Ruins of Ohgaki Castle, Gifu Prefecture

Ruins of Ohgaki Castle, Gifu Prefecture

Ohgaki Castle is located in the south-western part of, present-day, Gifu Prefecture. Ohgaki Castle was originally built by Ohgaki Clan, who were the local feudal domain in the area, in the middle of the fifteenth century.

TOYOTOMI Hideyoshi (1537 - 1598) , who became the ruler of Japan in 1585, ordered HITOTSUYANAGI Naosuke (1553 - 1590) to build Ohgaki Castle. It is said that the main castle tower of Ohgaki Castle was built in 1588.

On the eve of the Battle of Sekigahara, the Western Army led by ISHIDA Mitsunari (1560 - 1600) used Ohgaki Castle as their headquarters. However, when the Eastern Army bypassed Ogaki Castle and headed for Sekigahara, the Western Army also left the castle and headed for Sekigahara, the site of the decisive battle.

Please refer the page of "Sekigahara Battlefield":
http://cf916626.cloudfree.jp/HandE_Japan/TravelDestinations/Chubu/Sekigahara_E.html

At the beginning of the Edo Age (1603 - 1868) , ISHIKAWA Yasumichi (1554 - 1607) and MATSUDAIRA Tadayoshi (1582 - 1624) , who were the key retainers of TOKUGAWA Ieyasu, who led the Eastern Army and won the Battle of Sekigahara, became the castle lord of Ohgaki Castle. In 1635, TODA Ujikane (1576 - 1655) transferred to the Ohgaki Feudal Domain as the castle lord of Ohgaki Castle. The TODA Clan continued to rule the domain until the Edo Age was ended in 1868.

I headed straight south from Ogaki Station, crossed the Mizumon River, which was once the remains of a moat. I arrived at the east gate of Ogaki Castle.

The east gate was originally the Yanagiguchi Gate, located near the current Ogaki City Hall. In the Edo Age, "Tamon Turrets" stood facing the moat, where the East Gate was located.

To the north of the east gate, "Ushitora Turret" is located at the north-east corner of the main bailey of Ohgaki Castle. "Ushitora" means the north-east direction in Japanese. "Ushitora Turret" was destroyed during World War II, and the exterior was restored after the war.

From the "Ushitora Turret" located in the northeast corner, the "Tamon Turret", "Mizunote Gate", and "Inui Turret" are lined up at the northern end of Ohgaki Castle main bailey.

To the west of these castle buildings, there is a large plaza. In the Edo Age, Ohgaki Castle had the main bailey and the second bailey, connected north and south in the center, surrounded by multi-layered baileys. Today, only the main bailey remains.

You will see the main castle tower from the large plaza.

The plaza west of the main bailey is the former site of the inner moat and the third bailey. I went into the main bailey from the west gate of the main bailey.

In the Edo Age, there was no gate in this location. The only way to enter the main Bailey was through the second bailey on the south side. The west gate was built in 1985.

In the main bailey, I went to see the main castle tower. It was rebuilt in 1959 on top of the original stone wall foundations, with the same appearance as in the Edo Age.

A stone monument marks the water level during the flood at the main castle tower that occurred in 1896. The maximum flood depth in Ohgaki reached a depth of 4.2 meters.

The appearance of the main castle tower is shown in the below picture.

The appearance of the main castle tower is the same as it was in the Edo Age, so you can still feel the atmosphere of the time.