Washi Castle

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Préfecture de Tochigi

Washi Castle lies about one and a half kilometres southwest of Gion Castle, on high ground on the left bank of the Omoi River in Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture. Protected by the river and by marshy lowlands, it was one of the main residences of the Oyama clan, military governors (shugo) of Shimotsuke Province since the Kamakura period. Its founding date remains unknown. It owes its fame to Oyama Yoshimasa's revolt (1380-1383): taking refuge behind its defences against the troops of the Kamakura kubō Ashikaga Ujimitsu, Yoshimasa withstood a siege there before finally being driven to suicide. The site comprises two enclosures, the Nakajiro to the north and the Sotojiro, covering about 400 m east to west and 600 m north to south. The dry moats and earthen ramparts of the central enclosure are well preserved, and Washi Shrine, which gave the castle its name, occupies its highest point at the end of a cedar-lined avenue. Since 1991 the castle has been part of the National Historic Site of the Oyama Clan Castle Ruins.