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Kaminoyama Castle

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Open to the public
  
yes

Built by
  
Takenaga Yoshitada

Phone
  
+81 23-672-1111

In use
  
Edo period

Condition
  
reconstructed 1982

Year built
  
1535

Demolished
  
1872

Kaminoyama Castle

Type
  
hirayama-style Japanese castle

Address
  
3-7 Motojonai, Kaminoyama, Yamagata Prefecture 999-3154, Japan

Hours
  
Closed now Saturday7AM–4:15PMSunday7AM–4:15PMMonday(Vernal Equinox Day)7AM–4:15PMHours might differTuesday7AM–4:15PMWednesday7AM–4:15PMThursdayClosedFriday7AM–4:15PM

Similar
  
Kaminoyama‑Onsen Station, Tsukioka Park, Yamagata Castle, Kajo Park, Yonezawa Castle

Profiles

Kaminoyama onsen yamagata kaminoyama castle and tsukioka hotel ryokan


Kaminoyama Castle (上山城, Kaminoyama-jō) is a hirayama-style Japanese castle located in the center of the city of Kaminoyama, eastern Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. Throughout the Edo period, Kaminoyama Castle was the headquarters for the daimyō of Kaminoyama Domain. The castle was also known as "Tsukoka-jō" (月岡城).

Contents

Drone over kaminoyama castle japan


History

The first castle on this site dates to the early Muromachi period, when the area was under the control of the Tendō clan. The area was contested between the Mogami clan and the Date clan, changing hands several times. The foundations of the present castle were built by Takenaga Yoshitada, a retainer of the Mogami, in 1535. However, after the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, the Mogami were dispossessed, and a new 40,000 koku domain, Kaminoyama Domain was created. Thereafter the castle and Kaminoyama Domain passed through a number of daimyo clans, often for only a generation or two, and its revenues were often reduced. Under the Toki clan, a donjon was built, but it was destroyed when the clan was transferred elsewhere in 1692. In 1697, the castle came under the control of the Fujii branch of the Matsudaira clan, which continued to rule over Kaminoyama Domain until the Meiji restoration.

With the Abolition of the han system in 1871, Kaminoyama Domain became Kaminoyama Prefecture, and in 1872 the castle grounds were sold to the government and turned into a park.

In 1982, on the site of the second bailey, a faux reconstruction of a “typical” Edo period donjon was constructed out of concrete to serve as a tourist attraction and as a local history museum. It contains a local history museum.

Literature

  • Schmorleitz, Morton S. (1974). Castles in Japan. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Co. pp. 144–145. ISBN 0-8048-1102-4. 
  • Motoo, Hinago (1986). Japanese Castles. Tokyo: Kodansha. p. 200 pages. ISBN 0-87011-766-1. 
  • Mitchelhill, Jennifer (2004). Castles of the Samurai: Power and Beauty. Tokyo: Kodansha. p. 112 pages. ISBN 4-7700-2954-3. 
  • Turnbull, Stephen (2003). Japanese Castles 1540-1640. Osprey Publishing. p. 64 pages. ISBN 1-84176-429-9. 
  • References

    Kaminoyama Castle Wikipedia