Gujō Hachiman Castle
building in Gujo, Gifu Prefecture, Japan
Gujō Hachiman Castle (郡上八幡城, Gujō Hachiman-jō) is a yamashiro, or "mountain castle", located on Hachiman Mountain in the city of Gujō, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Its ruins were designated a Gifu Prefecture Historic Site in 1955.
Background
Gujo Hachiman Castle is located at the top of the 350 meter Mount Hachiman, close to the confluence of the Yoshida and Kodaraga Rivers and the main stream of the Nagara River. These two rivers and the mountain form a natural defense for the castle, which also commands a north–south road connecting central Mino Province with Nagoya and Gifu to the south and the Sea of Japan to the north, and an east–west road leading to Hida Province in the east and Echizen Province in the west.
History
In the Kamakura period, this area was controlled by a cadet branch of the Chiba clan, who were rewarded by the Kamakura shogunate for their role in the Jōkyū War. This cadet branch was named the Tō clan (東氏) and due to their skill at waka poetry, became close retainers of the Ashikaga shogunate in the Muromachi period. They constructed a castle called "Shinowaki Castle". The 8th Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa ordered Tō Tsuneyori to lead an expedition to the Kantō region to restore the authority of the shogunate. In his absence, his castle was seized by the deputy shugo of Mino, Saitō Myōchin. However, Tō Tsuneyori's skill at poetry was such that he was able to persuade Saitō to restore the castle to him with a poem.
The public source identifies “Gujō Hachiman Castle” as building in Gujo, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Gujō, Hachiman and Castle.
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Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2969384. Authority coordinates are 35.753, 136.961. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1955.
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This entry incorporates text from “Gujō Hachiman Castle” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.