Nochiseyama Castle

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Préfecture de Fukui

Perched on Mount Nochise, a hill of about 150 metres overlooking the port of Obama, Nochiseyama Castle was the seat of the Takeda, military governors (shugo) of Wakasa Province. Takeda Motomitsu moved his power base here in 1522, leaving a war-ravaged Kyoto, and had a lordly residence laid out at the northern foot of the mountain. Weakened by internal feuds and pressure from the Asakura of Echizen, the lineage lost its grip during the sixteenth century. After the fall of the Asakura in 1573, the province passed to Niwa Nagahide, a vassal of Oda Nobunaga, who strengthened the stronghold with stone walls and a large residence. Lords allied to the Toyotomi then followed one another, until the construction of Obama Castle below led to its abandonment at the start of the Edo period. Designated a National Historic Site in 1997, the site retains sections of stone wall at the summit, more than a hundred terraces and a remarkable series of vertical moats on its western flank.