Kozukue Castle, Japanese hilltop castle in Kohoku-ku, Japan
Kozukue Castle is a Japanese hilltop fortress in Yokohama, where stoneless fortifications now stand enclosed by trees. The site relies on earthen banks and deeply cut ditches that still trace the original layout of the defensive position.
The Uesugi clan built the fort around the year 1438 to secure trade routes through the hills. A siege by Ota Dokan in 1478 lasted two months, during the Nagao Kageharu rebellion.
The name comes from the village that once spread across these hills, and the site served as a natural boundary between competing clans. Today local school groups and walkers visit the ruin to trace the old earthworks and take in views over the wooded valleys.
A 15-minute walk from Kozukue Station through the forest leads to the ruin, where the path can be uneven and slippery after rain. Sturdy footwear helps when exploring the slopes and ditches that run along the old defensive lines.
The site entered the Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles list in 2017, even though it never had stone walls. This recognition underlines the military value of earthen construction, which relied entirely on landform and ditches.
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