Takigawa castle was the castle of Takigawa Saburōbei (now Shimo-obata Shimode, Nabari City). Takigawa Saburōbei served Oda Nobunaga’s second son, Nobukatsu, and participated in the Battle of Komaki-Nagakute and the attack on Odawara Castle. During the attack on Odawara Castle, he mediated the surrender of the Hōjō side. In the Battle of Sekigahara, he belonged to the Western Army (led by Ishida Mitsunari), but surrendered and served the Tokugawa clan.
Takigawa Saburōbei also participated in the Tenshō Iga War fought between the Oda clan and various forces in the Iga province, and rebuilt the Takigawa Castle and other castles as well.
Takigawa Saburōbei attacked Kashihara Castle after capturing Hijiyama Fort, but was not able to easily defeat it. Therefore, he moved with his main force to Shimo-obata, where he built a castle and used it as a base for his stay. Takigawa Castle was built on a hill with a height of about 20 meters.
The “三国地誌 Sangoku Chishi” states, “Takigawa Castle was built by Takigawa Saburōbei. It is approximately seventy-five Ken (about 136 meters) square. It is the second largest castle in terms of the scale of fortification after Maruyama Castle”. This castle was built as the headquarters of Oda Nobukatsu during the Tenshō Iga War. The “信長公記 Nobunagako-ki” also mentions that Nobunaga visited “Obata and other places” to see how his son is doing, and it is possible that this was the Takigawa Castle. On the top of the mountain called “Shiroyama”, single fortification with earthen mounds on all sides are still remain, which is the largest one in Mie prefecture.
