Kōyama Castle (Ōsumi)

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Préfecture de Kagoshima

In the heart of the former province of Ōsumi, in Kimotsuki, Takayama Castle — also read Kōyama and sometimes called Kimotsuki Castle — was for more than four centuries the anchor of one of southern Kyūshū's great warrior lineages. Its origins go back to the late Heian period, when a descendant of Taira no Kanesada, appointed to administer the vast Shimazu estate, settled in the area; his son Kanetoshi took the name Kimotsuki. The chosen site is a natural fortress: three rivers enclose it to the south, north and west, while the cliffs of the shirasu plateau protect it to the east. In the 16th century, Kimotsuki Kanetsugu brought the clan to its peak by manoeuvring between the Shimazu of Satsuma and the Itō of Hyūga. After his death the conflict with the Shimazu was short-lived: the castle was surrendered in 1573 and abandoned in 1580, when the family was moved to Ata. With no surviving buildings, the site still preserves dry moats cut into the ridge, earthen ramparts and clearly legible enclosures, protected as a National Historic Site.