Takeda Castle — the "castle in the sky" above a sea of clouds
Takeda Castle (often spelled "Takeda-jō") is a set of stone ruins on top of Mount Kojō in Asago, Hyogo Prefecture: no wooden buildings survive, only the walls and ishigaki stonework remain. On autumn and winter mornings, fog from the Maruyama River surrounds the mountain, and the castle seems to float above the clouds — hence the nicknames "castle in the sky" and "the Japanese Machu Picchu." The fortress has no connection to the Takeda clan of Takeda Shingen: those are different kanji and a completely different story.
From a distance, it looks as if the ghost of an old fortress is floating above a mountain in Asago — that is how Takeda Castle earned the nickname "castle in the sky." Let's look at the conditions under which fog actually gathers below the mountain, who built the stone walls that have survived to this day without a single wooden structure, and why this is not the same Takeda as the famous commander Shingen.
A fortress on the border of Tajima and Harima
The castle stands in the city of Asago in Hyogo Prefecture, on the border of the historical provinces of Tajima and Harima. According to legend, it was built in 1443 by order of the shugo of Tajima Province, Yamana Sōzen, and its first lord was his vassal Otagaki Mitsukage — no exact documents about the very beginning of construction survive; this is only oral tradition. The stone walls visible today were built at the end of the 16th century by the castle's last lord, Akamatsu Hirohide, with the support of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Not the castle of Takeda Shingen
The castle's name is written with the characters 竹田, "bamboo" and "field," and has no connection to the famous Takeda clan, to which the commander Takeda Shingen belonged — that name is written with different characters, 武田. In 1600, Akamatsu Hirohide, who initially joined the western army, switched to Tokugawa's side and stormed Tottori Castle, but the town at its walls burned down in the process. For the fire, Ieyasu ordered him to commit seppuku. The fortress was given to a representative of the Yamana clan, and soon it was abandoned and left to ruin.
What remains of the buildings on the mountain top
Not a single wooden building survives from Takeda Castle — only the stone foundations on which the tenshu, gates, and walls once stood. But the stonework has survived almost entirely, and the whole plan of the fortress can be seen from it.
Size and height of the fortress
The top of Mount Kojō, where the castle stands, rises about 354 meters above sea level. The fortress itself stretches about 400 meters from north to south and about 100 meters from west to east: the central courtyard with the tenshu foundation is surrounded by several lower courtyards descending down the slope.
When a sea of clouds rises above the ruins
The famous "sea of clouds" above Takeda Castle is not a permanent phenomenon but a seasonal one. It most often appears from September to November, on a windless morning after a clear night with a large temperature difference, when fog gathers over the Maruyama River in the valley. The mountain with the ruins rises above the veil of fog, and from below the fortress seems to float in the clouds.
Where the castle's nicknames came from
The nicknames "castle in the sky" and "the Japanese Machu Picchu" became known throughout the country thanks to the amateur photographer Yoshida Toshihisa. In 2007, his photo of the castle in the fog was printed in the official guidebook "100 Famous Castles of Japan," and then on the front page of the newspaper Asahi Shimbun. After that, the flow of tourists to the ruins grew so much that the city had to introduce an entrance ticket and restrict access to the very base of the tenshu.
The fog that makes the castle float in the clouds
霧 — значение: fog, mist — онъёми: ム、ボウ、ブ — кунъёми: きり — 19 штрих(ов). 霧 is not part of the name 竹田城, but it explains the castle's main fame — the "sea of clouds," 雲海, which tourists come here for. For this topic, the character for "fog" matters more than any kanji in the fortress's name itself.
What "Takeda" means, part by part
竹田城 is read たけだじょう (Takeda-jō) and is made up of 竹 "bamboo," 田 "field," and 城 "castle" — literally "bamboo field castle." The character for "bamboo" here is simply part of the local place name, not an image connected to the fortress's history.
| Japanese | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 竹田城 | Takeda-jō · Takeda-jō | Takeda Castle — the full Japanese name |
| 雲海 | unkai · unkai | "Sea of clouds" — the fog surrounding the mountain |
| 天空の城 | tenkū no shiro · tenkū no shiro | "Castle in the sky" — the fortress's nickname |
| 石垣 | ishigaki · ishigaki | Stone walls — all that remains of the buildings |
| 虎臥城 | torafusu-jō · torafusu-jō | "Castle of the crouching tiger" — an old second name |
| 霧雨 | kirisame · kirisame | Fine, misty rain |
Write 霧 along the guides — the character for fog, which is why Takeda Castle is called the "castle in the sky."
FAQ
- Why is Takeda Castle called the "castle in the sky"?
- On autumn and winter mornings, when the weather is clear and there is a large difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures, fog gathers over the Maruyama River in the valley. The mountain with the castle ruins rises above the veil of fog, and from below the fortress seems to float above the clouds — hence the nickname.
- Is Takeda Castle connected to the commander Takeda Shingen?
- No, this is a common confusion. The castle is written with the characters 竹田, "bamboo" and "field," while the surname of the commander Takeda Shingen is written with different characters, 武田. Only the sound of the name is shared, and the castle was built and abandoned by people in no way connected to that clan.
- Who built Takeda Castle and when?
- According to legend, the fortress was founded in 1443 by order of the shugo of Tajima Province, Yamana Sōzen, and the current stone walls were completed at the end of the 16th century by its last lord, Akamatsu Hirohide. In 1600, after Sekigahara, he was ordered to commit seppuku, and soon the castle was abandoned.
- What remains of Takeda Castle today?
- No wooden buildings survive at all — only the stone foundations of the walls and terraces on top of Mount Kojō, about 354 meters high. But the stonework has survived almost entirely, and the whole plan of the fortress can be seen from it.
- When is the best time to see the sea of clouds at Takeda Castle?
- The phenomenon is most often observed from September to November, early in the morning, in the interval from dawn until about eight o'clock. The conditions are clear weather, light wind, and a noticeable difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures, which causes thick fog to form over the river in the valley.
- How is "Takeda" written in Japanese?
- The castle's name is 竹田城, read たけだじょう (Takeda-jō): 竹 means "bamboo," 田 means "field," and 城 means "castle." The fortress also has an older name — 虎臥城, "castle of the crouching tiger," connected to the shape of the mountain.
Sources
Updated: 2026-09-15