- Type
- Castle
- Origins
- 1201 · 13th century per Wikidata: founding, first mention or construction
- Location
- Gifu Prefecture, Japan
- Commissioned by
- Nikaidō clan
- Architect
- Hisashi Kido
- Visiting
- probably – Wikidata lists it as a museum or gives tickets, opening hours or visitor numbers; check before you go
- Coordinates
- 35.4339°, 136.7822°
History
Tradition holds that the first fortifications on Mount Kinka, then called Mount Inaba, were built by Nikaidō Yukimasa in 1201. In the 16th century Inabayama Castle belonged to the Saitō clan, whose most famous member, Saitō Dōsan, was Oda Nobunaga's father-in-law. Nobunaga captured the fortress in 1567, gave it and the town below the name Gifu, and made it the base for his campaigns until he moved to Azuchi. In 1600 his grandson Oda Hidenobu sided with Tokugawa's opponents, and the castle fell just before the Battle of Sekigahara; it was dismantled the following year. A wooden tower was rebuilt in 1910 but burned down in 1943, and the present one, in reinforced concrete, dates from 1956.
What to see
The 329-metre summit is reached by ropeway from Gifu Park or on foot along forest trails. The tower houses a small museum with weapons and objects from Nobunaga's era, and its top deck looks out over the Nagara River, the Nōbi Plain and distant mountain ranges. At the foot of the mountain, in Gifu Park, the remains of Nobunaga's residence have been excavated, and in summer cormorant fishing takes place at night on the Nagara.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q1367052
Popularity: articles about this site in 25 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).