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Yōgaiyama Castle : A Study of Japanese Bibliography

This is all about Yōgaiyama Castle Ruins you want to know.
Every information you get on this site will be from a credible source based on Japanese history (books for reference).


"As fast as the wind, as quiet as the forest, as daring as fire, and immovable as the mountain"

The colors of Takeda Army from BUSHOO！JAPAN

The Takeda army led by Takeda Shingen, said to be the strongest in the Warring States period. It is said that the character "風林火山" written on the flag of the headquarter was used from the ancient Chinese "Sonshii" martial arts book. There is also anecdotal evidence that the enemy lost their willingness to fight just by looking at this flag. ( from Kōfu City HP )

Profile : Yōgaiyama Castle Ruins

LocationKōfu City, Yamanashi Prefecture
Also known asYōgaizan Castle
Type of castleMountaintop
Mountain's nameMt. Yōgaizan
Elevation780m
ConditionRuins
DesignationNational Historic Sites
Year built1520
Abolished1600
Castle lord Takeda Nobutora
Refurbishment lord Takeda Clan, Katō Mitsuyasu
Portrait of Takeda Nobutora from Wikipedia
Ukiyo-e picture of Takeda Shingen by Utagawa Kuniyoshi from Wikipedia
Family Crest of Takeda Clan from Wikipedia

The family crest was originally created from the pattern that the emperor and the royal family put on the kimono, and the pattern was made into a fixed pattern, and the one attached to his own oxcart is said to be the beginning of the family crest. The warlords drew large crests on the flag-fingers, used to distinguish enemy views on the battlefield, and used by the generals to determine which warlords were active and how much.

Yōgaiyama Castle admission

admission fee : free
admission time : free
closing period : reference ⇒　official site

Yōgaiyama Castle Google Map

Yōgaiyama Castle Images　

The person who built this castle was Takeda Nobutora ,the father of Takeda Shingen. Nobutora surrendered Mr. ōi, who had a great influence in Kai district, and decided to move base to Tsutsujigasaki in 1519. The following year, Nobutora built a mountaintop style castle on a Mt.Yōgai in the north of Tsutsujigasaki. It is said that this was a castle construction under the assumption that during normal times, the palace was appointed to the government, and during the war, it was supposed to stay in the defensive castle. For the Sengoku Daimyō, the last defense castle is "Tsume-shiro". For the Takeda family, this castle was exactly what was called.
The monument of the birth place of Takeda Shingen

The year after the construction of this castle, the commander of the Imagawa family, Masanari Fukushima, led a large army and invaded Kai district as expected by Nobutora. During this battle, Nobutora's wife was having a baby. Therefore, the wife evacuated to Yōgaiyama Castle. Takeda Shingen was born at this time.
The main part, which is surrounded by earthworks on all four sides, is a slender "Kuruwa" that measures approximately 70m east-west and 20m north-south. Enemy must break through the 1st to 8th gates before reaching the main part. The gate was also equipped with advanced defense measures to prevent the invasion of the enemy.
Takeda Clan grew power from the land of Kai as a representative daimyō of East Japan that can aim to unify the world at that time and made it famous all over the country, the driving force was very good castle construction. Even in posterity, it is famous as "Takeda school construction technology". A characteristic of the Takeda family's construction of castles is that they choose locations with cliffs and rivers on the back and sides and limit the battle direction to the front. Then, the enemy was limited to the front, and "Maru-Umadashi", which semi-circular earthwork at a defense facility to be installed before entering and leaving was built to reinforce the entrance of Kuruwa. Also they defeated an enemy crawling up the mountain by building "Tate-bori", a trench sawed vertically against the mountain slope.
This is a must-see for those who want to feel the atmosphere of history that the Takeda family has been making a castle for three generations. 【Please note that the area is a bear infestation area, except in winter】

Link：A castle closely related to Takeda Shingen

【east japan】Minowa Castle 【east japan】Shinpu Castle 【central japan】 Komoro Castle 【central japan】Matsushiro Castle 【central japan】Takatō Castle 【central japan】Nagashino Castle 【central japan】Tsutsujigasaki-yakata 【central japan】Yōgaiyama Castle

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