Kaminoyama Castle

Kaminoyama Castle (also known as Tsukioka Castle), which was called the Famous Castle of Ushu, was the residence of the lord of the Kaminoyama Domain, which was the scene of the battle between the Date clan and the Uesugi clan of Yonezawa.
After the Mogami family was punished by removal of samurai status and expropriation of its territories, the castle became the residence of successive lords, but it was under the Toki clan's rule that the various facilities, including the castle town, were established, and the magnificent castle towering over Tsukioka and Tenjinmori became widely known as the Famous Castle of Ushu.
However, it was demolished by the shogunate in 1692 (Genroku 5) when the Toki clan was transferred to another location, and at present, only a portion of the moat remains.
In 1982 (Showa 57), a three-story faux castle tower was erected on the site of the second enclosure of the castle.
Today, Kaminoyama Castle is a local museum that incorporates a variety of exhibition methods, including video.
The adjacent Tsukioka Park is also a spot for viewing cherry blossoms in spring, with the plaster and white-walled castle tower offering a sweeping view of the Zao mountain range and surrounded by 80 old Yoshino cherry and weeping cherry trees.