, also known as simply Ōno Castle, as well as Kameyama Castle, is a mountaintop castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

, or yamashiro, located in Ōno

Ono, Fukui

is a city located in Fukui Prefecture, Japan.As of June 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 36,890 with 12,016 households and the density of 42.29 persons per km²...

, Fukui Prefecture

Fukui Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Fukui.- Prehistory :The Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry, on the Sugiyama River within the city limits of Katsuyama, has yielded the Fukuiraptor kitadaniensis and Fukuisaurus tetoriensis as well as an unnamed...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

History

Kanamori Nagachika

Kanamori Nagachika

was a Japanese samurai who lived from the Sengoku period into the early Edo period. He was the first ruler of the Kanamori clan and served as a retainer of the Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa clans. Later in his life, he also became a daimyo....

 was stationed in this area by Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga

was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...

. Nagachika built Echizen Ōno Castle in 1576 before he was transferred to Takayama Castle

Takayama Castle

is a castle located in the city of Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. The castle was built on a mountain nearly in height and had many typical castle features, including a stone base, earthen walls and a surrounding moat. In spite of its defensive appearance, however, the castle was not built for...

 in 1586, and from this point on, the castle switched between lords many times. The castle was reconstructed in 1795 after having burned down in 1775, though this time the keep, or tenshu, was left in ruins. During the Meiji Restoration

Meiji Restoration

The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

, all the wooden buildings were torn down. In 1968, the tenshu was rebuilt out of concrete.