Japan Castle Atlas

Otsuya-no-kata (the woman lord of Iwamura)

おつやの方(岩村城の女城主)

An aunt of Oda Nobunaga and wife of Iwamura's lord Toyama Kagetou. After her husband's death, she is said to have run the castle herself with Nobunaga's young son Gobomaru as adopted heir, earning the name 'the woman lord'.

Years: ?–1575

Tradition

Story

Tradition says that, besieged by the Takeda general Akiyama Nobutomo and seeing the town suffer, she agreed to marry him and hand over the castle on condition that her people and retainers be spared. When the Oda retook the castle in 1575, she is said to have been executed along with Akiyama.

Connected castles

Stone walls on a hilltop enclosure, with the surrounding mountains, June 2009. Iwamura Castle sits on a 717 m peak.

In-depth article

Ena, Gifu

Iwamura Castle

岩村城

On a 717-meter mountain, tiers of stone walls with no buildings left on them climb through the forest.

Japan's 100 Fine Castles No. 47CastleMountain

takami toraoPublic domainWikimedia Commons

woman lord in the Sengoku periodRecord source: article

Sources

1
岩村城跡(城下町ホットいわむら)Checked: 2026-10-03
2
岩村城(補助資料・Wikipedia日本語版)Checked: 2026-10-03