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Usayama Castle Ruins
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Nobunaga's frontline fortress where Mori Yoshinari fell in the 1570 Battle of Usayama — preserving some of the oldest Nobunaga-era dry-laid stone walls, with a panoramic view of Lake Biwa from its 336-metre summit
Founded
1570
Type
Castle
Visited
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Access
About 15 min walk from Omijingu-mae Station (Keihan Ishiyama-Sakamoto Line) to the trailhead (Usa Hachimangu Shrine), then 30–40 min hike to summit / About 10 min walk from JR Otsu-kyo Station to Usa Hachimangu Shrine
Minami-Shiga, Otsu City, Shiga
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Info
Castle
Founded 1570
456 years
Overview
A mountain castle ruin on a 336-metre summit in Minami-Shiga, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture — built in 1570 (Genki 1) by **Mori Yoshinari** (1523–1570), a trusted general of **Oda Nobunaga**. The castle has three tiers (main enclosure, second enclosure, third enclosure) arranged north to south over a ridge approximately 170 m × 45 m. **Dry-laid stone walls (nozumizumi) surviving in the main and seco…
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Origins
Usayama Castle was built in 1570 (Genki 1) on a 336-metre summit overlooking the western shore of Lake Biwa, by **Mori Yoshinari** (1523–1570) on the orders of **Oda Nobunaga**. Known as 'Sanza the Attacker' for his ferocious battlefield style, Yoshinari was one of Nobunaga's most trusted generals s…
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Related Figures
— 3

Oda Nobunaga
Revolutionary of Tenka Fubu
Age 36 at founding
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In 1570, after entering Kyoto, Nobunaga found his rear threatened by the allied Azai and Asakura clans. He ordered his senior retainer Mori Yoshinari to build Usayama Castle. That September, Yoshinari held it with a small garrison against a coalition force of over 30,000 before falling in battle at Sakamoto, buying crucial time for Nobunaga's forces to defend Kyoto.
Akechi Mitsuhide
Perpetrator of the Honnoji Incident
Age 42 at founding
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After Mori Yoshinari died defending Usayama Castle in 1570, Akechi Mitsuhide took command of it. The castle served as his base during Nobunaga's 1571 burning of Mount Hiei's Enryaku-ji. Rewarded with southern Omi Province and permission to build Sakamoto Castle, Mitsuhide left Usayama once Sakamoto was complete, and the castle was abandoned.
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