Tossaka Castle (Tainai)

En un regard

Le château en bref

Perched on Mount Torizaka in Tainai, Tossaka Castle is a medieval mountain fortress that watched over the coastal plain of the Sea of Japan. It is part of the former Okuyama estate, a vast lordship whose remains are designated a National Historic Site. Its exact founding is unknown; it appears in the chronicles as early as 1201, during the Kennin Rebellion, at first as a mere temporary entrenchment. It became a permanent installation in the mid-15th century, in the hands of the Nakajō clan, a branch of the Miura-Wada that later served the Uesugi. The castle was abandoned in 1598, when Uesugi Kagekatsu was transferred to Aizu. One can still make out enclosures, dry moats cutting across the ridge, stepped terraces, an entrance with a return defence, and the site of the main keep. A park at the foot of the site offers a stone staircase and a viewpoint over the sea and the town.