After leaving the Egawa House, I continued on, in search of Nirayama Castle ruins site. First there was Kumano Shrine. The woodsy setting felt like a summer camp.
Continuing on, following the flags, and climbing the stairs, I came to the site of the castle. Nothing was left of the castle. Interesting and mysterious.
From JCastle website :
When Hojo Soun defeated Ashikaga Chachamaru in 1493 he built Nirayama Castle and moved his base here from Kokokuji Castle. Hojo Soun kept Nirayama as his home castle throughout all his campaigns. Besides the main castle, it was also protected by 4 forts on nearby hills. Along with Yamanaka Castle and Ashigara Castle, Nirayama Castle formed an important part of the western fortification network of Odawara Castle. In 1590, when Hideyoshi began his attack against Odawara he sent over 40,000 troops under Oda Nobukatsu to take Nirayama Castle. The 3600 defenders under Hojo Ujinori outlasted the attack for 3 months before surrendering about the same time that Odawara fell. After the fall of the Hojo, Tokugawa Ieyasu's retainer Naito Nobunari moved into Nirayama Castle until he was transferred to Sunpu Castle in 1601. Nirayama Castle was abandoned permanently at this time.
5 comments:
It's often the case that little remains of old castle sites beyond their foundations, but the climb and the flags must have made the Nirayama Castle site still feel significant and "mysterious."
Looks like a lovely adventure.
You are right, there is something of a summer camp in this setting. Or a film set from Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings... Many of the stone structures of Kumano Shrine are so covered in moss that they appear to have grown out of the ground together with the trees. Indeed, an interesting and mysterious place, along with the castle remains.
How would you feel about going there in the middle of the night? You might see footless ghosts in rattling armour or eerie moving fireballs (火の玉)...
This s a remarkable setting and really so lovely, despite the castle ruins. What a history - 1493. Wow.
What a beautiful location for a castle. Shame there is nothing left!
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