Fukuchiyama Castle and the Town of Mitsuhide

This course takes you up into the keep of Fukuchiyama Castle, built by Akechi Mitsuhide, on a walk through the castle town to pay respects at Goryo-jinja Shrine where Mitsuhide is enshrined, and finally by car or bus to Fukuchiyama City Zoo inside Sandan-ike Park. Families can enjoy the history of a town where Mitsuhide is still fondly remembered as a wise ruler, alongside a small zoo known for how close visitors can get to the animals.

History and Regional Appeal

Fukuchiyama Castle traces its beginnings to around 1579 (Tensho 7), when Akechi Mitsuhide, having pacified Tamba, built a castle here. Mitsuhide developed a new castle town on the empty gravel beds of the Yura River. The castle town was situated where the Yura River and the Haze River converge, and the rivers frequently overflowed. It is said that Mitsuhide built an embankment and diverted the flow of the Yura River to establish the town, and the grove in front of the embankment is called "Akechi Yabu" (Akechi's Thicket), which still remains along the Yura River today.

Mitsuhide is said to have governed benevolently during his brief rule by exempting town estates from the jishisen land tax and carrying out flood control, and he is still warmly regarded as a wise ruler in Fukuchiyama. The call "Dokkoise" in the Fukuchiyama Ondo folk dance is also said to have originated as the work chant of the townspeople carrying building materials during the castle's construction. In the Edo period, disasters such as fires, floods, and earthquakes occurred repeatedly, and it is said that people came to think these might be a curse brought on by Mitsuhide's spirit. Therefore, in 1705 (Hoei 2), Goryo-jinja Shrine was founded to enshrine the spirit of Mitsuhide. Tracing the castle and the shrine reveals the deep bond between Mitsuhide and the people of Fukuchiyama.

Key Highlights

• ​Fukuchiyama Castle​​: A flatland-mountain castle (hirayamajiro) centered on hills extending toward the Yura River. In 1986 (Showa 61), through initiatives including the citizens' "One Roof Tile Campaign," the three-tiered, four-story main keep (dai-tenshu) and the two-tiered small keep (sho-tenshu) were reconstructed. It is the only castle with a keep in the Kita-Kinki region. In the dry stone masonry (nozura-zumi) running from the keep foundation to the honmaru (main bailey), more than 500 stone objects, including five-ring pagodas (gorinto) and treasure casket pagodas (hokyointo), were reused as repurposed stones (tenyoseki). Other highlights include the Toyoiwa-no-i well, one of the deepest castle wells in Japan, and the view overlooking the Yura River and the streets of the castle town from the top-floor watchtower.
• ​Goryo-jinja Shrine​​: A shrine founded when Kutsuki Tanemasa, the lord of Fukuchiyama Castle at the time, acceded to the wishes of the townspeople by enshrining the spirit of Mitsuhide together with Uganomitama-no-Okami in a small shrine. The 18-article "Kachu Gunpo" (military code) established by Mitsuhide and two letters written by him are preserved as shrine treasures. On the grounds, there is a stone monument about the jishisen land tax engraved with a phrase commemorating Mitsuhide's tax exemption, as well as the Kanae-ishi Stone, which is said to grant wishes when prayed to.
• ​Fukuchiyama City Zoo​​: A small zoo located within Sandan-ike Park on a plateau about 3 kilometers northeast of the city center, known as the only zoo in the Kita-Kinki region. It began in 1951 with a monkey enclosure built in Goryo Park in the town center, and opened at its current location in May 1978. Visitors can enjoy interacting with the animals through feeding experiences, and the red pandas and lar gibbons are popular with children.

Recommended Route and Travel Time

The recommended duration is about 4 hours. Walk between Fukuchiyama Castle and Goryo-jinja Shrine, and travel to the zoo by car or bus. Fukuchiyama Castle is about a 15-minute walk from Fukuchiyama Station. For visitors arriving by car, guidance directs drivers to use the Fukuchiyama Castle Park Tourist Parking Lot to reach the keep. At the honmaru, the Akagane-mon Bansho (guardhouse of the copper gate), originally situated at the entrance to the Ninomaru (second bailey), has been relocated.

Walking about 870 meters northwest through the castle town brings you to Goryo-jinja Shrine. In the nearby Aoi-dori Shopping Street, fitting for a "railway town," the street pavement is colored to mimic railway tracks. From the shrine to Fukuchiyama Station is about 1 kilometer, or around a 10-minute walk.

Fukuchiyama City Zoo is located inside Sandan-ike Park, approximately 1.8 kilometers straight northeast of Goryo-jinja Shrine. It is about a 10-minute ride by bus or car from Fukuchiyama Station; when taking the bus, get off at "Sandan-ike Koen." When feeding the animals, please follow the zoo's rules and do not give outside food. Pets such as dogs and cats are not permitted inside the zoo. Sandan-ike Park also features a children's science museum, an urban greening botanical garden, and walking paths around the pond.

Summary of the Experience

A reconstructed keep set on stone walls made with repurposed stones, a downtown shrine enshrining Mitsuhide's spirit, and a hilltop zoo where you can feel close to the animals. Walk through the castle town Mitsuhide established on the riverbanks, and savor a day in Fukuchiyama discovering the footsteps of Mitsuhide—still cherished by the locals—with your family.