Jō Palisade Site

About

The Jō Palisade site (Jō-no-saku ato) is an archaeological site with the ruins of a Nara period jōsaku-style Japanese castle, located in what is now part of the town of Kami in Kami District, Miyagi prefecture in the Tōhoku region of far northern Honshu, Japan. The site was proclaimed a National National Historic Site in 1979. The actual name of this fortification remains unknown, and it has been postulated that it was one of the five fortifications, possibly the “Shikama-saku” or “Takazukuri-saku”, mentioned in historical records, as having even constructed in 737 AD, although evidence is scant. It is roughly contemporary with the much larger Taga Castle to the southeast.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.