Shinpu Castle was a Japanese hirayama-style fortress from the Sengoku period, situated in what is now Nirasaki, Yamanashi Prefecture. It served as the main stronghold of warlord Takeda Katsuyori. Designated as a National Historic Site in 1973, the castle occupies a strategic position on a mountain with steep cliffs, overlooking the Kamanashi River to the west of Kofu, where Takeda Shingen’s Tsutsujigasaki Castle once stood.
Following the death of his father, Takeda Shingen, Katsuyori initially expanded his territories into eastern Mino Province. However, after suffering a devastating defeat at the Battle of Nagashino against Oda Nobunaga’s matchlock-armed forces, in which he lost four of his top generals, the Takeda clan found themselves beset by hostile neighbors like the Oda, Tokugawa, Uesugi, and Odawara Hojo clans. Seeking a more defensible position, Katsuyori relocated his headquarters to Shinpu Castle in 1581, despite resistance from many of his vassals.
Shinpu Castle was built atop a hill formed by ancient lava flows from Mount Yatsugatake, with defenses stretching 500 meters north to south and 200 meters wide. Its inner bailey, positioned at the hilltop, connected to the main gate via a secondary bailey. The layout bore similarities to Tsutsujigasaki Castle. South of the central area was a third bailey, fortified by a clay wall, and the main gate featured additional protection in the form of a half-circular fortification with a dry moat. The northern side of the castle had further fortifications, including two barriers extending into a water moat. Construction was completed in just eight months under the supervision of Sanada Masayuki.
However, in early 1582, before the castle or its accompanying town were fully built, an alliance between Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu launched an invasion into the Takeda territories after the defection of Kiso Yoshimasa. Shinpu Castle, along with other Takeda strongholds, fell quickly to this advance. After the defeat at the Battle of Tenmokuzan, Katsuyori, with only 300-400 men left, abandoned and set fire to Shinpu Castle, retreating into the mountains in an attempt to reach Iwadono Castle. Despite advice from Sanada Masayuki to flee to Iwabitsu Castle, Katsuyori pressed on to Iwadono, only to be denied entry by Oyamada Nobushige, an old Takeda retainer. Facing no other option, Katsuyori committed suicide while his remaining forces delayed the pursuers.
Afterward, Oda Nobunaga sent Kawajiri Hidetaka to take control of Shinpu Castle while Tokugawa Ieyasu continued clearing out the remnants of the Takeda forces. The castle briefly became a Tokugawa stronghold before being abandoned and left to ruin. Today, no structures remain except for remnants of dry moats and earthenworks. A Shinto shrine now stands on the former site of the Inner bailey, and in 2017, the castle was listed among the Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles. It is a 10-minute walk from Shinpu Station on the JR East Chūo Main Line.
See also
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Amagasaki Castle
The founding year of Amagasaki Castle is traditionally considered to be 1617, when Toda Ujikané built his castle here, making it the administrative center of the Amagasaki Domain. However, as early as the Sengoku period, a fortress built by the Hosokawa clan already stood on this site. After the fall of Itami Castle in 1579, Araki Murashige—formerly a vassal of Oda Nobunaga who had rebelled against him—fled to this earlier castle.
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Hiroshima Castle
Mōri Terumoto (1553–1625) was the grandson and rightful heir of the renowned Mōri Motonari. When Terumoto became the head of the Mōri clan in 1571, he inherited vast territories covering a large part of the San’in and San’yō regions in western Honshū. In addition, the Mōri clan possessed the largest and most technologically advanced naval fleet of its time.
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Fukuyama Castle
After the defeat of Toyotomi Hideyori’s supporters in the Osaka Campaigns of 1614–1615, many clans in Japan still remained not fully loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate, especially in the western Chūgoku region. Mizuno Katsunari (1564–1651), a cousin of Tokugawa Ieyasu, became the first of the Tokugawa house’s close retainers, the so-called fudai daimyō, to be relocated to this strategically important area.
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Tiba Castle
The founder of the Chiba clan is considered to be Chiba Tsunesige (1083–1180), who in 1126 moved his residence to the Inohana area and built a strongly fortified stronghold there. Although Tsunesige himself came from the Taira clan, the Chiba clan later supported Minamoto no Yoritomo, the future founder of the first shogunate.
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Sunomata Castle
Oda Nobunaga, as part of his “final solution” to the conflict with the Saitō clan, conceived the construction of a fort in the Sunomata area, which was intended to serve as a forward base for an attack on Inabayama Castle (later renamed Gifu). Sunomata was a swampy area located between Ogaki Castle, a stronghold of the Oda clan, and Inabayama, the main fortress of the Saitō clan. Earlier attempts to build fortifications in this area, carried out by Oda generals Sakuma Nobumori and Shibata Katsuie, had all ended in failure. After that, the task was entrusted to the young vassal Kinoshita Tokichirō, who later became known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
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Shibata Castle
The exact time when structures first appeared on the site of the present-day castle is unknown; however, it is generally believed that the first fortified buildings were constructed here during the Muromachi period, when these lands were controlled by the Shibata clan.
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Okayama Castle
According to a number of accounts, the earliest fortifications on the site of present-day Okayama Castle appeared as early as the 14th century and were built by the Nawa clan. The Asahigawa River was used as a natural defensive barrier, protecting one side of the fortifications.
In the early 16th century, the Kanamitsu clan constructed a new castle here, which at the time was known as Ishiyama. In 1573, it came under the control of the Ukita clan, after which Ukita Naoie (1529–1582) launched large-scale reconstruction efforts. He did not live to see the work completed, and construction was continued by his son Hideie. -
Nagahama Castle
Hashiba, later known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi, received Odani Castle and the surrounding lands from Oda Nobunaga after the defeat of the Azai clan. However, Odani Castle was located high in the mountains, which made it poorly suited for the effective administration of the territory. For this reason, in 1575 Hideyoshi began constructing a new castle in the village of Imahama on the shore of Lake Biwa. Taking the character naga from Nobunaga’s name, he renamed both the village and the new castle Nagahama.
