Tanaka Castle Ruins

Watch
Historical sites and monuments
Azumigawa area

Tanaka Castle, the residence of the Tanaka clan, lords of Tanakago, is a mountain castle from the late Middle Ages built at the tip of a hillock that stretches out like a tongue from the Taizanjino Plateau, and its remains can still be seen today in the mountains to the west of Uedera Ward. The bailey where the main castle is believed to have been located is 220m above sea level, with a difference in elevation from the plains of only 60m, making it lower in elevation than mountain castles from the same period. However, remains of moats, earthworks, and hiding places for warriors that were used to ward off enemies can be seen at key points within the castle grounds, suggesting that it was a castle of considerable scale. In April 1570, the first year of the Genki era, Oda Nobunaga stayed at "Tanaka Castle" to defeat Asakura Yoshikage of Echizen, as recorded in the "Nobunaga Koki." This army included future Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Tanaka Castle, which later came under the influence of Azai Nagamasa, was captured by Nobunaga in 4 and came to an end under the rule of Akechi Mitsuhide. However, Tanaka Yoshimasa, who was descended from the Tanaka clan, served under Hideyoshi and Ieyasu in succession, and is still praised today for his skills in the construction and development of castle towns as lord of Okazaki Castle in Mikawa Province and Yanagawa Castle in Chikugo Province.
*There is a fence at the entrance to the castle to protect against animal damage. It is not locked so it can be opened and closed manually, but please do not forget to close the gate after opening it.

◎ Model Course　https://takashima-kanko.jp/course/2019/10/post_2.html

Azumigawa Area Guide

Address: Tanaka, Azumigawa-cho, Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture
Check on Google Maps

Contact Us: (Public corporation) Lake Biwa Takashima Tourism Association
TEL：0740-33-7101

Access: From JR Azumigawa Station, take a reserved shared taxi (reservation required) to the west of Azumigawa Station and get off at "Kamidera" bus stop. Then walk for about 5 minutes to the entrance of Yamashiro (round trip to Yamashiro takes about 90 minutes)