Kanjōsan Castle

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Préfecture de Hyōgo

Kanjōsan Castle stretches along the ridge of Mount Kanjō, at an altitude of about 301 metres, in the Yano district north of the city of Aioi. Traditionally founded by the local Uryū clan in the Kamakura period, it owes its name to a letter of commendation (kanjō) that Ashikaga Takauji is said to have granted to the Akamatsu: in 1336, Akamatsu Norimura (Enshin) and his son Norisuke held back Nitta Yoshisada's army in Harima for some fifty days, giving Takauji time to prepare his counter-attack from Kyūshū. Excavations carried out from 1985 to 1987 uncovered numerous buildings on stone foundations and clarified the layout of the enclosures. The castle, of the linked-enclosure type, lines up a main enclosure with foundation stones and drainage outlets, an enclosure bordered by stone walls, a narrow terrace on the western flank and a group of six terraces to the south. A stone-lined well, gates and a large lookout rock complete this site, which offers views as far as the Seto Inland Sea.