Location and History
Introduction
Okayama Castle was still located in Okayama City which is the prefectural capital of Okayama Prefecture. Its main tower was nicknamed as “Ujo” which means “Crow Castle” because of its black colored walls. Although the original main tower was unfortunately burned down by the Okayama Great Air Raid on the 29th of June in 1945, it was apparently fully restored in 1966. There is the Okayama Korakuen Garden across the river from the castle, which is called one of Japan’s three most beautiful gardens. Therefore, the area around is a very popular tourist spot. The area was created not for a short time but for a long time between three different lord families. They are the Ukita Clan which built the castle, the Kobayakawa Clan which modernized it, and finally the Ikeda Clan which completed it. As a result, the castle became the origin of the city. This article will explain its story from the beginning to its completion.
Was Naoie Ukita an Accomplished Villain?
Naoie Ukita became a great warlord around the current Okayama Prefecture in his life during the Sengoku Period. However, he wored so hard to achieve this that he has been labeled “an accomplished villain” or “One of the three great villains” in the period (the other two were Dosan Saito and Hisahide Matsunaga”). The bad reputation started from the first Edo Period. Hoan Oze, a writer at that time, described it in his “Hoan Taikoki” which is a popular biography of Hideyoshi Toyotomi. He wrote as followed:
“A person, who has a good talent, but uses it for his own benefit against justice, would eventually destroy himself.”
He mentioned Naoie in the example above. Hoan was devoted to Confucianism, therefore, he seemed to look back at the Sengoku Period to make a consequence theory. As a reality, most warlords were also something like Naoie which Hoan wrote, but as a result, most people during the peaceful Edo Period accepted Hoan’s theory. The three villain’s family’s power declined then because of financial reasons; therefore, they lost the ability to complain about it.
The theory was accelerated by the Bizen Gunki, a war chronicle which was written during the late Edo Period. This book is one of the few remaining records which say Naoie’s early days as followed:
“Naoie and his family were attacked by an enemy but managed to escape from their castle and wandered when he was only a little child. After he grew up, he served the Uragami Clan and avenged the enemy. He also got promoted because of his talent. However, he worked hard for this. For example, he even killed his relatives even they were his son-in-laws. He used any means necessary such as tricks, assassinations and the use of poison. He eventually defeated his master to become a great warlord.”
The book makes us believe that Noaie was really an accomplished villain. However, recent studies are confirming these descriptions one by one. So far, some of them are false (for example, one of the murders was not actually committed by Naoie). The work is incomplete and vague. If more evidence comes out in the future, Naoie might actually be seen as a hero rather than a villain. Even though many of the descriptions are confirmed, they may have been common ways for warlords to survive. In addition, the hierarchical system was very chaotic and unstable during the Sengoku Period. It was often revised and changed because of the power struggle that often plagued the Senoku Period, unlike the peaceful Edo Period.
Naoie’s last home was Okayama which was near the Seto Inland Sea to the south at that time. The location was good for land and water transportation. It was on the delta of estuary of Asahigawa River which flowed into the sea. The delta had three hills, one of which was called Ishiyama (which means stone mountain), where Naoie built the main enclosure of the castle. Another one was called Okayama, which was the origin of the castle and the current city’s name. The scale of the castle was still small. However, Naoie expected that the castle and town would eventually prosper.
