is a

Japanese castle are fortresses constructed primarily of wood and stone. They evolved from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries and came into their best-known form in the 16th century. Castles in Japan were built to guard important or strategic sites, such a ...

located in the city of

Gifu is a Cities of Japan, city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. Durin ...

Gifu Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,910,511 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Along with Mount Kinka and the

Nagara River The has its source in the city of Gujō, Gifu Prefecture, and its mouth in the city of Kuwana, Mie Prefecture, Japan. Along with the Kiso River and Ibi River, the Nagara River is one of the Kiso Three Rivers of the Nōbi Plain. Previously, t ...

, it is one of the main symbols of the city. The castle is also known as . It was designated a National Historic Site in 2011.

Overview

Gifu Castle is located on Mount Kinkazan to the northeast of central Gifu, facing the

. Prior to a severe flood in 1586, the Kiso River ran through north of its current riverbed and was much closer to the castle, so Gifu Castle was protected by two large rivers. It also commanded the main route into

Mino Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today southern Gifu Prefecture. Mino was bordered by Ōmi to the west, Echizen and Hida to the north, Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbreviated fo ...

from then Tōkaidō highway which connected

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

with the eastern provinces of Japan.

History

The first Gifu Castle was first built by the

Nikaidō clan is a Japanese samurai kin group. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Nikadō," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 42 retrieved 2013-5-5. History The Nikaidō claim desce ...

between 1201 and 1204 during the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

.Gifu Castle Official Page
. Gifu City Hall. Accessed January 11, 2008.
Japan National Tourist Organization. Accessed May 7, 2008. Originally little more than a small fort, it was reconstructed on a much larger scale in the

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

by Saitō Toshinaga (d.1460). Toshinaga had served the title of ''

shugo , commonly translated as ' ilitarygovernor', 'protector', or 'constable', was a title given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the shogun to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan. The position gave way to th ...

'' of Mino Province, but due to internal conflicts, the Saitō clan had been supplanted in turn by the

Toki clan The is a Japanese kin group.Edmond Papinot, Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Toki," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 61 retrieved 2013-5-9. History The Toki claim desce ...

. The clan's fortunes were restored in the form of an adventurer from Kyoto who assumed the name of

Saitō Dōsan , also known as Saitō Toshimasa (斎藤利政), was a Japanese samurai lord and daimyo during the Sengoku period.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Saitō Dōsan"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 809. He was also known as the f ...

. Also known as the "Viper of Mino", Saitō Dōsan ruthlessly overcame his enemies, expelled the Toki clan, and defeated an invasion from neighboring

Owari Province was a province of Japan in the area that today forms the western half of Aichi Prefecture, including the modern city of Nagoya. The province was created in 646. Owari bordered on Mikawa, Mino, and Ise Provinces. Owari and Mino provinces w ...

led by

Oda Nobuhide was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and magistrate of the Sengoku period known as "Tiger of Owari" and also the father of Oda Nobunaga, the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobuhide was a deputy ''shugo'' (Shugodai) of lower Owari Province and head of t ...

. Saitō Dōsan was killed in a revolt by his own son,

Saitō Yoshitatsu or Toki Yoshitatsu was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' during the Sengoku period. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)">DF 54 of 80">"Saitō," ''Nobiliare du Ja ...

. Although Yoshiyasu showed promise as a ruler, he died at the age of 34, leaving Inabayama Castle to his son Saitō Tatsuoki. During the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

a samurai in the service of the Saitō clan by the name of Takenaka Hanbei went to Inabayama Castle, ostensibly to visit his sick brother. This was a ruse, and in reality, he went to the castle intending to assassinate Saitō Tatsuoki. When Hanbei struck at him, Tatsuoki was very confused—believing an enemy army had come to attack him—and fled. Thus, Takenaka Hanbei obtained Inabayama Castle with relative ease and with only 13 retainers. Later, he returned the castle to his lord, but Tatsuoki had lost an immeasurable amount of reputation and honor due to his perceived cowardly flight from the castle and many of his retainers left his service. In 1567,

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

launched an attack on Mino Province from Sunomata Castle, led his forces across the Kiso River, and marched straight to the castle town of Inoguchi (now Gifu city) attracting the support of many former Saitō retainers along the way. Nobunaga laid siege to Inabayama Castle on 13 September. Even though the defenders were demoralized to see the banners of Saitō retainers among the attacking army, the mountaintop castle was still in a nearly impregnable position. The siege took about two weeks. Near the end of the siege, Nobunaga's retainer Kinoshita Tōkichirō led a small party up the steep cliffs, entered the castle from the unguarded rear, and opened the front gates, allowing the attacking forces to enter. After Tatsuoki fled, Nobunaga made the castle his primary base-of-operations. Nobunaga renamed the stronghold "Gifu Castle," following an example set by an ancient Chinese practice. Nobunaga then proceeded to renovate the castle into a far more impressive and grandiose structure than its previous incarnation. He constructed a ''

tenshu is an architectural typology found in Japanese castle, Japanese castle complexes. They are easily identifiable as the highest tower within the castle. Common translations of ''tenshu'' include keep, main keep, or ''donjon''. ''Tenshu'' are cha ...

'' on the top of the mountain and brought in many huge stones to bolster its ramparts. Luis Frois, a renowned

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

Missionary from Portugal, was personally invited by Nobunaga to visit the castle. After a short stay in Gifu, Frois praised the castle's extraordinary beauty. Nobunaga used Gifu Castle as his primary residence for about ten years, until the completion of

Azuchi Castle was one of the primary Castles in Japan, castles of Oda Nobunaga located in the Azuchi, Shiga, Azuchi neighborhood of the city of Ōmihachiman, Shiga Prefecture. The site of the castle was designated a Monuments of Japan, National Historic Site i ...

in 1579. The whole castle complex reached from top to bottom, with the main keep at the top. Gifu Castle was given to his son, Oda Nobutada, who was also killed along with his father by the forces of

Akechi Mitsuhide , first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period. Mitsuhide was originally a bodyguard of the last Ashikaga shogunate, Ashikaga ''shōgun'' Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later, one of ...

at the

Honnō-ji Incident The was the assassination of Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga at Honnō-ji, a temple in Kyoto, on 21 June 1582 (2nd day of the sixth month, Tenshō 10). Nobunaga was on the verge of unifying the country, but died in the unexpected rebellion of ...

in 1582.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

then awarded the castle to Nobunaga's third son, Oda Nobutaka. However, Nobutaka later sided with

Shibata Katsuie or was a Japanese samurai and military commander during the Sengoku period. He was retainer of Oda Nobuhide. He served Oda Nobunaga as one of his trusted generals, was severely wounded in the 1571 first siege of Nagashima, but then fought ...

against Hideyoshi and was forced to commit ''

seppuku , also known as , is a form of Japanese ritualistic suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honor, but was also practiced by other Japanese people during the Shōwa era (particularly officers near ...

'' at Gifu Castle. Hideyoshi then placed Oda Hidenobu, Nobutada's son, in charge of Gifu Castle. After Hideyoshi's death, Hidenobu overruled the objections of his retainers, and sided with

Ishida Mitsunari was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the Azuchi–Momoyama period of the 16th century. He ...

against the forces of

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

. The subsequent

Battle of Gifu Castle The took place in September 1600 that led to the destruction of Gifu Castle in Gifu, Gifu, Gifu, Mino Province (modern-day Gifu Prefecture), Japan. The battle served as a prelude to the Battle of Sekigahara the following month. It pitted Oda Hid ...

in 1600 served as a prelude to both the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, ...

and the fall of Gifu Castle after a siege of only one day. Hidenobu was expelled to live the rest of his days as a monk at Mount Koya. With the establishment of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

, Gifu Castle was awarded to Ieyasu's son-in-law,

Okudaira Nobumasa , also called Okudaira Sadamasa (奥平貞昌), was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku and early Edo periods. Nobumasa's family considered their origins to have been associated with Mikawa Province. The clan was descended through the Akam ...

. However, due to its poor state of repair, Nobumasa decided to abolish Gifu Castle and to relocate to at the base of the mountain, and built Kanō Castle in 1603. Some of the structures of Gifu Castle, such as its largest three-storey ''yagura'' were dismantled and re-erected at the new location. The main keep was rebuilt in the 1910s with wooden building material repurposed from the old bridge across the Nagara river. The keep burnt down in an accident in 1943. The current version of the main keep of Gifu Castle is a concrete and steel structure that was built in the 1950s based on original drawings and plans, albeit with some changes.

Present day

Inside the reconstructed keep is a museum with three floors containing exhibits representing the castle's past. With maps, weapons, pictures and other artifacts on display, visitors can recreate the story of Gifu Castle. On the top floor of the castle, an observation deck, with a 360-degree panoramic view of the surrounding area, including the Nagara River and

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

. At various points throughout the year, the castle is also open to night viewing, providing an awe-inspiring view of the city.''Gifu City Walking Map''. Gifu Lively City Public Corporation, 2007. The newly opened Gifu City Tower 43 also provides panoramic views of the city and is open late year-round; however, its views are limited to only a few compass directions. Lights, walkways and signs that were added during 2005's beautification campaign make visiting the castle even more convenient and informative.''Outline of Gifu City 2005''. Gifu City Hall, April 2005.

Gifu Castle Archives Museum

When visitors pay the entrance fee to Gifu Castle, they also receive entrance to the Gifu Castle Archives Museum, located approximately from the entrance to Gifu Castle. Inside the museum, visitors will find more archives related to Gifu Castle and its past residents. The second floor focuses on musical instruments from Japan's past and present. Additionally, there are pictures of castles throughout Japan adorning the walls of the museum.

Castle operating hours

*Normal hours :March 16–May 11: 9:30 to 17:30 :May 12–October 16: 8:30 to 17:30 :October 17–March 15: 9:30 to 16:30 *Night viewing :April 28–May 6: until 21:30 :July 14–August 31: until 22:00 :September 1–October 14: until 21:30 (Saturday, Sunday, and holidays only) :October 15–November 30: until 18:30

Access

Mount Kinkazan offers hiking trails of varying difficulty to Gifu Castle and take approximately one hour.Mt. Kinka Hiking Trails
. Gifu City Hall. Accessed June 12, 2007. Visitors can also take the Mt. Kinka Ropeway that originates in Gifu Park to the mountain's summit, from which Gifu Castle is just a short walk away.Mt. Kinka Ropeway Homepage
Kinkazan Co. Access June 12, 2007 To get to Gifu Park, you can board buses operated by Gifu Bus at either JR

Gifu Station is a railway station in the heart of the city of Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan, operated by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). Lines Gifu Station is served by the JR Central Tōkaidō Main Line, and is located 396.3 kilometers from the ...

(Bus Platform 11 or 12) or

Meitetsu , publicly trading as , is a private railway company operating around Aichi Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture of Japan. Some of the more famous trains operated by Meitetsu include the '' Panorama Car'' and the '' Panorama Car Super'', both of w ...

(Bus Platform 4). The bus takes approximately 15 minutes to get to the bus stop for Gifu Park and the Museum of History (''Gifu Kōen, Rekishi Hakubutsukan-mae'').Gifu Bus (Noriai Jigyō-bu)
. Gifu Bus Co., Ltd. Accessed May 7, 2008.

References

Literature

* * *

External links

Gifu Castle Homepage

{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Gifu Museums in Gifu Prefecture Castles in Gifu Prefecture History museums in Japan Historic Sites of Japan Mino Province