Approximately 1 hour by bus from Tsubosakayama Station on the Kintetsu Yoshino Line.
HISTORYTakatori Castle, one of the three great mountain castles in Japan
Takatori Castle is a Japanese mountain castle located in Takatori, Takatori-cho, Takaichi-gun, Nara Prefecture. It served as the Takatori Domain's administrative center throughout the Edo period. It is a mountain castle that continued to function as the administrative center until the end of the Edo period, and is counted as one of the three great mountain castles in Japan, along with Bitchu Matsuyama Castle in Okayama and Mino Iwamura Castle in Gifu. Currently, only the stone walls and stone ramparts remain, but the castle is designated as a national historic site and one of Japan's 100 most famous castles. Let's take a look at the history of Takatori Castle.
Takatori Castle is said to have been built in 1332 by a powerful clan leader who supported the Southern Court during the Northern and Southern Court period. The Ochi clan used "Kaibukiyama Castle" as their main castle, so Takatori Castle was treated as a secondary castle. The Ochi clan had ruled Takatori throughout the Muromachi period, but the Ikko Ikki, organized by the Jodo Shinshu Honganji sect, attacked Takatori from the eastern part of Osaka. At that time, Kofuku-ji Temple, which effectively ruled Nara, was in an antagonistic relationship with the Ikko Ikki, so they asked for help from Takatori Castle. Takatori Castle became a battlefield between the Ikko Ikki and the warrior monks of Kofuku-ji Temple, and the Ikko Ikki were victorious. At this time, Takatori Castle was in the hands of Tsutsui Junkei, who continued to fight with Matsunaga Hidehisa in Nara and later became a vassal of Oda Nobunaga. Tsutsui Junkei rebuilt Takatori Castle as a secondary castle for Koriyama Castle in 1584, and expanded and improved it into a modern castle. Takayama Castle was then abandoned when Oda Nobunaga decreed that "Koriyama Castle is the only castle in Yamato Province." However, after Oda Nobunaga committed suicide in the Honnoji Incident, Tsutsui Junkei renovated Takatori Castle again in 1584, and fortified it as one of the subsidiary castles. The Takatori area then became the territory of Toyotomi Hidenaga, the younger brother of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Takatori Castle was taken over by Honda Toshihisa. Honda Rikyu began rebuilding Takatori Castle in 1589, eventually creating a magnificent mountain castle with a three-story castle tower, a feudal lord's residence, 17 three-story turrets, a samurai residence, etc. While rebuilding the castle, Honda Rikyu also put effort into developing the castle town, and many of his retainers moved there en masse. Honda Toshihisa, along with his successor Honda Toshimasa, served Toyotomi Hidenaga and his successor Hideyasu, but in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Honda Toshimasa joined the Eastern Army and was ultimately granted his territory. Furthermore, due to his military achievements, he was given an additional 10,000 koku of rice, making him a daimyo with 25,000 koku of rice, and established the Takatori Domain.
Takatori Domain in the Edo Period
The Honda clan, which founded Takatori Domain, ruled it for three generations, up to Honda Masatake, but the line came to an end when Honda Toshimasa's eldest son, Honda Masatake, died out without leaving an heir. After that, Kuwayama Kazugen and Koide Yoshichika served as castle guards, and in 1640, the hatamoto Uemura Iemasa was made a daimyo with a stipend of 25,000 koku and became the lord of Takatori Domain. The Uemura family were veteran retainers who had served the Tokugawa family for generations. However, after being present at the scene of the assassinations of both Tokugawa Ieyasu's father and grandfather, they were considered "unlucky retainers" and were treated coldly. However, their loyalty to the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, was recognized and they were eventually made daimyo. From then on, the Uemura family ruled Takatori Domain as lords of Takatori Castle for 14 generations until the end of the Edo period. However, perhaps because it was difficult to rule on top of a mountain, the palace that was located on the mountain was moved to the castle town at the end of the Edo period.
Takatori Castle after the Meiji Period
Takatori Castle was abandoned in 1873. Some of the buildings were sold to temples and other entities, but records show that the castle tower and other structures remained until around 1887. However, because it was in an inconvenient location at the top of Mount Takatori, it was not well maintained, and it is believed that most of the remaining buildings naturally collapsed due to deterioration over time. It is said that the building was demolished around 1891, but the official date is unknown. However, the stone walls and stone ramparts remain almost exactly as they were at the time, making them a valuable relic of a mountain castle. Additionally, Takatori Castle's Ninomon Gate was moved to the mountain gate of Kojimadera Temple in Takatori Town, where it can still be seen today. Matsunomon Gate was moved to Takatori Elementary School, but was partially damaged in a fire and was rebuilt in 2004 as the front gate of a children's park in the town. The Takatori Castle ruins itself was designated as a national historic site in 1953 as a valuable castle site, and was designated as one of Japan's 100 Most Famous Castles in 2006.
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Currently, Takatori Castle ruins can be freely visited. However, it takes about two hours to get to the historic site from the nearest station, and you cannot go directly by car. There is no running water at the summit, and no toilets, so be sure to prepare well in advance. The night view is said to be beautiful, but the path to the summit is steep and there are no street lights. You will need to bring a headlamp or other equipment. There is a paid parking lot at Tsubosaka-dera along the way, so you can drive there. It takes about an hour to reach the summit, which is shorter than going up from the station.
You can enjoy cherry blossoms in April and autumn leaves from October.
History of the Takatori domain, whose domain office is Takatori Castle
Takatori DomainIt was ruled by a veteran retainer who had served the Tokugawa family for generations.
Takatori Domain is a domain that governed the area of Takatori Town, Takaichi District, Nara Prefecture. It was founded by Honda Toshimasa, who was known for his achievements in the Battle of Sekigahara, and in 1640, the hatamoto Uemura family was promoted to daimyo with a stipend of 25,000 koku and ruled the domain until the end of the Edo period.
