Takejo Castle

Japanese: 多気城 - たけじょう

This mountain castle was located in Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture. It was built by the Utsunomiya clan, whose main castle was Utsunomiya Castle, as a backup castle in times of crisis, and the entire mountain of Takiyama (377m above sea level) was the castle grounds. It is the largest mountain castle in Tochigi Prefecture. In 1584 (Tensho 12) at the end of the Sengoku period, after Hojo Ujinao advanced into Shimotsuke Province, the Utsunomiya clan's territory was frequently invaded by the Odawara Hojo clan. For this reason, the Utsunomiya clan allied with the Satake clan of Hitachi Province to fight back, but it was determined that the defense of Utsunomiya Castle on the flat ground was insufficient, so they built a stronghold on Takiyama and moved their main castle from Utsunomiya Castle to Taki Castle in 1585 (Tensho 13). In 1597 (Keicho 2), the Utsunomiya clan was abolished by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Taki Castle was abandoned as a result. The castle ruins include the remains of a long earthwork and dry moat that circled the base of Mt. Taki, as well as the remains of enclosures, tiger's mouths, vertical moats, and turrets in various places on Mt. Taki . It is about a 30-minute drive from the center of Utsunomiya city. It is also called Takiyama Castle or Gotenyama Castle.

Source: Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japanese Castles Information

Japanese:

栃木県宇都宮市にあった山城(やまじろ)。宇都宮城を本城としていた宇都宮氏が危急の際の詰めの城として築いたもので、多気山（標高377m）の全山を城域としていた。山城としては栃木県内では最大の規模を持つ。戦国時代末期の1584年（天正12）、北条氏直が下野国に進出して以降、宇都宮氏の領地はしばしば小田原北条氏の侵攻を受けるようになった。このため、宇都宮氏は常陸国の佐竹氏と同盟して、これに対抗したが、平城(ひらじろ)の宇都宮城では防衛が十分でないと判断され、多気山に要害を築いて、1585年（天正13）には、宇都宮城から多気城へと本城を移した。1597年（慶長2）、宇都宮氏は豊臣秀吉により改易処分となったが、これに伴い多気城は廃城となった。城跡には、多気山の麓を半周していた長大な土塁や空堀の跡のほか、多気山の各所に曲輪(くるわ)、虎口、竪堀、櫓(やぐら)台などの跡が残っている。宇都宮市街中心部から車で約30分。◇多気山城、御殿山城とも呼ばれる。

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