En un regard
Le château en bref
Kuzumaki Castle stood on the north bank of the Mabuchi River, in the present town of Kuzumaki, Iwate District, in the mountains of northern Iwate Prefecture. The name actually covers three neighbouring fortified sites: Yawata-kan, also called Shiroyama or Tateyama, Kagamisawa-kan and Kuzumaki-kan. It is not known whether they formed a single defensive complex or three independent positions. The castle is associated with the Kuzumaki clan, traditionally regarded as a branch of the Kudō clan: this branch is said to have settled in Kuzumaki around the Ōnin era (1467-1469), descending from Kudō Yukimitsu, who in 1189 received the office of land steward (jitō) of Iwate District. The site controlled a relay station on the road linking the interior to the Pacific coast, which the Kuzumaki reportedly administered from generation to generation. The castle was abandoned in 1592, at a time when the lords of the region dismantled many secondary fortresses. Enclosures and moats still survive.