Gujō Hachiman Castle

Gujō Hachiman Castle (郡上八幡城, Gujō Hachiman-jō) is a yamashiro, or "mountain castle", located on Hachiman Mountain in the city of Gujō, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Its ruins were designated a Gifu Prefecture Historic Site in 1955.

Gujo Hachiman Castle is located at the top of the 350 meter Mount Hachiman, close to the confluence of the Yoshida and Kodaraga Rivers and the main stream of the Nagara River. These two rivers and the mountain form a natural defense for the castle, which also commands a north–south road connecting central Mino Province with Nagoya and Gifu to the south and the Sea of Japan to the north, and an east–west road leading to Hida Province in the east and Echizen Province in the west.

In the Kamakura period, this area was controlled by a cadet branch of the Chiba clan, who were rewarded by the Kamakura shogunate for their role in the Jōkyū War. This cadet branch was named the Tō clan (東氏) and due to their skill at waka poetry, became close retainers of the Ashikaga shogunate in the Muromachi period. They constructed a castle called "Shinowaki Castle". The 8th Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa ordered Tō Tsuneyori to lead an expedition to the Kantō region to restore the authority of the shogunate. In his absence, his castle was seized by the deputy shugo of Mino, Saitō Myōchin. However, Tō Tsuneyori's skill at poetry was such that he was able to persuade Saitō to restore the castle to him with a poem.

However, conditions became increasing difficult in the Sengoku period, and the Tō were barely able to repulse an invasion by the Asakura clan from the north. To strengthen their defenses, the Tō constructed Tōdonomayama Castle on the Yoshida River. In 1559, Endō Morikazu, from a cadet branch of the Tō, overthrew the Tō clan, destroying Tōdonomayama Castle and building a new one on Mount Hachiman on the opposite side of the river. Morikazu had barely finished the castle when he died, leaving it to his son Endō Yoshitaka. Yoshitaka later became a retainer to Oda Nobunaga. After the assassination of Nobunaga in 1582, Yoshitaka pledged fealty to Nobunaga's third son, Oda Nobutaka and fought against Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

However, after the Toyotomi forces defeated Shibata Katsuie and Oda Nobutaka, Endo Yoshitaka surrendered, and Hideyoshi awarded the castle to his retainer, Inaba Sadamichi.

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

Gujō Hachiman Castle ranks #2,241 of 8,133 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #136 of the 297 mapped in Japan. Founded 1559, it is older than 38% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 755 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 5,312 times in the last 60 days, more than 86% of the atlas. The nearest day-trip guide is Gifu, 41 km away. See how Japan compares in the castle statistics.

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