En un regard
Le château en bref
The Shinori site lies on a coastal edge of present-day Hakodate, about twenty metres above sea level, overlooking the Tsugaru Strait. It is a medieval fortified residence, one of the group that texts call the twelve settlements of southern Hokkaidō, established by the Wajin along the coast. Its defence relies on earthworks: a roughly quadrangular enclosure, doubled on the west, bordered by dry moats to the north and on the outside, while the south side benefits from a steep drop. The tradition taken up by the Agency for Cultural Affairs notice attributes its building to Kobayashi Yoshikage during the Kōshō era (mid-15th century). Archaeology points to an earlier date, since the excavations conducted by the city of Hakodate from 1983 to 1985 place the first phases in the late 14th century.
The sequence of events is known mainly through written tradition. In 1457, according to the official notice, the stronghold was attacked during the Ainu uprising and retaken the same year. In 1512, a further attack struck Kobayashi Yoshisada, and the site was then abandoned. The 1986 report distinguishes five phases of internal occupation from the late 14th to the mid-16th century, with seven buildings, ditches, a well, an earthen bridge and traces of gates. In 1968 the vicinity yielded a very large hoard of Chinese coins, designated an Important Cultural Property and comprising 374,435 coins according to the official database. None of the sources consulted establishes the precise link between this hoard and the residence.
