- Type
- Castle
- Built
- c. 1588 · 16th century
- Site origins
- 1469 per Wikidata – an earlier stronghold or first mention
- Location
- Gifu Prefecture, Japan
- Visiting
- probably – Wikidata lists it as a museum or gives tickets, opening hours or visitor numbers; check before you go
- Coordinates
- 35.3883°, 136.9392°
History
The castle's origins go back to 1469, when Oda Hirochika of the Iwakura Oda built a fort on the site. In 1537 Oda Nobuyasu, uncle of Oda Nobunaga, abandoned the nearby Kinoshita Castle and moved his seat to the present hill above the Kiso River. In the turbulent era of civil wars the stronghold changed hands many times. The lower storeys of the keep were long dated to 1537 or 1601, but tree-ring studies begun in 2019 showed that the timber for its main members was felled in 1585–1588 and that the four-storey keep was built in one go. In 1617 the castle went to the Naruse family, who held it until the Meiji era. After the 1891 earthquake the authorities returned it to the Naruse in 1895 on condition that they repair it, making it the only privately owned castle in Japan. In 2004 it was handed over to a foundation, and its keep is a national treasure.
What to see
The compact keep retains its original timber interiors and very steep stairs. The top floor is ringed by an outdoor balcony with views over the Kiso River, the Nōbi Plain and Mount Kinka with Gifu Castle. At the foot of the hill lies the old castle town with traditional buildings, and in summer you can watch cormorant fishing on the river.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q1155484
Popularity: articles about this site in 27 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).