinct role, for example, the Sekito Tier and the Three-tiered Enclosure were built on the Main Route to protect the main portion, the Eastern Barbican Enclosure for defense of the eastern ridge, and the Western Enclosure for living on the mountain. That way, the defenders could prevent enemies from attacking the castle efficiently. The only weak point of the castle was that it didn’t have a good well because of the rocky terrain of the mountain.
The 3-D miniature model of Kuroi Castle Ruins, exhibited by the Kasuga Community Center
The relief map around the castle
Mitsuhide Akechi captures Castle after Naomasa’s Death
Naomasa’s strength may have actually also caused his crisis. Suketoyo Yamana, who was invaded by Naomasa, asked Nobunaga Oda who was the ruler then for help. Naomasa had once served but was against Nobunaga at that time. Nobunaga thought he would like to govern the important Tanba Province directly as well. Nobunaga sent his senior vassal, Mitsuhide Akechi to invade Tanba Province in 1575. At first, everything was going well for Mitsuhide, when Hideharu Hatano, another dominant local lord turned into Mitsuhide’s supporter. Mitsuhide next besieged Naomasa’s Kuroi Castle, waiting for the supplies and water to run out. However, after two months of the siege when the castle’s fall was at hand, Hideharu betrayed him. Mitsuhide was defeated instead and had to withdraw. This result was called the tactics of Akai’s attracting, which built Naomasa’s reputation much higher.
The Portrait of Mitsuhide Akechi, owned by Hontokuji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)The portrait of Hideharu Hatano, from the database of Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The castle was finally captured by Mitsuhide in 1579, just after Naomasa’s death by illness. Mitsuhide improved the castle by building great stone walls on the top. That fortified the castle and showed the authority of the new ruler to the people, which was one of the ways Nobunaga and his retainers often did that. Mitsuhide made his senior vassal, Toshimitsu Saito govern the castle. That’s why his daughter, who would later be Kasuga-no-tsubone or Lady Kasuga, the leader of the shogun’s inner palace, came from there. Mitsuhide and Toshimitsu rebelled and killed Nobunaga in the Honnoji Incident in 1582, but were soon defeated by Hideyoshi Hashiba, the next ruler. Kuroi Castle was followed by several of Hideyoshi’s retainers. However, the castle was eventually abandoned in the process of unification of Japan by Hideyoshi. Lords and warriors did not always need mountain castles to deal with the new periods.
The stone walls, built on the top of Kuroi CastleThe portrait of Lady Kasuga, owned by Rinshoin Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
