Yuzuki Castle is located on a hill near the
spa town of
Dōgo Onsen. At the end of the
Heian period, Kōno Michinobu supported
Minamoto no Yoritomo against the
Heike clan during the
Genpei War and was awarded with a large territory in
Iyo Province in Shikoku. In the
Kamakura period, the clan sided with
Emperor Go-Toba against the
Kamakura shogunate in the
Jōkyū War and was suppressed, but due to the efforts of Kōno Michiari during the
Mongol invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281, the clan was restored to their position as
shugo of Iyo province. In the
Muromachi period, the clan found their position to be increasingly in name only. As Iyo Province was divided by geography into several river valleys, local warlords resisted Kōno overlordship, and the clan was threatened by the aggressive stance of the
Hosokawa clan who dominated neighboring
Sanuki Province. Yuzuki Castle was constructed with these threads in mind. It consists of a
Motte-and-bailey design with a hill and two surrounding water moats. The hill was divided into several
enclosures, protected by clay walls. The diameter of the castle was roughly 400 meters. The castle is located a five minute walk from Matsuyama city tram Dōgo-Onsen Station. ==See also==