Kofu city – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

128.Yogaiyama Castle Part3

More needs to be done to improve this historical site

Features

Strong defense in Back side

If you have time, you should check out the back side of the castle. This is because the ridge on the back is very narrow, so original trail and the ruins along it seem to remain as it was. The Main Enclosure and the enclosure behind it are divided by an artificial ditch to prevent enemies from attacking form the back. The ditch is partly supported by stone walls to avoid collapsing, which is rare in Japanese castles.

The ditch using stone walls divides the Main Enclosure and the back

The map around the castle

Moreover, two earthen lookout platforms are in line on the ridge at the back of these enclosures. They are also partly supported by stone walls or stone mound, which are also uncertain who built or improved it.

The trail gets thin between the platforms

The trail goes beside the platforms and between them, which was made thin cut by vertical moats both sides. That meant the defenders on the platforms would see and counterattack enemies easily.

Looking up the platform from the thin trail

Later History

In the Edo Period, a stone statue of the Takeda Fudoson or Acala, which worshiped Shingen Takeda, was built in an enclosure between the Gate Ruins No.2 and No.3. It has since been called the Fudo Enclosure. After the Meiji Restoration, the castle site continued to deteriorate, so local people built the stone monument of the birthplace of Shingen Takeda in 1929 to preserve them. The title of the monument was written by Heihachiro Togo, a famous admiral of the Japanese Imperial Navy. The castle ruins have been designated as a National Historic Site since 1991.

The stone monument for the birthplace of Shingen Takeda at the Main Enclosure

My Impression

I recommend visiting both ruins of Yogaiyama Castle and Takeda Clan Hall at the same time because you will be able to see how the Takeda Clan protected their home base. They must have been like one castle or a set. On the other hand, let me ask one thing to Kofu City. In the ruins of Takeda Clan Hall, excavations and studies are often being done in recent years. However, why have the ruins of Yogaiyama Castle not been developed? More explanations is needed for historical fans at the site. Some parts of the ruins are covered with bushes. I hope in the future that the city will develop this mountain castle ruins as a set with Takeda Clan Hall.

A Masugata entrance of Takeda Clan Hall (The northern entrance of the Western Enclosure)

Excavations are ongoing at Takeda Clan Hall Ruins

How to get There

I recommend using a car when you visit the castle ruins because there are few buses to visit them.
It is about a 20-minute drive away from Kofu-minami IC on the Chuo Expressway. There is a parking lot in front of the trail entrance to the castle ruins.
If you want to use public transportation, you can take the Yamanashi-Kotsu Bus bound for Sekisuiji Temple from JR Kofu Station and ride to the end. It takes about 15 minutes on foot from the bus stop to get the entrance.
To get to Kofu Station from Tokyo: Take the limited express Azusa or Kaiji at Shinjuku Station.

The parking lot in front of the trail entrance

That’s all. Thank you.
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128.Yogaiyama Castle Part2

The spot for hikers and history fans

Features

Castle Ruins on Hiking course

Today, the ruins of Yogaiyama Castle are on a hiking course as well as a historical site in Kofu City. The top of the ruins on the mountain is about 250m above the starting point of the trail at the foot. Therefore, you need to prepare for a long hike or a grueling climb to visit the ruins, which takes over 30 minutes to reach the top. The first half of your tour will be a pure hike by climbing a natural zigzagging trail. You may see some stone walls along the route, but they were probably built after the castle period.

Were these stone walls built after the castle period?

You will eventually find some signposts of Vertical Moat or Earthen Walls, which are around the entrance of the castle ruins. These actual ruins are partially covered with bushes, so you may not notice them without the signposts.

These ruins are partially covered with bushes

Original Gate Ruins along Trail

You will also find other ruins such as gates along the trail, however, the trail is not always on the original one. According to previous researches, the castle had 8 gates to reach the Main Enclosure on the top. As long as I checked, there are actually only 4 gate ruins with signposts along the current trail, which still look very defensive. I think they should be the original gates of No.2, No.3, No.6 and No.8.

The map around the castle

On the other hand, there are also other entrances of enclosures, which look like gate ruins without signposts. They are set straight in front of the enclosures, which mean not defensive, so may not be original and built later for hikers. If so, some original gate ruins (probably No.4, No.5 and No.7) are not on the current route probably because they are inconvenient for hikers.

In addition, the No.1 gate ruins seem to be on the route, but without a signpost, which I didn’t notice.

I think this is around the N0.1 Gate Ruins as some stone walls remain

Who built Masugata System of this Castle?

Out of the 4 original gate ruins with signposts, No.2 (with the first signpost of Gate Ruins) and No.3 (with the second one) are so great. They are surrounded by stone walls, forming a square space, called Masugata. The trail also turns right to exit the gate, plus, other enclosures are in the back of the gate and ahead of the route. That meant the defenders would counterattack the front and side of the enemies in the Masugata.

The No.2 Gate Ruins, the trail turns right

The No.3 Gate Ruins, similar to the No.2 Gate Ruins

This structure is seen in other castles using high stone walls, which would be built much later than Yogaiyama Castle. However, it is not uncertain who built or improved this system. If the Takeda Clan built it, it would be very advanced, if Mitsuyasu Kato improved it, he would have applied it from other castles like Kofu Castle to Yogaiyama Castle.

The restored Yamanote-mon Gate of Kofu Castle which has the Masugata system

The miniature model of the Yamanote-mon Gate, exhibited in the Inari Turret of Kofu Castle

Main Enclosure, Largest one in Castle

The No.8 Gate Ruins are the entrance of the Main Enclosure. It is the largest enclosure in the castle on the top of the mountain, surrounded by thick earthen walls. There is only the stone monument for the birthplace of Shingen Takeda in it. There should be a good view point of Kofu city area, but unfortunately trees shut out the view.

The No.8 Gate Rums, the entrance of the Main Enclosure

The earthen walls surrounding the enclosure

The stone monument for the birthplace of Shingen Takeda

Unfortunately, this is not a good view point

To be continued in “Yogaiyama Castle Part3”
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128.Yogaiyama Castle Part1

The final part of the Takeda Clan for a battle

Location and History

Nobutora Takeda builds set of this Castle and Takeda Clan Hall

Yogaiyama Castle was located in what is modern day Kofu City, the capital of Yamanashi Prefecture which was called Kai Province. The city was also the provincial capital since Nobutora Takeda, the governor of the province, built his official residence there in 1518. During the Sengoku Period, Most local lords didn’t only serve their governor with authority. The situation in Kai Province was the same, Nobutora needed to force the local lords to serve him by power. Otherwise, some local lords or even his relatives tried to take him over. The construction of the residence was done after Nobutora unified the whole of Kai Province. The residence was called Takeda Clan Hall, which was also used as the home base of the clan.

The location of the castle

The portrait of Nobutora Takeda, attributed to Nobukado Takeda, owned by Daisen-ji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

He built the hall on a square enclosure which was nearly 200m on one side, surrounded by earthen walls and water moats. This was a typical style of the residences for governors in Japan at that time, emulating the style of Shogun’s palace in Kyoto. The completion of the hall meant that his authority was established in the province. He also became a strong warlord of the province. However, this was not enough for him because he was still uncertain the local lords would be loyal to him from then on. Moreover, other warlords in other provinces could have invaded Kai Province at anytime. For these reasons, Nobutora built another castle on a mountain about 2km away from the hall on the north, called Yogaiyama Castle, in 1520. The main purpose of the castle was for emergencies. In case there was a battle happening, he and his family could escape from the hall to the mountain castle.

The miniature model of Takeda Clan Hall, exhibited by Kofu Fujimura Memorial Museum

The aerial photo of the ruins of Takeda Clan Hall and Yogaiyama Castle, exhibited by Kofu Fujimura Memorial Museum, adding the red letters

Castle works very well in battle against Imagawa Clan

The chance to use Yogaiyama Castle came quickly in 1521. The Imagawa Clan, a great warlord in Suruga Province, located in the south of Kai, sent their troops who were led by Masashige Kushima, a retainer of the clan, to invade Kai. Nobutora actually told his wife to escape from the hall to Yogaiyama Castle while he fought with Imagawa’s troops. It was said that his son, Shingen Takeda was born at Yogaiyama Castle during the battle. As a result, Nobutora completely repelled his enemies, making his unification of the province stronger. The network of the hall and the mountain castle worked very well.

The statue of Shingen Takeda in front of Kofu Station

The relief map around the castle

Yogaiyama Castle was made to be the final part for a battle, so it was very practical. The structures of the castle were constructed using natural terrain and partly stonework. A lot of enclosures were built along the ridge of the mountain. They were basically surrounded by earthen walls and had a defensive entrance called Koguchi partly using stone walls. The route to the center of the castle through these enclosures was designed in a zigzagging pattern in order to slow down enemies and prevent them from attacking easily. Vertical moats were dug on slopes of the mountain to avoid enemies moving easily. Some enclosures were also divided by an artificial ditch. The Main Enclosure on the top was the residential area and a rock garden where the lord family used.

The layout of Yogaiyama Castle, from the signboard at the site

The stone walls used for the entrance of an enclosure of Yogaiyama Castle

Castle is abandoned after Kofu Castle is built

Shingen and his son, Katsuyori maintained this castle. However, Katsuyori was unfortunately defeated by Nobunaga Oda in 1582. The castle was owned by the Oda Clan, followed by the Tokugawa Clan and Mitsuyasu Kato under the Toyotomi Clan. It was said that Mitsuyasu improved the castle probably by building stone walls. On the other hand, the Tokugawa Clan and Mitsuyasu built Kofu Castle using high stone walls on a plain land, which was strong enough even in such a location. As a result, Yogaiyama Castle was eventually abandoned in the early Edo Period.

The Portrait of Katsuyori Takeda, ownd by Koyasan Jimyoin (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The portrait of Mitsuyasu Kato, private owned (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

To be continued in “Yogaiyama Castle Part2”