En un regard
Le château en bref
Ima Castle (今城, Ima-jō) stands in the Ima district of Kani, in Gifu Prefecture, in the former province of Mino. This small mountain castle (yamajiro) is said to have been built during the Tenbun era (1532–1555) by Koike Ietsugu, a local lord. After Mori Nagayoshi was installed at Mino-Kanayama Castle, the Koike are said to have left Ima to return to farming. However, analysis of its defences suggests that the Mori restructured it after 1582, probably in 1584 during the Komaki–Nagakute campaign, to integrate it into the Kanayama system. The site retains enclosures, side ditches, cut-off ditches, earthen banks and, above all, a particularly elaborate off-set gateway (kuichigai koguchi), comparable to that of Ōmori Castle. The ruins, whose earthworks are still legible, can be visited on foot; parking is available at the Ima community centre, about 17 minutes' drive from the Kani-Mitake interchange.