The Ruins of Ise-Kameyama Castle in Mie Prefecture

The Ruins of Ise-Kameyama Castle in Mie Prefecture

It is said that Ise Kameyama Castle was first built by SEKI Sanetada(? - 1265) in 1265 in the middle of the Kamakura Age(1185 - 1333).

Later, the SEKI clan became the lords of Kameyama Castle and ruled the area. In 1573, SEKI Morinobu(? - 1593) was exiled by ODA Nobunaga(1534 - 1582), and Nobunaga's vassal OKAMOTO Munenori(1542 - 1600) became the lord of the castle and began rebuilding the castle.

HONDA Toshitsugu(1595 - 1668) became the lord of the castle in 1636. He carried out major renovations to Kameyama Castle, building an outer moat and developing the Main, the Second, the East-Third and the West-Third baileys.

The nearest station to the ruins of Ise-Kameyama Castle is Kameyama Station on the Kansai Main Line. I headed north from Kameyama Station. At the end of a gentle slope, a pond came into view on the side of the road.

The pond was part of the outer moat of Ise-Kameyama Castle. To the west of the pond, Kameyama Junior High School is located. The schoolyard also used to be part of the outer moat of Kameyama Castle.

You will see "Tamon" Turret on a hill facing the schoolyard. "Tamon" Turret was built in 1630s. I walked up the slope from the schoolyard, passed the site of Ishizaka Gate and headed for "Tamon" Turret located on the site of the Main Bailey. "Tamon" Turret can be seen beyond the stone monument of Ise-Kameyama Castle.

The impressive stone walls of the Main Bailey remain, and "Tamon" Turret stands on top of them.

A Castle Tower was located on the site where "Tamon" Turret is now located until 1632. There is an anecdote that says that when HORIO Tadaharu(1596 - 1633) was ordered by the shogunate to destroy the Castle Tower of Tanba-Kameyama Castle, he mistakenly destroyed the Ise-Kameyama Castle Tower instead.

"Tamon" Turret had previously been renovated from its original white plaster exterior to black clapboards, but restoration work to return it to its original white plaster exterior was carried out from 2011 to 2012.
"Tamon" Turret is open for the public.

It was reported that the tower was set on fire on December 14, 2012, just before the completion of the restoration work. Although part of the pillar was burned, the fire fortunately did not spread and was extinguished.

To the north of Tamon Turret across the road, the site of the Kusunoki Gate is located. Kusunoki Gate was the gate leading from the Second Bailey to the Main Bailey. Kusunoki Gate was collapsed in the great earthquake happened in 1854.

Kameyama Shrine is located to the west of the site of Kusunoki Gate. The photos below show the gate of OKUBO clan and the worship hall of Kameyama Shrine behind it. The Okubo family has been priests at Kameyama Shrine for generations.

Kameyama Shrine was founded in 1744 when ISHIKAWA Fusayoshi (1704 - 1764) became the lord of the castle, and has been the guardian deity of Kameyama Castle ever since.

On the northwest side of the Kusunoki Gate, the Palace in the Main Bailey was located during the Edo Age(1603 - 1868). The site of the Palace is now a children's park.

At the northern end of the Main Bailey, the site of the earthworks of a three-storied turret remain. It was built in 1641 by HONDA Toshitsugu(1595 - 1668), the feudal lord of Ise-Kameyama at the time, as a replacement for the main castle tower destroyed by HORIO Tadaharu.

The north side of the site of the Main Bailey is deeply carved out, and a pond appeared to be quite low in position. The pond used to be the outer moat of Ise-Kameyama Castle.

Heading west along the road in front of the children's park and down the slope, you will be at the bank of the pond which you saw from the site of the Main Bailey.

A white earthen wall could be seen from the bottom of the moat.

This white wall surrounds the Kitabori bailey in the Second Bailey. It was restored in 2006. The Second Bailey is located on the hill, to the east of the Main bailey. The site of the Second Bailey is currently the site of Kameyama City Hall and Kameyama-Nishi Elementary School.

The Main Bailey was built as a place for the TOKUGAWA Shogun to stay, while the residence of the feudal lord and the palace that served as the government office of the Kameyama Feudal Domain were built in the Second Bailey.

At the western end of the castle, the remains of the outer moat of Kameyama Castle have been restored.

Earthworks were built along the moat. The water was only 60cm deep, but the moat and earthworks were steeply sloped, so it was difficult to keep enemies away.

The castle lords changed frequently until the middle of the eighteenth century. But in 1744, ISHIKAWA Fusayoshi became the lord of the castle, and the ISHIKAWA clan became the lords of Kameyama Castle for generations.

How to get there
From Tokyo, take a "Nozomi", Tokaido Shinkansen, to Nagoya. Change to a local train on the "Kansai Main Line" to Kameyama. The ruins of Kameyama Castle are located to the north, approximately fifteen minutes on foot.

Other Historical Sites near by:
Kameyama Castle Town
Seki Post Town
Mt. Gozaisho
Iga-Ueno
Ruins of Tsu Castle
Ruins of Matsusaka Castle