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Castle Futagamiyama Castle

This article is in the series Walking the Japanese Castles
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Futagamiyama Castle (二上山城 Futagamiyama-jō) is located in Iwami Town in Tottori Prefecture. It was a fortress constructed by Yamana Tokiuji (山名時氏), a commander of the Nanboku-chō Period (1336 to 1392) when the Northern Court, supported by Shogun Ashikaga Takauji, and the Southern Court, established by Emperor Go-Daigo, confronted each other.

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Futagamiyama Castle was the base of the Yamana clan in Inaba Province (modern-day eastern Tottori) in 1350's until 1466. The Yamana were most influential during the Muromachi Period when they served as shugo (military governors or constables) over eleven provinces. They lost most of their land holdings in the Ōnin War (1467-77) but retained Inaba Province until the end of the Tokugawa reign. Futagamiyama Castle was abandoned after the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600.

I reached Futagamiyama via Prefectural Route 188 and Iwami agricultural road from Fukube-machi. I parked my car in a parking lot on the left side of the road, right after passing the Futagamiyama Tunnel.

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I climbed the promenade from here. The course was well-maintained, but the path was considerably steep. Attackers would have faced a lot of difficulties scaling the fortress.

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The map is based on the Digital Japan Portal Web Site run by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan.

Those stairs seemed endless.

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There was an observation platform on the eastern side of the former castle grounds.

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It was quite difficult to trace this ditch.

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Then I reached the second bailey. Some ceramics pieces were excavated here.

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Soon, I arrived at the first bailey. It had taken forty minutes from the parking lot.

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The view from the first enclosure: it is a bit hard to discern in the picture below, but the Sea of Japan was visible in the background.

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This time, I embarked on a tour of castles in eastern Tottori. This was the first one I visited. That feather was most likely of a black kite. As it seemed to be an auspicious find, I brought it back.

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Date of visit: 13 July 2013

Access Information

  • Address: Iwatsune, Iwami-machi, Iwami-gun, Tottori
  • Transportation: 22km from Tottori Expressway Tottori IC via National Route 9 and Iwami agricultural road
Next article in the series 'Walking the Japanese Castles': Edo Castle
Previous article in the series 'Walking the Japanese Castles': Hachigata Castle
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Hiroto Uehara
Hiroto is an ordinary Japanese office worker, but his true mission is searching for castles on the weekend.

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Series table of contents

Iwatsuki Castle Shakujii Castle Oda Castle Tsuchiura Castle Miharu Castle Inohana Castle Setagaya Castle Konodai Castle Usui Castle Sakura Castle Kozukue Castle Masugata Castle Koga Castle Tenjinyama Castle Ogura Castle Sugaya Castle Sugiyama Castle Kogane Castle Kokokuji Castle Nagahama Castle (Izu) Nirayama Castle Hachigata Castle Futagamiyama Castle Edo Castle Kawahara Castle Kageishi Castle Wakasa-Onigajo Castle Tenjinyama Castle (Tottori) Tsuzurao Castle Ueshi Castle Jindaiji Castle Kururi Castle Mariyatsu Castle Narukami Castle Ryozen Castle Kori-Nishiyama Castle Tsutsujigasaki Residence Yogai Castle Kofu Castle Iwadono Castle Hachioji Castle Takiyama Castle Suemori Castle Nagoya Castle Inuyama Castle Kiyosu Castle Tatebayashi Castle Sano Castle Karasawayama Castle Ueda Castle Sanada Residence Sanada Honjo Toishi Castle Katsurao Castle Uchiyama Castle Hiraga Clan Castle Taguchi Castle Tatsuoka Castle Komoro Castle Matsushiro Castle Kajiki Castle Kakuto Castle Hitoyoshi Castle Ichiuji Castle Izaku Castle Chiran Castle Kiyoshiki Castle Kamo Castle Miyakono Castle Obi Castle Shibushi Castle Koyama Castle Mukasa Castle Sadowara Castle Tonokoori Castle Taka Castle Nerima Castle Kawagoe Castle Ashikaga Residence Koizumi Castle Kanayama Castle Shinagawa Battery (Odaiba) Tamba Kameyama Castle Yagi Castle Sonobe Castle Fushimi Castle Yodo Castle Shoryuji Castle Yamazaki Castle Tsukui Castle Katakura Castle Hirayama Castle Site Park Yamanaka Castle Sanuki Castle Sunpu Castle Koyama Castle (Shizuoka) Ryugenzan Castle Sagara Castle Tanaka Castle (Shizuoka) Ishiwaki Castle Hanazawa Castle Mochifune Castle Moriyama Castle (Aichi) Obata Castle (Aichi) Ryusenji Castle Gakuden Castle Komakiyama Castle Iwakura Castle (Aichi) Kano Castle Gifu Castle Kitagata Castle Sone Castle Ōgaki Castle Ōtaki Castle Obata Castle (Ibaraki) Mito Castle Kasama Castle Tanagura Castle Akadate Castle Inawashiro Castle Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle Mukai-Haguroyama Castle

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Hiroto Uehara
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二上山城 鳥取県

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