Kurokawa Castle (Echigo)

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Préfecture de Niigata

Rising to 301 metres, some 230 metres above the plain, Kurokawa Castle (黒川城) was the mountain refuge that the Kurokawa clan built behind its lowland residence, the Kurokawa-yakata, in what is now the city of Tainai. Descended from the Miura-Wada, a warrior lineage established in the Okuyama estate in northern Echigo, the family shared the region with its sister branch, the Nakajō. Tradition dates the start of construction to Kurokawa Shigenaga around 1277, though the exact date remains uncertain. The castle followed the fortunes of its masters: during the Uesugi succession war (Otate no ran), the Kurokawa sided with Uesugi Kagetora and were attacked by the Nakajō and Tsuiji, supporters of Kagekatsu, before submitting. In 1598, the Uesugi transfer to Aizu led to the stronghold's abandonment. Along the ridge remain double transverse trenches, series of vertical trenches, stone-faced earthen ramparts and terraces, all part of the National Historic Site of the Okuyama estate castles and residences, designated in 1984.