Location and History
Introduction
Ueda Castle, which was located in the current Ueda City in Nagano Prefecture, is very famous because of the Sanada Clan. When the clan owned the castle, they repelled the invasions from the Tokugawa troops twice. However, the castle was destroyed by the Tokugawa Shogunate after the battles. After that, other clans rebuilt and maintained the castle, but they are not popular for the general people. Therefore, this article will describe not only about the Sanada Clan, but also the other clans (Sengoku and Fujii Matsudaira) regarding the castle.
From building Ueda Castle to the First Battle of Ueda
Masayuki Sanada, who first built the castle, was born in 1547 as the third son of Yukitaka Sanada. Yukitaka was a lord in Shinano Province (the current Nagano Prefecture) and became a senior vassal of Shingen Takeda, one of the greatest warlords at that time. In his later life, Yukitaka invaded the western area of the Kozuke Province (the current Gunma Prefecture). Masayuki eventually followed the invasion after he became the successor of his father. In 1579, he captured Numata Castle, one of the most important points of the province. Masayuki was still one of the Takeda’s retainers, but he behaved as if he was an independent lord.
In 1582, the Takeda Clan, which was Masayuki’s master, was defeated by Nobunaga Oda, who was soon killed in the Honnoji Incident as well. That meant the large territories, which the Takeda Clan owned, became unoccupied area for other great warlords around. The Tokugawa, Hojo, and Uesugi Clans immediately started to invade the area. However, the area included Masayuki’s territories. He first allied with the Uesugi Clan but later on switched to the Hojo Clan, then finally the Tokugawa Clan in order to maintain his territories.
He lived in Toishi Castle which was built on a mountain at the Ueda area. Ueda Castle would be built on a plain land near the mountain castle when Masayuki was at the Tokugawa’s side. This was because this spot was very important for the intersection of roads and Chikuma River. It was also the border of the Tokugawa and the Uesugi Clans. Therefore, the castle would be the strong frontline of the Tokugawa Clan against the Uesugi Clan. Historians speculate that the construction of the castle was completely supported by the Tokugawa Clan. Kagekatsu Uesugi, who was the lord of the clan, ordered his retainers to halt the construction. The Tokugawa Clan also had to protect it.
Even though the castle was built on a plain, it was protected by natural hazards. For example, it had natural steep cliffs to the south, which were created by a branch of the Chikuma River, called “Amagafuchi”. The builders also used other rivers to protect the castle. The flow of Yadesawa River was changed to build the natural outer moat to the north and the west, which faced the Uesugi’s territories. The original flow was used to make inner moats surrounding the castle. The center of the castle on a hill was turned into several enclosures, such as the main and second enclosures. The east of the castle was still waterlogged; however, it was partially used as residential areas. The construction was done between 1583 and 1585. You can see the drawing of the castle during that time, inside the Ueda City Museum.
Just after the castle was completed, Masayuki switched from the Tokugawa to the Uesugi Clan again. This was because Ieyasu Tokugawa, who was the lord of the clan, promised with the Hojo Clan to give Kozuke Province to make peace. That meant Masayuki would give up his Numata Castle in the province. He was not able to stand the castle he got by himself would be taken away. However, this decision made him to fight against the two great warlords (the Tokugawa and Hojo Clans) at the same time. The Hojo Clan had been wanting to capture Numata Castle for a long time. Ieyasu was also very angry about Msayuki’s decision because he may have thought he gave Ueda Castle instead. Ieyasu ordered his retainers to destroy the Sanada Clan, which caused the first battle of Ueda.
The number of the Tokugawa troops was about 7,000 while that of the Sanada Clan was only 2,000. In addition, Ueda Castle was weaker to the east which faced the Tokugawa’s territories, than to the other directions. There were only protective fences in the eastern direction. Masayuki’s tactics was to divide his few soldiers into Ueda Castle and other branch castle. He also ordered them to leave the important defense lines to the east, Kangawa River and Someya Castle.
That meant the Tokugawa troops could easily attack Ueda Castle, and they actually did it. However, many of the Tokugawa soldiers were unexperienced and overconfident. Once the Tokugawa side reached the second enclosure of the castle, the Sanada troops suddenly counterattacked. The Tokugawa Troops were very confused and withdrew but were blocked by the fences. When they somehow went back to the Kangawa River, other Sanada’s troops attacked them. Many of them were killed, which resulted in the Tokugawa’s lost.
This battle would lead to the independent of the Sanada Clan with their honor. This stunt can only be done by Masayuki.
