The Nagashino battlefield is one of the best preserved of all Japanese battlefields, and very rewarding to visit. The best time to go is May, when the Nagashino Kassen Nobori Matsuri (Battle of Nagashino Banner Festival) is held in the grounds of the castle. There is usually a performance of the firing of reproduction matchlocks.
All the major sites near Nagashino may be reached conveniently by rail. The Kodama service of the Shinkansen ‘Bullet Train’ stops at Toyohashi, from where a train connects to Toyokawa. At Toyokawa a change is necessary on to the Iida line, a single track railway that traverses the battlefield. The stop for Nagashino castle is Nagashino-jô. From here it is a short walk to the site of the castle. The hon-maru is preserved as a grassy area, and there is an excellent museum, the Nagashino Castle Preservation Hall. The exhibits include a fine collection of arms and armour, and a blood-stained drum used in the battle. To see the classic view of the castle site from across the river’s confluence it is necessary to walk upstream and double back on the other side of the Onogawa. It is also possible to walk down a path to the river and appreciate the steep cliffs of the Yagyû-guruwa.
From further up the Onogawa a walk may be made up to the summit of Tobigasuyama, where the surprise attack was launched by Sakai Tadatsugu. This hill gives the finest view of the castle site, taking in the Arumi area across the river, where Torii Sune’emon was crucified, and a panoramic view of what was the entire castle area, leading up to Daitsûjiyama and the Buddhist Daitsû-ji at its foot. Takeda Katsuyori’s headquarters on Iojiyama is well preserved. The Io-ji at its foot contains a small museum, with one or two items relating to the battle. A footpath leads up to the site of Katsuyori’s base, but trees obstruct the view from there. On the south side of the hill another footpath leads down through the area occupied by Anayama and others, but again the view of the castle is obscured, this time by building developments.
Shidarahara may be reached by taking the train and getting off two stations down the line back to Toyokawa. Here it is a five minute walk to the centre of the battlefield, where the local council of Shinshiro town has erected a replica of the famous fence. The topography of the area is almost unchanged since 1575, and the distances that the Takeda horsemen had to traverse, as well as the obstacle the Rengogawa presented, can be easily appreciated. Near the site is a new museum, opened in 1997 which contains many items of interest. The sites of Noda and Yoshida castles may also be visited, but there is little to see at either. One of the most historic and beautiful sights in the vicinity is the temple of Hôrai-ji, set at the foot of a huge cliff. Takeda Shingen was taken to the Hôrai-ji when he was shot at Noda, and it later provided a temporary refuge for those escaping from the battlefield of Nagashino.
A visit to Temmoku-zan, the site of Takeda Katsuyori’s last stand, involves a long but enjoyable journey up into the mountains to the north of Mount Fuji. A local train from Kofu stops at Enzan, where Shingen is buried, and there is a magnificent museum containing the old Takeda flags and many other military treasures. The train continues to Hajikano, where it is a walk of about a mile to Torii-bata and Katsuyori’s grave at the Keitoku-In. A festival in his honour is held here in April. In Kofu in April there is a march past of an army of people dressed in the costume of the Takeda samurai, while at nearby Isawa Spa one can witness the re-fighting of the battle of Kawanakajima, carried out by hundreds of enthusiastic students in armour with the Takeda flags that would have been worn at Nagashino.
The Hôrai-ji temple, which lies at the foot of a steep cliff just behind Nagashino. The Hôrai-ji was the place to which Takeda Shingen was taken after he received his mortal wound at the siege of Noda, and after the battle of Nagashino his son and heir, Takeda Katsuyori, sought respite here during his desperate retreat back to Kai. The temple has given its name to the modern town that includes the site of Nagashino.