Matsukura Castle Ruins

photo by 大野 一将 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Walls 7 metres high, the only ones like them in Gifu: they were not enough, and the castle fell through betrayal in 1585.

The castle stood on the summit of Mount Matsukura, at 856.7 metres, from which the roads towards Toyama, Nagano, Gifu and Gujō were controlled. Built in 1579 by the local lord Anegakōji Yoritsuna, who moved his residence there, it fell in 1585 to the troops of Kanamori Nagachika sent by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, not through a siege but through the betrayal of an ally. Stone walls 5–8 metres high remain, built with blocks more than two metres long: they are the only well-preserved example in the whole of Gifu Prefecture of stone fortification from the Oda-Toyotomi period (織豊系). From the main keep the view stretches over the Northern Alps.

Mountain castle in Hida Province, now a ruin. It was the stronghold of the Miki clan (Anegakōji), lords of southern Hida, until the conquest of the province in 1585. A Gifu prefectural historic site since 1956, it was designated a national historic site (国指定史跡) on 10 March 2025, a very recent designation that came after excavations uncovered two buildings on stone foundations in the second enclosure and a turret with a buried gate in the third.

ℹ️ Open access, free of charge, always open, no opening hours. A path of about 1 km and 30 minutes, with no steep sections, starting near the Hida no Sato Folk Village (about 15 minutes’ walk) or from the small free car park at ‘Mori no Yūenchi Matsukura Symbol Plaza’ (5–6 parking spaces, no coaches). Natural ground, unpaved; no facilities (toilets, refreshments) on the site. Information: Cultural Properties Office, Takayama Municipality, 0577-35-3156.

🚉 s4 Sarubobo bus - Hida folk village · 16 min walk

Sources: city.takayama.lg.jp · city.takayama.lg.jp · kankou-gifu.jp · ja.wikipedia.org

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