The historical site of a fortress where Momochi Tanba-no-kami, one of the three great Iga ninja, lived with his subordinate ninjas (it is a fiction, not a historical fact, that there was a difference in the ranks of ninja between the upper and lower ranks). This Tanba-no-kami was the model for “Momochi Sandayū”, the creator of the fictional Iga-ryu ninjutsu. Although the site is described as a “fortress,” it is one of the sites of a medieval castle.
On the west side of the fortress is Seiunji Temple（青雲寺）, the family temple of the Momochi clan. Although no gravestone has been found, the temple’s history book from the Tokugawa family period (Edo period), “廿二日Hatsukabi,” has an entry of “本覚了誓禅門 百地三之丞先祖 Honkakuryou Seizenmon Momochi Sannojō ancestor” with an unknown date of death, which seems to be the Tanbanokami’s posthumous name (a name given to the deceased person). His activities during the Tenshō Iga War are described in “Iranki” by Kikuoka Nyogen.
Passing south of the fortress, you will find Shikibu-zuka, a grave. According to the “式部塚由来記Shikibu-zuka Yuraiki (Shikibu-zuka Origin Record)”, a man named “Shikibu” was greatly favored by Tamba-no-Kami Yasumitsu, an ancestor of the Momochi clan during the Nanbokucho period (1336-1392). The story goes that when Shikibu visited the fortress in Yasumitsu’s absence, his wife became angry and killed her, and that Yasumitsu, feeling sorry for her, planted Japanese star anise (Shikimi in Japanese, a plant used at funerals and after death) on the mound where Shikibu buried. The mound is also called “Shikimi-zuka” because of this. Even today, some people leave their old scissors and razors at the mound, as it is believed to be effective in severing bad relationships. There is also a story that Ishikawa Goemon, famous for execution by being boiled alive (he is said to have been boiled alive in a large pot of hot oil as a criminal), learned ninjutsu from Tanba-no-kami (Sandayu) and used it in Kyoto and become a better thief than anyone else. There is also a reference to Momochi Fortress in the novel “忍びの国 Shinobi no Kuni” by Ryo Wada.
