Castles in Tsukude, Aichi

Ruins of Old Castles in Tsukude Village

Aichi Prefecture is located in the middle of Japan. It is known as one of the most industrial areas in Japan. Especially, automotive, aircraft and fine ceramic industries are well developed. These industries are located from the central to the west part of Aichi Prefecture. The east part of Aichi Prefecture is covered by mountains, named "Mikawa" Mountains. The ruins of Nagashino Castle, the site of Shitaragahara Battle Field are located also in this area.

Please refer the page of "Shitaragahara Battle Field" for more detailed description of Shitaragahara Battle.
http://handejapan19.html.xdomain.jp/TravelDestinations/Chubu/Shitaragahara_E.html

"Mikawa" Mountain area was originally the territory of the TOKUGAWA Clan. But in the late sixteenth century, the TAKEDA Clan attacked into this area. The small lords of this area could not decide which one to belong to. One left from the TOKUGAWA Clan to TAKEDA, another decided the opposite way.

The OKUDAIRA Clan was one of them.
This page shares the information of the ruins of small castles in this area, which related to the OKUDAIRA Clan.

Mikawa-Kameyama Castle

Mikawa-Kameyama Castle was built in 1424 by OKUDAIRA Sadatoshi(? - ?). Originally, he built Kawajiri Castle and move to Mikawa-Kameyama Castle.

The ruins of Mikawa-Kameyama Castle were located on a small hill with surrounded by rice fields. Trees on a hill were cut and you will see the baileys of Mikawa-Kameyama Castle from rice fields.

The above picture shows the view of the ruins of Mikawa-Kameyama Castle from the west side. The site of the main castle gate is located to the east of Mikawa-Kameyama Castle.

You will see a high earthen wall surrounding the main bailey. Castle soldiers will attack you with a bow and arrow from the earthen wall.

The path to the castle reaches to the earth wall and splits into two, the right hand and the lefthand side. If you take the righthand path, you will go to the second bailey. The second bailey is located to the north of the main bailey. It is not flat, but has gentle undulations.

At the south end of the second bailey, the entrance of the main bailey is located.

The main bailey of Mikawa-Kameyama Castle is fairly wide. It has approximately 50 to seventy meters in length and 20 to 30 meters in width. The castle monument is also located in the main bailey.

The view from the main bailey is very nice, as trees on the westside of the main bailey were cut. Rice fields surround around the Mikawa-Kameyama Castle and small village is located beyond the rice fields. I guess the rice fields served as moats to prevent enemies invasion.

If you exit from the south end of the main bailey to an outer bailey and take a look back, you will see the castle gate of the main bailey.

This view gives you good understanding how the castle gate looked like. If you go to the right in the above photo (If you go to the left after taking an exit from the main bailey), you will go to the main castle gate.

The below pictures show the view of the path from the main gate to the main bailey.

Earthen walls are located on the both sides of the path. The path used to be a dry moat between the earthen walls. When I visited, it was in December. The wind was blowing through the old castle, and snow was falling. I took a video as shown in below. The scenery of snow in Mikawa-Kameyama Castle was very impressive.

When OKUDAIRA Sadayoshi(1537 - 1599), the fifth generation from OKUDAIRA Sadatoshi, and his son OKUDAIRA Nobumasa(1555 - 1615) were the castle lords of Mikawa-Kameyama Castle in 1571, TAKEDA Shingen(1521 - 1573) expanded his teritory to this area. TAKEDA Shingen built Furumiya Castle, just one kilometer north from Mikawa-Kameyama Castle, in order to give pressures to OKUDAIRA's father and son.

OKUDAIRA Sadayoshi and Nobumasa once belonged to TAKEDA Clan due to the action of TAKEDA Shingen, but they belonged back to TOKUGAWA Ieyasu in 1573. This was the trigger of the battle of Shitaragahara.

Please refer the page of "Shitaragahara Battle Field" for more detailed description of Shitaragahara Battle.
http://handejapan19.html.xdomain.jp/TravelDestinations/Chubu/Shitaragahara_E.html

The victory at the battle of Shitaragahara brought the great successes to OKUDAIRA Sadamada and his descendants. OKUDAIRA Sadamasa became the feudal domain lord of "Kano" in present-say Gifu and his descendants were the castle lord of Nakatsu Castle and feudal domain lord in Nakatsu, until the end of the "Edo" Age(1603 - 1868).

Please refer the page of "Ruins of Nakatsu Castle" for more detailed description:
http://handejapan19.html.xdomain.jp/TravelDestinations/Kyushu/NakatsuCastle_E.html

MATSUDAIRA Tadaaki(1583 - 1644), the fourth son of OKUDAIRA Sadamada, became the castle lord of Mikawa-Kameyama Castle in 1602. He became the feudal lord of Ise-Kameyama domain in 1610. Then, Mikawa-Kameyama Castle became abandoned.

Furumiya Castle

Furumiya Castle was built in 1571 by TAKEDA Shingen(1521 - 1573). TAKEDA Shingen aimed to expand his territory to the west. Originally, Mikawa Province was the territory of TOKUGAWA Clan. Tsukude Area was governed by OKUDAIRA Clan, who belonged to TOKUGAWA Clan, in the fifteenth and sixteenth century.

The location of Furumiya Castle was between Mikawa-Kameyama Castle, where the base of OKUDAIRA Clan in the late sixteenth century, and Kawajiri Castle, which was the first castle built by OKUDAIRA Clan when they moved to this area in the late fourteenth century or in the early fifteenth century.

Furumiya Castle was located on a small hill. In front of Furumiya Castle, spacious rice fields stretch out. This rice field used to be a lake in the middle age. One kilometer away to this direction, the ruins of Mikawa-Kameyama Castle are located.

On the hillside of the castle, Shiratori Shrine is located.

If you crimb up the hill behind the shrine, you will visit the main baileys of Furumiya Castle. You will find the entrance of the main baileys.

Furumiya Castle had two main baileys on the east and west sides. Between these two main baileys, the deep and huge dry moat is located in the middle of the castle in the north-south direction.

Furumiya Castle became abandoned in 1575, just four years after it was built. Although all the castle buildings were lost, the ruins of Furumiya Castle have remained in the small hill, conveying what they were like at the time.

The dry moat that separates the eastern and western main baileys cuts through the hill on which the ruins of Furumiya Castle are located.

As TAKEDA Shingen built Furumiya Castle to give military pressure to OKUDAIRA Clan, Furumiya Castle might have been a very sturdy castle.

The above picture shows the western main bailey. Furumiya Castle was overgrown with weeds, but the trees had been cut down in the western bailey. The view of the enclosure was clearly visible.

Kawajiri Castle

Kawajiri Castle is located approximately one kilometer north to Furumiya Castle. Kawajiri Castle was built in the late fourteenth century or the beginning of fifteenth century by OKUDAIRA Sadatoshi. OKUDAIRA Sadatoshi came from Kouzuke Province in present-day, Gunma Prefecture. He settled in this area and expanded the area of the OKUDAIRA Clan. OKUDAIRA Sadatoshi built Mikawa-Kameyama Castle in 1424, just approximately twenty years after Kawajiri Castle was built.

From Kawajiri Castle, you will see the hill on which the ruins of Furumiya Castle are located. The hill is shown in the below picture on the left side.

Furumiya Castle was built by TAKEDA Shingen in 1571. TAKEDA Shingen was highly reputed that his army was the strongest at that time, and he rapidly expanded his territory from Kai Province, the present-day Yamanashi Prefecture, to the west, to Mikawa Province, the present-day the east part of Aichi Prefecture. The presence of Furumiya Castle would give OKUDAIRA Sadayoshi very serious pressure.

The main bailey of Kawajiri Castle is located on the top of the small hill. The ruins of Kawajiri Castle were well maintained as a historical park. On the hillside, the castle gate was rebuilt.

The gate was replica, but it gives you the good impression how the atmosphere of the castle was at that time. Behind the castle gate, a small bailey is located. I think barracks were located in the bailey.

You will soon arrive at the site of the main bailey located on the top of the hill.

The area of the main bailey is compact and it would be thirty meters square. It was much smaller than Mikawa-Kameyama Castle. It indicates OKUDAIRA Clan expanded their power in approximately twenty years. I think Kawajiri Castle worked as a branch castle of Mikawa-Kameyama Castle.

There are many stone monuments in the main bailey. These stone statues were made to mourn those who died in battles. This area is very peaceful now, but it is a precious time of peace that was achieved after the brutal warring states several hundred years ago.