Fortified residence (yakata)Mountain castle (yamajiro)Next 100 Fine Castles No. 102
What makes this castle distinctive
A fort on the Sea of Japan built by the founder of the Matsumae clan, where over 500 bone and antler tools of the kind used by the Ainu turned up among the finds, suggesting Japanese settlers and Ainu lived side by side.
Why?
Katsuyamadate was built by Takeda Nobuhiro in the late 15th century and served the Takeda (later Kakizaki) family as a political, military and trading base until the late 16th century. Among more than 100,000 excavated objects were over 500 bone and antler tools of the kind the Ainu used at the time. In the cemetery on Mount Iozan behind the fort, graves following Ainu burial customs were found among Buddhist-style ones, a discovery regarded as key evidence of the relationship between the two peoples.[1][3]
Rebuilt fences, moats and bridge, and marked building sites
Where
Inside the fort, which spreads down the slope running north from the middle of Mount Iozan.
What to look at
The reconstructed fences, dry moats and bridge, the outlines of buildings and wells on the ground, and the explanation boards at each point.
Why it's interesting
More than two decades of excavation uncovered many traces of buildings, wells, dry moats and bridges. Using these results, the town has rebuilt fences, moats and a bridge in three dimensions and marked building and well sites on the ground. Research has also shown that, together with the town below it, the fort formed a landscape worthy of being called a medieval city.[1]
Can you see it?
Visible from outsideThe site can be walked freely (no official opening hours or fees are listed).
At the foot of Mount Iozan (159 m), behind the fort.
What to look at
White markers for more than 600 graves standing in the sea wind.
Why it's interesting
The graves are thought to belong to people who lived at Katsuyamadate. Among Buddhist-style burials, graves following Ainu customs were excavated, an important find showing the ties between the settlers and the Ainu. On the summit stands Iozan Shrine, dedicated to Takeda Nobuhiro, with views over the Amanogawa river mouth, the Sea of Japan and the islands of Okushiri and Oshima.[3]
Can you see it?
Visible from outsideThe grave area and the summit can be visited; please be quiet and respectful in the cemetery.
03
Katsuyamadate Guidance Facility
Where
Next to the site (427 Katsuyama, Kaminokuni).
What to look at
A 1:200 model to compare with the real site through the window, a CG reconstruction video, and seven graves recreated in the basement from molds taken exactly as they were excavated.
Why it's interesting
The basement graves include cremation burials and flexed burials, recreated in their original positions, and excavated finds are on display. The town's English page calls it the only place where you can understand and experience 15th–16th century Hokkaido. A stop before or after walking the site makes the fort much easier to picture.[2][4]
Can you see it?
Partly visibleOpen only from mid-April to early November (April 11 to November 8 in 2026); admission charged.
At a glance for visitors
Time neededEditors' estimate
About 1.5 hours for the Guidance Facility, the fort site and the Iozan burial mounds.
Admission
Adults 200 yen (groups 160 yen), elementary to high school students 100 yen (groups 80 yen). A combined ticket with the Old Sasanami Residence is available.
Hours
10:00–16:00 (open April 11 to November 8 in 2026)
Access
Open to visitors
The fort site and Mount Iozan can be walked freely (no official hours or fees are listed). The Guidance Facility opens only from mid-April to early November and charges admission. The Next 100 Castles stamp is at the Guidance Facility during its season and at the Kaminokuni Board of Education (in the town welfare center, 100 Omome) when it is closed.
Katsuyamadate is a hill fort built on the slope that runs north from the middle of Mount Iozan. Below it, the mouth of the Amanogawa river and the inlet of Ozuma were busy with ships trading along the Sea of Japan. Mount Iozan itself is described as the fort's tsume-no-maru, its last line of defense.[3][7]
02
Historical record
Takeda Nobuhiro, founder of the Matsumae line
The fort was built by Takeda Nobuhiro, ancestor of the later Matsumae lords. According to the Shinra no Kiroku, Nobuhiro distinguished himself in Koshamain's War of 1457, married the adopted daughter of Kakizaki Sueshige, the governor of Kaminokuni, and built the nearby Suzaki fort the same year. The town says he then built Katsuyamadate at the foot of Mount Iozan, laying the foundation for the 300-year Matsumae domain. Because the fort's guardian shrine, Tategami Hachimangu, is said to have been founded in 1473, the fort is thought to date from around then.[1][5][7][8]
03
Scholarly interpretation
A fort shared by settlers and Ainu
Until the late 16th century, Katsuyamadate was the Takeda-Kakizaki family's main political, military and trading base on the Sea of Japan coast. Because more than 500 bone and antler tools of the type used by the Ainu were found among the finds, the medieval historian Amino Yoshihiko wrote that it was "almost certain" that settlers and Ainu lived together in the fort. The Hakodate tourism site describes the fort's purposes as settler trade and defense against Ainu attacks, suggesting an age of both exchange and conflict.[1][4][5]
04
Historical record
The family moves its base to Matsumae
In 1514, under Nobuhiro's son Mitsuhiro, the Kakizaki moved their headquarters to Tokuyama fort in Matsumae. Katsuyamadate then became an important secondary fort held by family members, known as the waki-date or Waki-no-tate. It remained in use until around the late 16th century.[7][1]
05
Historical record
Daily life revived by 100,000 finds
None of the buildings survive, but more than 20 years of excavation have produced over 100,000 objects, including some 50,000 pieces of pottery and porcelain such as Chinese celadon, white ware and blue-and-white, and Japanese Mino and Echizen wares, plus metal and wooden items. Many traces of buildings, wells, moats and bridges were also found. These reveal daily life inside the fort, and Katsuyamadate now appears in school history textbooks as a key site for the medieval north.[1]
06
Historical record
Protected as the Kaminokuni fort sites
The Katsuyamadate site was designated a National Historic Site in 1977 and extended in 1987. In 2006 it was combined with the Hanazawa and Suzaki fort sites as the Kaminokuni Fort Sites (Kaminokuni-tate ato). Fences and moats have been rebuilt and building sites marked inside the fort, and the Katsuyamadate Guidance Facility opened in fiscal 2005. In 2017 it was named one of the Next 100 Fine Castles of Japan.[1][3][6]
Combined with the Hanazawa and Suzaki sites as the Kaminokuni Fort Sites[1]
Named one of the Next 100 Fine Castles of Japan[5][6]
Buildings and remains
The keep today
No keep was built
A medieval fort; it never had a keep.
The site today
The site is laid out as a historic park, with rebuilt fences, moats and a bridge, building and well sites marked on the ground, and explanation boards. Behind it are the Iozan burial mounds and Iozan Shrine; the Katsuyamadate Guidance Facility is nearby.
Main buildings
Modern reconstruction
Fences, dry moats and bridge
Rebuilt in three dimensions based on the excavations.[1]
National Historic Site (Kaminokuni Fort Sites: Katsuyamadate; extended 1987, combined and renamed 2006) (1977)Editorial article
Selection
Next 100 Fine Castles No. 102Japan Castle Foundation
Visiting
Access
Open to visitors
The fort site and Mount Iozan can be walked freely (no official hours or fees are listed). The Guidance Facility opens only from mid-April to early November and charges admission. The Next 100 Castles stamp is at the Guidance Facility during its season and at the Kaminokuni Board of Education (in the town welfare center, 100 Omome) when it is closed.
Mondays (or the next day if Monday is a holiday) and the day after a national holiday; closed outside the season
Admission
Adults 200 yen (groups 160 yen), elementary to high school students 100 yen (groups 80 yen). A combined ticket with the Old Sasanami Residence is available.[2][4]
Checked: 2026-10-03
By car / parking
About 2 hours by car from JR Hakodate Station. Free parking for about 20 cars.[5]
Checked: 2026-10-03
Grounds opening hours
No official hours for the site (the Hakodate tourism site lists it among places you can enter early or late).[5]Checked: 2026-10-03
Time neededEditors' estimate
About 1.5 hours for the Guidance Facility, the fort site and the Iozan burial mounds.
Steps, slopes and footing
The fort stretches north–south along a hillside, and you can walk up from the parking area to the summit of Mount Iozan (159 m).[5][3][7]
Wheelchairs and strollers
No accessibility information was found.Checked: 2026-10-03
Toilets and rest
No information on toilets was found.
English signs / audio guide
The Kaminokuni town website has an English page for the Guidance Facility, and the Hakodate tourism site lists the site as having English signs.[4][5]
Seasons
Mount Iozan is known for its azaleas, and the Iozan Festival is held when they peak in June.[5]
Photography
No official photography rules were found.
Works, closures and restrictions
The Guidance Facility closes for the season after November 8, 2026. Winter conditions at the site (snow, etc.) were not confirmed.[2]Checked: 2026-10-03
The home of an old herring-fishing family and the oldest surviving house in Hokkaido, an Important Cultural Property. Its storehouses display items that show Edo-period ties between the Ainu and settlers, such as ikupasuy ritual sticks found locally. Open April 11 to November 8 in 2026, 10:00–16:00; adults 300 yen.[9]
Checked: 2026-10-03
Editors' guide
An editorial guide based on sources and confirmed information — not a first-hand visit report.
Who will enjoy it
For those interested in medieval Hokkaido and the relationship between settlers and the Ainu, or who like to see excavation results on the ground. Not the place if you are expecting a keep or stone walls.
What makes it interesting
Get the overall picture from the model and video at the Guidance Facility and see the recreated graves in the basement. Then walk the site to see the rebuilt fences and moats, and continue to the Iozan burial mounds and the summit's view over the Sea of Japan.
Before you go
It takes about 2 hours by car from Hakodate, and no official public transport directions were found. The Guidance Facility closes in winter (open until November 8 in 2026). The fort's history comes from Matsumae domain records and excavations; there is no account from the Ainu side.
Ways to enjoy it
At the Guidance Facility, compare the 1:200 model with the real site through the window to see what stood where. With the combined ticket, carry on to the Old Sasanami Residence to follow Ainu–settler relations into the Edo period.
Photos
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Open questions
The founding date is an estimate based on the traditional 1473 founding of the guardian shrine (the Japan Castle Foundation gives "around 1473").
That settlers and Ainu lived together is the view of historian Amino Yoshihiko as quoted by the town; the Hakodate tourism site lists defense against Ainu attacks among the fort's purposes.
The 1514 move to Matsumae and the name Waki-no-tate come from a secondary source (Wikipedia).
The town gives over 100,000 excavated objects while a secondary source says 70,000; the town says more than 20 years of excavation while the tourism site says 30.
Public transport access, site opening hours, toilets and accessibility could not be confirmed.
On-nekoCC BY-SA 4.0Wikimedia Commons
