Mukasa Castle

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Préfecture de Miyazaki

Mukasa Castle occupies a low hill about 60 metres high on the right bank of the Ōyodo River, in the Takaoka district of the city of Miyazaki. It controlled the Satsuma road linking Sadowara with Miyakonojō and the Shimazu lands. Mentioned as early as 1336, it served as a base for the supporters of Ashikaga Takauji sent to Hyūga Province, and then became a stake in the long rivalry between the Shimazu and Itō clans. Shimazu Tadakuni, future head of his house, was born there during the occupation by his father Hisatoyo in the early 15th century. Retaken by the Itō in 1445, Mukasa remained part of their network of strongholds for about 130 years, before returning to the Shimazu after Itō Yoshisuke fled in 1577. The castle was abandoned in 1615 under the rule of one castle per province. Typical of the medieval strongholds built on the shirasu plateaus of southern Kyūshū, it consists of four groups of enclosures separated by deep transverse moats and protected by solid earthen ramparts. These well-preserved remains have been designated a National Historic Site since 2002.