Genbao Castle

Genbao Castle (玄蕃尾城) was a castle located at the border between Fukui Prefecture and Shiga Prefecture, Japan.^[1] During the Sengoku period, it stood as a fort situated in northern Mount Uchinakao in the Wakasa province.^[2] Its ruins have been protected as a National Historical Site as of 1999.^[1]

History

In 1582, the Kakushiba ikki members Fujibayashi Naoe and Yasuke traced a clue to locate Takeru, a member of a silver-smuggling ring in Tamba. Within the fort, the pair discovered Takeru standing among a line of decapitated heads. Confronting him, they assassinated the corrupt merchant and acquired a kanabō Woe's Fog from Takeru's personal effects.^[3] While there, the pair assassinated two of its samurai daisho, looted the teppō Dynasty Ender from its treasure chest, climbed atop its tenshu to survey the land,^[2] and acquired the Shibata clan's kamon crest within the tenshu.^[4]