Fukuyojō was the main base of Fujisawa Yorichika in the Sengoku Period. The castle fell to Takeda Shingen in 1545. In 1560 Fujisawa was allowed to return to the area and built Ina Tanaka Castle on the plain beneath Fukuyojō (across the Tenryū River). With the fall of the Takeda Clan in 1582, Fujisawa tried to recapture territory in the area, starting with Fukuyojō, which he successfully captured. However, Hoshina Masanao, a vassal of Tokugawa Ieyasu, captured Takato Castle and mobilising from there assaulted Fukuyojō, capturing it. Fujisawa and his son committed seppuku at Tanakajō.
Fukuyojō is a large Sengoku Period hirayamajiro (hilltop castle) ruin set in the foothills of the Ina Valley. It is a prefectural designated historical site. The castle is large enough to be divided into clusters of baileys in the north, center and south. The shukuruwa (main bailey) in the honjō (central area of the castle), rises tall above the surrounding ruins and is surrounded by karabori (dry moats) on three sides, and the hill slope to the east. The moats also separate the major areas of the castle. The deep moat to the south is spanned by a dobashi (earthen bridge). The northern area of Fukuyojō contains the castle's largest bailey. The southern area contains many terraced fields which were once the site of yashiki (residences).
|English Name||Fukuyo Castle|
|Year Founded||Sengoku Period|
|Castle Condition||Ruins only|
|Designations||Prefectural Historic Site|
|Historical Period||Pre Edo Period|
|Artifacts||Karabori, Kuruwa, Koshikuruwa, Dorui, Dobashi|
|Access||Kinoshita Station on the Iida Line; 23 minute walk|
|Visitor Information||24/7 free; park|
|Time Required||60 minutes|
|Location||Minowa, Nagano Prefecture|
|Coordinates||35° 53' 45.42" N, 138° 0' 1.08" E|
|Added to Jcastle||2020|
|Admin Year Visited||Viewer Contributed|