Shirakawa Castle (Yūki)

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Préfecture de Fukushima

Shirakawa Castle (白川城, Shirakawa-jō), also known as Karame-jō (搦目城) or Yūki-Shirakawa-jō, is the medieval castle of the Shirakawa-Yūki clan, not to be confused with Komine Castle, built in the same city and often called "Shirakawa Castle". Its remains cover the Fujisawayama hills, about 2 km south-east of central Shirakawa, on the right bank of the Abukuma River, which they overlook. The Shirakawa estate was granted to Yūki Tomomitsu by Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1189, and his grandson Sukehiro settled there around 1289. From this stronghold the Shirakawa-Yūki, major figures of the Southern Court party in the 14th century, extended their influence from southern Mutsu to northern Kantō, before declining in the 16th century and being dispossessed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1590. Excavations from 2010 to 2015 revealed, over an area of about 950 m by 550 m, well-preserved terraces, earthen ramparts and moats from the 14th to 16th centuries, divided between the Gohonjōyama sector and the Karameyama and Kanetsukidōyama ridges. The site has been a National Historic Site since 2016.