Castle Sites of the Kobayakawa Clan, with the Sites of Takayama Castle, Nitakayama Castle and Mihara Castle

From Mountain Fortresses to a Castle by the Sea

The Castle Sites of the Kobayakawa Clan, with the Sites of Takayama Castle, Nitakayama Castle and Mihara Castle (小早川氏城跡／高山城跡／新高山城跡／三原城跡) is the castle sites of the Kobayakawa clan, comprising Takayama Castle, Nitakayama Castle and Mihara Castle, in Takasaka-cho, Hongo-cho and other parts of Mihara City, Hiroshima Prefecture, designated a Historic Site in 1957.

According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Kobayakawa descended from Doi Tohira, who became steward of the Nuta estate, and by the Nanbokucho period had built castles and become a powerful local family.

The Agency values the sites as showing, step by step, how a family that relied on mountain strongholds moved to a key point of land and sea routes, and for their distinctive castle designs.

The Three Castles

According to the Agency, Takayama Castle was built on the summit of a mountain on the east bank of the Nuta River, overlooking the plain. On either side of a hollow called the Goten running north to south along the summit, enclosures such as the main bailey to the north and the Senjojiki to the south are strung out in a line, divided by dry moats, preserving the form of a Nanbokucho castle.

Nitakayama Castle stands on the mountain opposite, on the west bank. Mihara City explains that Kobayakawa Takakage built it in 1552 and moved his base there from Takayama; an inner area of seven enclosures, including the main bailey and the Tsurii-no-dan, is protected by outer enclosures, with stone walls surviving and six wells at the Tsurii-no-dan. The Agency values the well-preserved stone walls and square gate enclosures for tracing their development.

What to Look For

According to the Agency, Mihara Castle, begun by Takakage and completed by February 1583, was a flatland castle facing the sea to the south, with the main bailey flanked east and west by the second and third baileys across water moats. Takakage died in the castle in 1597; it later served as a branch castle of Hiroshima under the Fukushima and Asano clans until the Meiji Restoration.

The Agency notes that the building of the San'yo Railway destroyed part of the main bailey, and land reclamation and urban growth mean that the castle no longer survives complete.

Visiting the Castle Sites of the Kobayakawa Clan, with the Sites of Takayama Castle, Nitakayama Castle and Mihara Castle

No official visitor information could be found.

Enquiries: Mihara City cultural properties section, 0848-64-9234.