小幡城跡

The place is an old fortified castle ruins. It's looks like a labyrinth (maze) in a forest. It was quite cool in August. ☺️ There are parking lots near the entrance.

Obata Castle is very famous among castle lovers. It was my first time visiting the castle, and it was just as wonderful as the rumors had said. It is a unique castle where you are forced to walk along the path through the moat, and there is no view at all, so if there is no guide board, you will not know where you are walking. It seems that it was built in such a way that if you walk normally, you will go straight out of the castle. I've visited many castles in the past, but I don't remember going to anything quite like it. It is a mystery as to who built this unique territorial castle. Obata Castle changed hands from the Obata clan to the Edo clan to the Satake clan, so it is strange that there is no other castle similar to it, although it may have been one of them. It would be best to do some preparation before visiting Obata Castle and check the territory map while walking. If you come without knowing anything about it, you may end up with the impression that you just walked down a dark road with no good view. There are no notable remains, so it's unnecessary. Obata Castle is a maze-like path lined with moat bottoms, each of which is above the castle's head, and the cut banks of each of these walls are extremely sharp. The attacker will always be attacked from above. It is a castle with extremely high defense power for a flat castle located on flat land. In its place, the amount of engineering work that went into digging endless trenches is unimaginable. Although it is a minor castle as the owner is not famous, it is a castle that you should definitely visit at least once.

There is a large parking lot (free) There is no toilet The castle ruins are being maintained There are information boards so it's easy to understand (some places are off-limits). It takes about 60 minutes to slowly go around (walking on the earthworks and going outside from the earthen bridge) There is no height difference When you step into the castle area, you feel like you're lost in a labyrinth because you can't see through the high earthworks! Walk along the bottom of the moat so that you are drawn in from the entrance. Earthworks on both sides The dry moats are spread out like a maze, making you lose your sense of direction. I followed the information board and arrived at the main enclosure. If there wasn't a guide board, I would get lost in the empty moat and get killed in no time 😨 You can feel the height of the earthworks by walking on it. I take my hat off to the fact that this earthwork was built through civil engineering work. It is a castle with a tremendous amount of construction work. Below is an excerpt from the information board Obata Castle is said to have come under the influence of the Edo clan of Mito Castle after the Bunmei era (around 1481) during the Sengoku period. The current castle area is thought to have been developed between the Motoki and Tensho years (1570s), and it played an important role as a base for attacking the Daijo clan of Fuchu Castle. In a letter dated 1585 during the Azuchi-Momoyama period, the names of Yasaburo Otsuka and Magojiro Obata are mentioned as commanders of Obata Castle, and around this time, local feudal lords from around the swamp were mobilized on duty to strengthen the defense of the castle. It seems that there are In December 1590, the Edo clan of Mito Castle was robbed of the castle by Yoshinobu Satake of Ota Castle (Hitachiota City), who was backed by the power of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the Daijo clan of Fuchu Castle was destroyed. It seems that Obata Castle has also fallen. After that, it is said that it came under the direct control of Yoshinobu Satake until 1620, and was managed by his vassal Akita Wada. It is thought that its historical role of several hundred years ended when the castle fell in 1996 or when the Satake clan moved to the area.

It is a valuable ruin of a magnificent medieval castle that remains almost exactly as it was back then. It seems that the castle was abandoned about 400 years ago and was not used, but fortunately it was not developed and remains as it is, so you can see what it was like back then. You can walk through some of the moat bottoms and see the remains of the main enclosure, the ruins of the turret, the remains of the well, the enclosure, and the Inari Shrine, although there are no buildings, as they were back then. There is a large parking lot, so we recommend that you come and see it at least once.

It is one of the most fascinating castles in the prefecture. The moment you step from the parking lot to the entrance to the castle, the impact is overwhelming. It is a magnificent fortress, but it seems that the castle lord and his vassals used to live in the second and main walls. The road is at the bottom of a moat surrounded by high earthworks, and the height of the earthworks is always impressive. Originally, the moat you were walking on was probably dug by the civil engineering workers of the time, but it's hard to see such an amazing defense system in the prefecture. There are also footprints on the earthworks, and when you climb the earthworks, you can see the defenders and get even more excited. The unmaintained outer part is a vast curved circle, overgrown with trees, making it quite difficult, but the well-maintained area alone is worth seeing. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a major outlet. As I was walking around the area, I spoke to a person at a nearby repair shop and found out that there was a similar defense system made of earthworks and a moat in the bamboo thicket in the thicket across from the rice field. The outer defense line of Obata Castle is Yagenbori. There are ruins behind the "Obata Castle" signboard ahead of Obata Castle. There are ruins in the thicket surrounding Obata Castle, so it's a must-see for bush lovers. In mid-September, gnats and bush mosquitoes are still attacking, so long sleeves, long pants, non-slip shoes and insect repellent are a must! You can get to most places on the earthwork, but there are some places that are nearly 10 meters high, and if you don't find a place to get off, you'll end up in a dead end at the tip. I tried to force my way down and fell about 7 meters, but I was saved because I was on dirt. I would like to take a walk again when the leaves are dry ♪ It looks like just a bush on the outside, but inside it's a different world... It was a wonderful castle ruin! The parking lot is large, but there is a lot of traffic due to the narrow farm road leading to the parking lot. Insect repellent spray and rain boots are a must when it rains.