Katsuyasu Shibata, a nephew of Katsuie Shibata, built a castle in Katsuyama in 1580 (the 8th year of the Tensho era) at the end of the Warring States period. Subsequently, the castle was left unused. In1691 (the 4th year of the Genroku era), however, Sadanobu Ogasawara came to rule Katsuyama and established Katsuyama Domain. The castle started to be built again in 1709 (the 6th year of the Hoei era) and the main building, outer citadel, moat, stone walls, and so on were completed by the successive domain lords.

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Gisenji Temple was built by Katsuyasu Shibata in 1580 on the beautiful stone wall called “Shichirikabe” constructed along the river terrace of the Kuzuryu River. He built his castle in Fukuroda village and later changed the name of his castle town into Katsuyama. Gisenji temple was built for the purpose of praying to the Buddha for the repose of the soul of Katsuyasu Shibata’s adoptive father who was killed in the field of battle during his attack to Ikko-ikki, Jodo Shinshu Buddhist uprising. When this temple was founded, Sokyu, the 19th chief priest of the Grand Head Temple Eiheiji Temple, was invited for the celebration.

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Below the river terrace that spread in the city area of Katsuyama were once dotted with many spots where clean underground water gushed out. This water comes from river water and rainwater on the river terrace surface. Then it infiltrates underground and is changed into subsoil water, which ends up gushing out on the ground as spring water. Now this spot called Oshozu is the only place where clean water gushes out. We can still feel elegant atmosphere of the castle town from the stone wall surrounding this spring built by piling up river stones and a statue of Fudoson (a statue of Fudo) enshrined in 1895 by the local people who felt grateful to abundant water gushing out of this spring.

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On the east side of Honmachi St. in the central part of Katsuyama City runs a stone wall intermittently with the height of 5 to 7 meters almost in parallel with the street. This stone wall is called Shichirikabe and was built by piling up round riverbed stones on the wall surface of the river terrace created by the stream of the Kuzuryu River. The castle town of Katsuyama incorporates Shichirikabe inside the town with the castle and samurai residences built above the river terrace while town houses and temples built below it.

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Shinmei Shrine is Soja of Katsuyama sanchou, three districts of Katsuyama, and is commonly known as its popular name, “Oshinmesan”. Soja refers to a shrine enshrining several gods together. Since its relocation to the present location in 1609, it has been repeatedly rebuilt after suffering from several fire damages. After the Meiji era, it has enshrined Hachiman-sha Shrine and Toshogu Shrine. The shrine office building used to be the auditorium of Seikido, a clan school of Katsuyama Domain. It was dismantled and reconstructed at the present location. In the precincts remains a stone lantern made of Shakudani stone with the inscription of 1691 on it.

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In Katsuyama in the Edo period, Shichirikabe was utilized as the boundary to divide the city areas under the direction of the Ogasawara clan, the domain lord, and beautiful, methodical city streets were built. Even today, townhouses with traditional architectural style and intricate slopes and alleys still remain, creating elegant taste.

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