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Research dossier · Places & Architecture

Odaka Castle

castle in Yonago, Tottori, Japan

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 11, 2026
Entity authorityQ11465536
Source-derived summary

Odaka Castle (尾高城, Odaka-jō)) was a hirayama-style Japanese castle located in the Odaka neighbourhood of the city of Yonago, Tottori Prefecture in western Japan. It was also known as Izumiyama Castle (泉山城, Izumiyama-jō)). Its ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 2019.

Overview

Odaka Castle is located on a fluvial terrace 40 meters above sea level, it overlooks Mount Daisen and the Minokaya Plain. During the Sengoku period, it was a strategic point in western Hōki Province and was the site of conflicts between the Amago and Mōri clans. The early history of the castle is uncertain. Archaeological excavations conducted in 1974 during the construction of the Yonago Workers' General Welfare Center "Yonago Heights," found imported and domestic ceramics, ancient coins, hairpins, and knives dating from the 13th to 16th centuries, suggesting that it began as the stronghold of a local warlord in the Kamakura period. In the Nanboku-chō period it was ruled by the Yukimasa clan, who were vassals of the Amago. Yukimasa Masamori was expelled by the Amago in 1524, but returned with the Mōri armies in 1562 and regained the castle. He died the following year, and Sugihara Morishige, a retainer of the Mōri became castellan.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Odaka Castle” is castle in Yonago, Tottori, Japan. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Odaka, Castle and castle, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2019, 1974, 1524, 1562—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Odaka, Castle and castle is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “castle in Yonago, Tottori, Japan” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q11465536. Authority coordinates are 35.421, 133.412. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2019, 1974, 1524 and 1562.

Critical limits

Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Odaka Castle”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Odaka Castle primary sources, Odaka Castle archive and Odaka research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Odaka Castle”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Odaka 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.