Torigoe Castle

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Préfecture d'Ishikawa

Perched at about 312 metres on a ridge overlooking the confluence of the Tedori and Dainichi rivers, at the foot of the Hakusan massif, Torigoe Castle was the last stronghold of the Kaga Ikkō-ikki league, the province ruled for nearly a century by followers of the Jōdo Shinshū sect. Built in the 1570s against the advance of Oda Nobunaga, it was commanded by Suzuki Dewa-no-kami, who repelled a first assault with his arquebusiers. In 1580, Shibata Katsuie lured him into a trap during negotiations and had him killed with his lieutenants; retaken by the mountain people in 1581, the stronghold was finally crushed by Sakuma Morimasa in the spring of 1582, ending Ikkō resistance in Kaga. The site, stretching over more than a kilometre, retains its enclosures, dry moats, earthen ramparts and ridge cuts; gates and stone walls have been restored on the basis of excavations. Designated a National Historic Site in 1985 together with nearby Futoge Castle, it is listed among the Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles.