Climbing Yagi Castle Ruins

The ruins of Yagi Castle, located northwest of Kyoto City, seems to be a hot spot right now.

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Yagi Castle is a mountain castle built on Mt.Shiroyama, 330 meters above sea level. According to the map, it takes about 40 minutes to go up and 30 minutes to go down.

The scale of the remains that can be confirmed today (about 700 meters from east to west and 900 meters from north to south) is one of the largest in the country of Tamba the area spans from present-day Kyoto Prefecture to Hyogo Prefecture, during the Warring States Period.

It was said to be one of the three largest mountain castles in Tamba, along with Kuroi Castle in Hikami and Yagami Castle in Taki. The Naito clan used this castle as their headquarters, but it fell in 1579 when Akechi Mitsuhide invaded Tamba.

When I got off at Yagi Station, the eighth stop on the JR line from Kyoto Station, I was suddenly surrounded by a crew from NHK. They said they were featuring Joan Naito, a Christian warlord with ties to Yagi Castle.

There were no maps or pamphlets available in front of the station, but there is a large sign in the square in front of the station to guide you so you can walk out without getting lost.

Passing by an elementary school,

Passing through a large old house,

This is Kasuga Shrine. This is the starting point for climbing Yagi Castle.

There was a monument to Joan Naito. It is in the shape of a cross, as is typical of Christians.

To summarize the inscription, Joan Naito was a Christian warlord who became an envoy after the invasion of Korea and made peace with the Ming Dynasty. In his later years, he was exiled to the Philippines because of the ban on Christianity, where he translated medical and religious books and died in Manila.

Illustration of Joan Naito. Cool!!!

From this monument, you can see the Yagi Castle trailhead. The entrance of the tunnel looks like a castle gate.

After exiting the tunnel, we found this easy-to-follow entrance to the climb.

First station.

The signboard of the north residence group. In the mountain castle, there are steep mountain trails and flat areas alternately, and on the flat areas, as shown here, there are residences for daily life.

This is a five-ring pagoda. They are scattered here and there. It is believed to be a memorial tower for the deceased.

Second, third, forth station.

Fifth station. Let's take a break and rehydrate at this point.

The steep gradient continues after the fifth station.

The sixth station, the remains of a kuruwa. A kuruwa was an area of the castle where soldiers in charge of defense were stationed. It was surrounded by earthen mounds, stone walls, and moats, and had gates, walls, and turrets.

Seventh station.

Station nine! Oh, I missed the eighth station.

The remains of Ninomaru. We came to a slightly wider flat area. Ninomaru is the second most important kuruwa after the Honmaru.

The top is almost there.

At last, the summit! An unusually wide flat area. The signboard that says "Ruins of the Honmaru” is dazzling.

You can see the expansive plain from Yagi Station to Kameoka City. Mt. Atago, a mountain of faith in Kyoto, can be seen to the left. The view from the top is a wonderful gift, as the path has been shaded by trees all this time.

A little further down from the plain, there is a signboard that says "Ruins of the Golden Room” It is said to be a turret where treasures such as war funds were kept.

Now I’m going down the mountain. This time, I will take the "westward course".

Ninth station.

There was a cave. It is said that the princess of the Naito clan hid here and escaped when she was accused by the Akechi army.

Eighth station.

The steep rocky descent continues.

The path splits at this point, and there is a steep descent and a gentle descent. I chose the gentle descent.

Fifth station.

The forked road has rejoined.

Fourth station. After this, it is an easy and gentle descent.

There was a stone lantern.

The graveyard at the foot of the mountain is coming into view.

First station. Goodbye to the mountains.

I had a chat with the head priest of the temple at the foot of the mountain, Ryukoji Temple. The entrance to this temple is planted with peonies, peonies, and hybrids of both. The head priest of the temple grows them with great care. There is a plum tree grove outside the temple gate, and this spring tourists came not only from Kyoto Prefecture but also from Osaka and Hyogo.