CastleMountain castle (yamajiro)Next 100 Fine Castles No. 145
What makes this castle distinctive
The shrine garden was the governor's residence garden, and the summit behind it was his last-resort mountain fortress. Only together do they make one castle.
Why?
The Kitabatake family, governors (kokushi) of Ise Province, ran their territory from a residence at the foot of the mountain, where Kitabatake Shrine stands today, and built Kiriyama Castle on the summit behind it for times of war. The residence and the mountain castle were protected separately at first, but in 2006 they were merged into a single National Historic Site, the Tage Kitabatake Clan Castle and Residence Site. The Japan Castle Foundation also lists the two together under that name.[1][6][7][12]
Inside the grounds of Kitabatake Shrine, on the site of the residence itself.
What to look at
The rocks set around the pond and the way the garden is laid out for strolling around it.
Why it's interesting
Tradition says the garden was made by Hosokawa Takakuni, who held the post of kanrei, the shogun's deputy; Tsu City estimates it dates from around 1521. A residence garden was also a formal space for receiving guests, and this one shows how the culture of the capital reached remote Tage. It is a national Place of Scenic Beauty as well as part of the Historic Site.[1][3][5][9][10]
Can you see it?
Visible from outsideAdmission fee required. Closed on the shrine's rest days (the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month).
02
The fallback fort right behind the residence
Where
On the ridge directly behind the residence site, partway along the trail up to Kiriyama Castle.
What to look at
The flat top, about 35 m east to west, and the narrow terraces (kuruwa) and trenches cut across the ridge (horikiri) around it.
Why it's interesting
It stands about 80 m above the residence. With one defensive post right above the residence and Kiriyama Castle on the higher summit beyond, you can see the two-step defense that tied the residence to the mountain castle.[4]
Can you see it?
Visible from outsideReached on foot along the mountain trail. How well the path is maintained is not confirmed.
The summit, reached by following the ridge up from behind Kitabatake Shrine.
What to look at
The earthen banks (dorui) around the baileys, the trenches cutting the ridge, and the view from the top.
Why it's interesting
This was the mountain stronghold that guarded the Kitabatake family's home base for about 240 years from the 14th century. There are no stone walls or buildings; what survives is a medieval mountain castle shaped by cutting and piling earth. It fell to Oda Nobunaga's forces in 1576.[1][4][8][13]
Can you see it?
Visible from outsideRequires a climb on a mountain path; reference sources put it about 2 km from the shrine.
At a glance for visitors
Nearest station
10 min walk from JR Ise-Okitsu Station (bus to Kamitage Kosaten)
Climb
No climb
Time neededEditors' estimate
30–60 minutes for the shrine and garden; allow 2–3 hours if you hike up to Kiriyama Castle and back.
Admission
Adults 500 yen (from January 2026)
Hours
Not confirmed
Access
Open to visitors
Kitabatake Shrine is open to visitors; the garden requires an admission fee. Kiriyama Castle is reached by a mountain path from behind the shrine. The Next 100 Castles stamp is at the shrine office (8:30–17:00 according to Tsu City); the shrine says it is placed outside the office so it can be used even on rest days.
Tage lies in the mountains near where the provinces of Yamato (today's Nara), Iga and Ise met, on the route linking Yamato with the Ise plain. The Kitabatake family's ties to Ise began in 1336, when Kitabatake Chikafusa made Tamaru Castle his base. After Tamaru fell to the rival Northern Court side in 1342, the family is said to have moved soon afterward to Tage and built Kiriyama Castle and the residence here.[1][6]
02
Historical record
Kitabatake: courtiers turned warlords
The Kitabatake were a family of court nobles from Kyoto. Chikafusa's third son, Akiyoshi, became governor of Ise in 1338. Even after the rival Northern and Southern Courts were reunited in 1392, the family kept the governorship, and its power is said to have reached from southern Ise into parts of Iga and southern Yamato. Kiriyama Castle and the residence served as the family's base for about 240 years over nine generations.[1][8]
03
Scholarly interpretation
Rule from the residence, defend from the mountain
The Kitabatake are thought to have lived in the residence at the foot of the mountain and kept Kiriyama Castle as a fortress to retreat to in an emergency. The residence had two roles: the public seat of the family's government and the private home of its head. The garden was a place for receiving guests, and the stone walls of the residence's upper level are thought to have been more about looking impressive than about defense.[5][13]
04
Historical record
Oda Nobunaga's invasion
In 1569 Oda Nobunaga invaded southern Ise and made peace by having his second son, later known as Oda Nobukatsu, adopted into the Kitabatake family. In 1576 Kitabatake Tomonori and other family members were killed on Nobunaga's orders, ending the family. Kiriyama Castle is said to have been taken at the same time, and the town of Tage soon faded away.[1][3][4]
05
Historical record
A shrine on the residence, earthworks on the mountain
In the Edo period a shrine to the Kitabatake was founded on the residence site; it is now Kitabatake Shrine. No buildings survive, but excavations found foundation-stone buildings, post holes, a 4.2 m wide entrance and stone walls from the first half of the 15th century, early for stone walls anywhere in Japan. On the mountaintop, the earthen banks and ridge trenches of Kiriyama Castle remain.[2][3][6][14]
06
Historical record
Two protected sites become one
In 1936 the Kiriyama Castle ruins became a National Historic Site, and the residence garden became a national Place of Scenic Beauty and Historic Site. Excavations from 1996 to 2005 showed the residence extended east beyond the shrine grounds, so in 2006 the whole residence site and the land linking it to the mountain castle were added, and the two were merged and renamed the Tage Kitabatake Clan Castle and Residence Site. It was chosen for the Next 100 Fine Castles of Japan in 2017.[1][6][7]
Kitabatake Chikafusa enters Ise and makes Tamaru Castle his base[1][3]
Tamaru falls; the Kitabatake are said to move to Tage soon after[1][3]
The Tage residence burns down and is rebuilt the next year[3]
estimated
The residence garden is thought to date from around this time[1]
Kitabatake Tomonori is killed and the family falls[1][3]
The castle ruins and the garden receive national protection[6][7]
The two sites are merged as the Tage Kitabatake Clan Castle and Residence Site[6][7]
Buildings and remains
The keep today
No keep was built
A medieval residence and mountain castle with no keep; the Japan Castle Foundation also lists no keep.
The site today
The residence site is the grounds of Kitabatake Shrine and the land to its east, where the garden survives but no buildings. The fallback fort and Kiriyama Castle are earthwork ruins in the forest on the mountain.
Main buildings
Lost
Buildings of the Kitabatake residence
None survive. Excavations found traces of foundation-stone and post-built buildings, stone walls and an entrance.[2][6]
OriginalPlace of Scenic Beauty and Historic Site
Kitabatake residence garden
A 16th-century garden in the shrine grounds; admission charged.[6][9]
Key facts
Type
Castle
Setting
Mountain castle (yamajiro)built on a mountain; expect a climbEditorial article
Period
Medieval (c.1185–1570s)Editorial article
Keep (tenshu)
No keep was builtthe castle never had a keepEditorial article
National Historic Site (Kiriyama Castle ruins) (1936); National Place of Scenic Beauty and Historic Site (Kitabatake residence garden) (1936); Merged and extended as the National Historic Site of the Tage Kitabatake Clan Castle and Residence (2006)Editorial article
Selection
Next 100 Fine Castles No. 145Japan Castle Foundation
Visiting
Access
Open to visitors
Kitabatake Shrine is open to visitors; the garden requires an admission fee. Kiriyama Castle is reached by a mountain path from behind the shrine. The Next 100 Castles stamp is at the shrine office (8:30–17:00 according to Tsu City); the shrine says it is placed outside the office so it can be used even on rest days.
JR Ise-Okitsu Station (bus to Kamitage Kosaten)JR Meisho Line
about 10 min walk · No climb
Take the Tsu City community bus from Ise-Okitsu Station about 10 minutes to Kamitage Kosaten, then walk about 10 minutes to Kitabatake Shrine. Kiriyama Castle is a further climb on a mountain path.[1]
Checked: 2026-10-03
JR Takehara Station (bus to Kitabatake Jinja-mae)JR Meisho Line
about 1 min walk · No climb
Take the Tsu City community bus from Takehara Station about 45 minutes to Kitabatake Jinja-mae; the shrine is right there.[1]
Checked: 2026-10-03
Hours and admission
Kitabatake residence garden (Kitabatake Shrine)
Hours
Not confirmed
Closed
2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month (shrine rest days)
About 60 minutes from Hisai IC on the Ise Expressway.[1][9]
Checked: 2026-10-03
Grounds opening hours
Not confirmedChecked: 2026-10-03
Time neededEditors' estimate
30–60 minutes for the shrine and garden; allow 2–3 hours if you hike up to Kiriyama Castle and back.
Steps, slopes and footing
Kiriyama Castle sits on a 560 m summit, reached by a ridge trail from behind the shrine. The trail passes the fallback fort; from there it is about 850 m more to the castle.[4][8]
Wheelchairs and strollers
Not confirmedChecked: 2026-10-03
Toilets and rest
Not confirmed
English signs / audio guide
No official English guide was found.
Seasons
The garden is well known for its autumn leaves.[9][2]
Photography
Not confirmed
Works, closures and restrictions
From January 1, 2026, Kitabatake Shrine closes on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month and has revised the garden fee. On those days, seal stamps and castle cards are handled by the nearby Misugi Furusato Museum.[10][9][11]Checked: 2026-10-03
City museum on the history and heritage of Misugi, with Kitabatake-related items and finds from the excavations. Free; one minute's walk from the Furusato Shiryokan-mae bus stop.[11]
The old road between Yamato and Ise used by pilgrims to Ise Shrine. Tage thrived as a post town until the Meiji era, and old houses and road markers remain.[4]
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
Good for garden lovers, anyone who wants to walk a medieval mountain castle, and those curious about Ise in the 14th–16th centuries. Climbing to the mountain castle takes some hiking stamina.
What makes it interesting
Start in the garden and picture it as the governor's residence. Then climb the mountain behind: first the fallback fort just above, then Kiriyama Castle on the higher summit. Following the defenses upward shows how residence and mountain castle worked as one.
Before you go
Buses are infrequent, so check both directions before you go. The garden closes on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month. The route to Kiriyama Castle is a mountain trail, so bring good shoes and water.
Ways to enjoy it
Seeing the excavated finds at the Misugi Furusato Museum first makes it easier to imagine the residence where stone walls and ceramics were found. In autumn, the garden's colors are a bonus.
Photos
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Open questions
The exact date the castle and residence were built is unclear. Tsu City says the family moved to Tage soon after Tamaru fell in 1342; the Tsu tourism association gives 1343.
The attribution of the garden to Hosokawa Takakuni is based on tradition and estimation, and its date is given as either around 1517 or around 1521.
Accounts of the fall of Kiriyama Castle in 1576 rely mainly on later war chronicles.
Garden opening hours, walking time from the shrine to Kiriyama Castle, and toilet locations could not be confirmed.
HideokunPublic domainWikimedia Commons
