Japan · 16th century
Kitanosho Castle ranks #2,351 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #142 of the 295 mapped in Japan. Founded 1575, it is older than 34% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 887 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 7,142 times in the last 60 days, more than 91% of the atlas. 3 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Gifu, 86 km away. See how Japan compares in the castle statistics.
Kitanosho Castle (北ノ庄城, Kitanoshō-jō) was a hirashiro (castle located on flatland). Its remains are located in current-day Fukui, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. As the castle lasted merely eight years, few records survive about it. It is known, though that it was built by Shibata Katsuie in 1575. Also, it appears that the tenshu (keep) was nine stories high, making it the largest of the time.
The castle was destroyed by fire in 1583, after Katsuie killed his wife, Oichi, and then committed seppuku, following defeat in the Battle of Shizugatake against Toyotomi Hideyoshi. A few stone foundations of the castle were uncovered in archaeological digs and are now open to the public.
Text adapted from “Kitanosho Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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