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The relic of the “Demon King”- Gifu Castle

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By Khem Gautam

 岐阜城





This lone castle atop the Kinka mountain that lies at the heart of Gifu gazes at the surrounding

vistas the same way that its dweller Oda Nobunaga - the 16th-century daredevil ruler of

central Japan, once used to. Not only is this awe-inspiring landmark position of the castle that

draws visitors in droves every day, but its historical evolution from a mere fortress to a

standing vigilant witness to the fierce battle along the way, including the ones for her own

possession itself, that do appeal. Additionally, here is what a little historical scoop tells us

about how it evolved to its present-day form, from a fortress built on the mountain top in the

Kennin era, 1201-1203, by the Nikaido clan during Kamakura, a period known to have

samurai emerged with. Later on, in the Muromachi period, Saito Toshinaga reconstructed it

and passed on, until 1567, when Oda Nobunaga, known in Japanese history as Owari no
Outsuke (Fool of Owari) made this his central Japan base of operation for 10 years in

the Sengoku period, sieging and evicting the then castle lord, Tatsuoki from the castle.

Nobunaga “the Great Unifier” of Japan, the vicious warrior who conquered most of Honshu by

1580, was also nicknamed Oni Daimyo (The Demon King). And, it was the Nobunaga himself

who changed the name, then called Inabayama Castle into Gifu Castle and Inaba Yamaguchi

to Gifu and renovated, and constructed tenshu so impressive that a Portuguese Missionary

named Luis Frois hailed it as a “bustle of the Babylon”.

The standing castle, however, is a cement rebuilt as the old one was demolished in the Gifu
bombing in world war II and is designated as a national historic site ever since 2011.

Mt. Kinka where the Castle stands on, is in the heart of Gifu, standing 329 m tall that allows

the breathtaking serenity produced off the overlaying of the Nagara and Kiso Rivers,

cascading through the plain, and, Mt. Dodo, Norikura ranges, and the Japanese Alps to the

north, Mt. Ena and Mr. Kiso to the east, Mt. Ibuki, Yoro and Suzuka ranges emit magnificent

vistas from the west, the southward lies Noubi plain.

One can relish the scene from the fourth-floor observatory deck of the castle. The castle has a

museum storing the artifacts once belonging to Nobunaga and other lords in other stories.

The base of the mountain extends with a sprawling Gifu park and houses the ropeway that
pulls the visitors up through the four-minute ride to the Castle.

Other sites of attraction in the vicinity include cormorant fishing-a traditional fishing going back

some 1300 in history, Nagaragawa Ukai Museum, Nagaragawa Onsen, Site of Oda
Nobunaga residence, Gifu city museum of history, Nawa Insect Museum, Inaba shrine, and

so many other ancient temples.

How to get there?

Reaching out to the castle park is just a 15 minutes bus ride from Gifu Station, or hire a taxi or

a bike right there. And from the park to the castle one can either hike a comfortable 40

minutes trail or hang onto the rope that leads you to the lord of the spirits and savor the worth

voyage on the mesmerizing landscape.

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