Takatenjin Castle

Takatenjin Castle (高天神城, Takatenjin-jō) was a Sengoku period yamashiro-style Japanese castle located in the Kamihijikata and Shimohijikata neighborhoods of the city of Kakegawa, Shizuoka prefecture. The ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1975, with the area under protection extended in 2007.

Takatenjin Castle is located in southeast part of the center of modern Kakegawa on the road towards the eastern seaside area of Tōtōmi province. Located on Mount Kakuo, a 200-meter mountain with sheer cliffs accessible only by a narrow pathway, the castle was traditionally held to be the "key" to securing Tōtōmi Province and the Tōkaidō highway, which is eleven kilometers to the south. The layout of the castle is that of a letter "Z" consisting of the eastern and western peaks of a mountain with the saddle in between. the eastern peak was the original fortification, containing the inner bailey and both peaks are protected by terraces with dry moats and earthen ramparts.

The western peak was added at a later time when the castle was under the control of the Takeda clan. The connecting saddle area is 50 meters long, but only 10 meters wide. The total length of the castle was 400 meters by 200 meters wide. Although the castle did not have stone walls, the mountain has very steep slopes and the castle was considered almost impregnable.

The origins of Takatenjin Castle are obscure. It may have been built at some point in the 15th century by the Kushima clan, a minor local clan who were retainers of the Imagawa clan. Kushima Masashige (1492-1521) led the Imagawa army during a failed invasion of Kai province, reaching the approaches to Kōfu before being defeated by the Takeda clan under Takeda Nobutora. The clan was later suppressed during the reign of Imagawa Yoshimoto for siding with his enemies during an internal power struggle. Imagawa Yoshimoto gave the castle to the Ogasawara clan. Although the Imagawa were defeated by a coalition between Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Tokugawa clan gained control of the castle, Ieyasu left Ogasawara Nagatada as castellan at the time of the Battle of Anegawa in 1570.

In 1571, Takeda Shingen laid siege to Takatenjin Castle with 20,000 men. Although he captured most of Tōtōmi Province, he was unsuccessful in taking this castle.

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

Takatenjin Castle ranks #4,167 of 8,134 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #209 of the 297 mapped in Japan. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,206 times in the last 60 days, more than 82% of the atlas. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Okazaki, 84 km away. See how Japan compares in the castle statistics.

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