Gifu Castle

Overview

Gifu Castle (岐阜城, Gifu-jō) is a Japanese castle in the city of Gifu, in Gifu Prefecture. It is also known as Inabayama Castle (稲葉山城, Inabayama-jō). The castle is one of the principal symbols of the city, together with Mount Kinka and the Nagara River. It is counted among the 100 Fine Castles of Japan, a list maintained by the Japanese Castle Foundation. It was designated a National Historic Site in 2011.

The site is a fortification whose recorded history begins in 1201, in the first year of the Kennin era (建仁, けんにん), during the Kamakura period. That period ran from 1185 to 1333. The castle's documented life as a stronghold ends in 1601.

History

The castle's history begins in 1201, the first year of the Kennin era, in the Kamakura period. Over the following four centuries the site on the mountain became one of the most contested strongholds in central Japan.

Three conflicts are tied to the castle. The first is the Siege of Inabayama Castle, fought over the castle under its older name. The second is the Battle of Gifu Castle, fought over the castle under the name it carries today. The third is the Battle of Shizugatake, a wider engagement in which the castle features.

The castle's history as a fortified site closes in 1601. The site later underwent architectural reconstruction, the event that produced the structures associated with the castle in modern times.

The castle also served as the headquarters location of the Gifu Domain (岐阜藩, Gifu-han), the feudal territory administered from this area.

What Stands There Today

The castle stands on Mount Kinka, above the city of Gifu, at coordinates 35.4338889, 136.7822222. The present structures are the product of architectural reconstruction rather than continuous survival of the original fortress.

In 2011 the site was designated a National Historic Site. It is also listed among the 100 Fine Castles of Japan. Together with Mount Kinka and the Nagara River, the castle remains one of the defining landmarks of Gifu.

The Name in Japanese

The castle's name in Japanese is 岐阜城. Its reading in kana is ぎふじょう, and its romaji is Gifu-jō. The older name, still widely used, is 稲葉山城 (いなばやまじょう, Inabayama-jō).

Breaking the modern name down character by character:

• 岐 — read here as gi. The character means a fork, a branching path, or a crossroads. It is also the name of Mount Qi (Qishan) in ancient China, and the castle's name is said to be modelled on that place name.
• 阜 — read here as fu. The character means a mound, a hill, or an earthen elevation. Placed after 岐, it completes the two-character place name Gifu, which was chosen for this castle town.
• 城 — read here as jō. The character means castle or fortress. It is the standard element in Japanese castle names, and it appears in 稲葉山城 as well.

So 岐阜城 is literally "Gifu castle": a two-character place name plus the word for castle. The older name works the same way — 稲葉山 (Inabayama) is the mountain, and 城 makes it "Inabayama Castle," the castle on Inaba Mountain.

The reading of 城 shifts depending on what it follows. Standing alone it is read shiro; attached to a place name, as here, it is read jō. That is why the castle is Gifu-jō, not Gifu-shiro, in ordinary usage.

Visiting and Context

Gifu Castle sits on Mount Kinka, directly above the city of Gifu and beside the Nagara River. The castle, the mountain, and the river together form the city's best-known skyline.

For readers of Japanese, the castle is a useful study case because its name packs several common patterns into three characters: a place name built from two kanji, and the suffix 城, which appears in castle names across the country. Learning to read 城 as jō in compounds, and shiro on its own, pays off immediately in place names and historical writing.

The castle's two names also illustrate how Japanese landmarks carry layered histories. 稲葉山城 belongs to the fortress before it was renamed; 岐阜城 belongs to the town and the era that followed. Both names remain in circulation, and both appear in accounts of the Siege of Inabayama Castle and the Battle of Gifu Castle.