- Izushi Castle (Toyooka City)
- Tajima Takeda Castle (Asago City)
- Kuroi Castle (tamba City)
- Sasayama Castle (Tamba-Sasayama City)
- Arioka Castle (Itami City)
- Amagasaki Castle (Amagasaki City)
- Sumoto Castle (Sumoto City)
- Rikan Castle (Sayo-cho)
- Mikazuki Jinya (Sayo-cho)
- Ojio (Okishio) Castle (Himeji City)
- Tatsuno Castle (Tatsuno City)
- Kanjosen Castle (Aioi City)
- Ako Castle (Ako City)
- Akashi Castle (Akashi City)
A mountain castle built on Mt. Rikan in Sayo-cho, altitude 373m, guarding the border with Mimasaka Province (present-day northern Okayama Prefecture). When Ikeda Terumasa became the lord of Himeji Castle in 1600 and ruled the entirety of Harima Province, he dispatched his nephew Yoshiyuki to Sayo-gun and had the castle built with stone walls both on the mountain’s summit and at its foot. After the abandonment of Rikan Castle, the castle town of Hirafuku flourished as a shukuba (post station along well-traveled routes) with a jinya (regional government office) of the Shogun’s retainer, and the earthen-walled storehouses and riverside residences along the Sayo-gawa River still convey the atmosphere of the Edo period (1603-1868).
【Rikan Castle】
【Stone wall remaining at the foot of the mountain】
【Site of the castle lord’s house at the foot of the mountain】
【Stone wall on the mountaintop (part 1)】
Two styles can be observed, depending on the time of construction.
【Stone wall on the mountaintop (part 2)】
Two styles can be observed, depending on the time of construction.
【Tenshudai stone wall on mountaintop】
The dignified atmosphere of an old castle lingers.
【Distant view of Mimasaka Province (Okayama Prefecture) from the mountaintop】
【Merchant house of the former castle town】
【Hirafuku townscape with beautiful riverside scenery】
The distinctive character of Hirafuku differs from that of towns along main roads.
