Kamikita

Kamikita's medieval lordships included Shichinohe, an important Nanbu stronghold. In March 1335 the district became the possession of Nanbu Masanaga, brother of Moroyuki of Hachinohe. Tradition credits Masanaga with building Shichinohe Castle. During the wars of the Northern and Southern Courts, it served with Hachinohe as a major base of the Southern Court's supporters.

The castle occupied a plateau near the meeting of the Sakuta and Wada rivers, divided into several independently defended enclosures. Its lord Shichinohe Iekuni joined Kunohe Masazane's uprising in 1591 and was defeated; the castle was dismantled the following year. Members of the Nanbu family nevertheless continued to reside there. From 1664 a magistrate's office operated within the former castle, turning a site of medieval military power into a centre of domain administration.