Amagiri Castle

Amagiri Castle (天霧城, Amagiri-jō) was a Muromachi period Japanese castle located on the border of what is now the cities of Zentsūji and Mitoyo and the town of Tadotsu, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. Its ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1990.

Amagiri Castle is situated on Mount Amagiri (350 meters), which is located about five kilometers west of the city center of modern Marugame. Mount Amagiri is one of a line of mountains which separates the western half of Sanuki Province into the Marugame area and the Kannonji area. The mountain is near the coast, and controls the approach to the Utazu area, which was an important port on the Seto Inland Sea during the Muromachi period. Mount Amagiri is also twin mountain along with Mount Iyadani, which is approximately the same elevation. Mount Iyadani is the location of Iyadani-ji, the 71st of the 88 Shikoku Pilgrimage temples, and worshipped as a sacred mountain and training location for Kūkai.

Mount Amagiri was fortified by the Kagawa clan in the 15th century. The Kagawa were originally from Sagami Province and were retainers of the Hosokawa clan. As the Hosokawa clan gained power and prominence under the Muromachi shogunate, the Kagawa accompanied the Hosokawa campaign to conquer Shikoku from supporters of the Southern Court. Afterwards, the Kagawa were promoted to the position of deputy shugo with control of western Sanuki Province and established their seat at Tadotsu Castle ( Motodaiyama Castle) in Tadotsu as a residence; it was considered unsuitable to withstanding a siege, thus Amagiri Castle was built in 1364 by Kagawa Kagenori as a supporting fortification for Tadotsu Castle.

As was common with mountain castles of the period, Amagiri Castle occupied a long and narrow ridge of the mountain. The central area was at the peak. and was surrounded by enclosures built toward north for over 200 meters. Each enclosure utilized the natural terrain, and were fortified with stone walls. The main gate was to the south, which was also the approach from Iyadani-ji temple. North of the core area, enclosures continued along the northward and two eastward ridges. The total length of the castle extended for over 800 meters.

Text adapted from “Amagiri Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Amagiri Castle ranks #5,724 of 8,134 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #274 of the 297 mapped in Japan. Founded 1364, it is older than 56% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 604 atlas entries founded in the 14th century. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Okayama, 50 km away. It is one of the 15 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of Shikoku. See how Japan compares in the castle statistics.

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