Yakami Castle

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Préfecture de Hyōgo

Yakami Castle occupies the summit of Mount Takagi (about 460 m), south of the Sasayama Basin, above the old San'in road that crosses the valley from east to west. It is the largest medieval mountain castle in Oku-Tamba and the stronghold of the Hatano clan, which rose to power in the region after the Ōnin War. Its name remains linked to the long siege led by Akechi Mitsuhide on behalf of Oda Nobunaga: starved out, the garrison surrendered in 1579, and Hatano Hideharu, captured with his brothers, was executed at Azuchi. The site extends some three kilometres from east to west, from Mount Takagi to neighbouring Mount Hōkōji, which carried a satellite castle, and as far as Okutani Castle on the south-western ridge. Around ten groups of terraced enclosures, earthen ramparts, transverse ditches, wells and some stone walls survive beneath the forest. Abandoned in 1609 in favour of the new Sasayama Castle, it has been a National Historic Site since 2005 and can be visited on hiking trails starting from the foot of the mountain.