Postcard from...Gifu Castle

Nagaragawa

I have driven along the Nagara River several times on the way to somewhere in a hurry...and every time regretted not being able to stop and explore Gifu Castle, perched atop Mt. Kinka. It looks amazing from any point of the compass - and truly has a commanding position of the 'fu.

So I'm glad I saved it for a lovely sunny day!

Climbing up there after a business meeting not quite the plan - and certainly not in the right shoes - but well worth the effort. 840m above the riverbed and spectacular views from every corner of the rebuilt (concrete) structure. Last rebuilt in the 1950s - it was last wrecked in 1943 as Gifu was firebombed, but on the site of a mountain-top fortification initiated in 1201. Yet abandoned in 1601 - the year Tycho Brahe died...of course a year after the Battle of Sekigahara.

Gifu Castle - gloriously aloft

Oda Nobunaga basically impressed the pants off everybody in Japan - as well as a Portuguese envoy - with his eyrie, hospitality, and innovations to follow up on his military achievements as the sixteenth century wound to a close...I can't possibly start on the Shogunates/warring states/Christianity in Japan...not enough space on this postcard! But, if you have an interest in that era of history, start here. Rent a car, and trundle around Gifu prefecture - slowly!

Oda Nobunaga - Gifu man