立地と歴史～Location and History – ページ 20 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

114.Karasawayama Castle Part1

The last lord of the castle, Nobuyoshi Sano built high stone walls on the main portion of the castle, which was a rare case in the region. It must have been done with help from Hideyoshi Toyotomi because he and his retainers had built many similar stone walls in western Japan.

Location and History

Sano Clan builds Castle during Sengoku Period

Karasawayama Castle was located in modern day Sano City, Tochigi Prefecture, which was a large mountain castle beside the northern edge of the Kanto Plain. Tradition says that a famous general, Hidesato Fujiwara built it in 972 during the Ancient times. However, historians think that it was created by the Sano Clan, who were descendants of Hidesato and governed the castle for a long time. According to the results of the research and studies, the clan first lived in a hall at the western foot of the mountain until the 15th Century. It was thought that the castle was built or developed by the clan on the mountain when many battles happened in the Kanto Region, during the Sengoku Period. Other popular mountain castles in the region like Kanayama and Minowa Castles were built at the same time to protect the owners under the severe conditions. The Sano Clan first used the mountain castle in the cases of emergency, but eventually lived in it to survive.

The range of Sano City and the location of the castle

The relief map around the castle

The ruins of the Sano Clan’s residence (current Koshoji Temple)

Kenshin Uesugi devotes to capture Castle

On the other hand, great warlords, who wanted to rule over the region, thought they would need to get Karasawayama Castle because of its advantageous location. Kenshin Uesugi was one of them and was devoted to do it. There is a symbolic episode when he first invaded the Kanto Region around 1560. He visited Karasawayama Castle with few vassals, which was surrounded by his enemy, the Hojo Clan’s large troops, to persuade the lord of castle, Masatsuna Sano to support him until he succeeded. However, every time Kenshin returned to his home, Kasugayama Castle in Echigo Province, the Hojo Clan got its territory back and forced local lords to support it. Masatsuna was one of them and he had to switch allegiance.

*The portrait of Kenshin Uesugi, owned by the Uesugi Shrine (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Kenshin, who is considered one of the strongest generals, got angry and attacked the castle, but was not able to capture it by force as it was really strong. Even when Masatsuna surrendered to Kenshin, they would do the same things after Kenshin went back. As a result, they fought with each other at least five times. Kenshin once banished Masatsuna from the castle and sent his relative and vassals to govern it. However, he finally returned the castle to Masatsuna for some reasons. He might have felt the difficulty of how to control this distant site.

*The portrait of Masatsuna Sano, owned by Daianji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

High stone walls are built with help of Hideyoshi Toyotomi

The Kanto Region, including Karasawayama Castle, eventually belonged to the Hojo Clan during the 1570’s and 1580’s. It sent its relative, Ujitada Hojo to govern the castle like Kenshin had used to do. On the other hand, Masatsuna’s relative, Fusatsuna Sano ran away from the region to western Japan to serve Hideyoshi Toyotomi who was the ruler of Japan at that time. Fusatsuna led Hideyoshi to the region when they invaded it in 1590, which resulted in Fusatsuna getting the castle back as the lord. However, Hideyoshi seemed to also want to control the castle. He made the little brother of his close vassal, Nobutaka Tomita to be the successor of Fusatsuna, which would be called Nobuyoshi Sano, the last lord of the clan and the castle. This could be because his rival, Ieyasu Tokugawa was moved by him to the region. He wanted to have Ieyasu monitored by someone reliable.

The Portrait of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, attributed to Mitsunobu Kano, owned by Kodaiji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Karasawayama Castle was built on a large mountain which had several ridges. Lots of enclosures were also built on the top and the ridges which had turrets, lookouts, guard houses and shooting points to monitor and attack enemies. These ridges or enclosures were divided by deep ditches to prevent enemies from invading easily. There are two main routes in the south and west, which gathered at the meeting point in front of the Main Gate near the top, which were controlled by the castle’s soldiers. The foot area was used as the lords and senior vassals’ residences surrounded by thick and long earthen walls for defense. They had been developed and improved by the Sano, Uesugi, and Hojo Clans for a long time.

Karasawayama Mountain where the castle was built

The remaining earthen walls at the foot of the mountain

The ruins of the residence of a sennior vassal at the foot of the mountain called Hayato-Yashiki

The castle’s foundations were basically made of soil, which was a common way of building castles in eastern Japan at that time. However, the last lord, Nobuyoshi built high stone walls on the main portion of the castle, which was a rare case in the region. It must have been done with help from Hideyoshi because he and his retainers had built many similar stone walls in western Japan. On the other hand, Ieyasu still didn’t have the techniques and guilds for building such high stone walls. That meant the stone walls of strong Karasawayama Castle must have been a big threat to Ieyasu.

The high stone walls of Karasawayama Castle

Life of Castle suddenly ends, ordered by Ieyasu Tokugawa

When Ieyasu got the power to be the ruler around 1600 after Hideyoshi died, Nobuyoshi somehow survived by supporting Ieyasu. However, the declinations of Karasawayama Castle and the Sano Clan suddenly occured. In 1602, Ieyasu ordered Nobuyoshi to move from Karasawayama to Sano Castle in a plain area nearby. It was said that the reason for it was that it could be rude for Nobuyoshi to look down on Ieyasu’s home, Edo Castle from the mountain castle. Nobuyoshi was finally fired by Ieyasu in 1614 due to being implicated for a crime of his brother, Nobutaka Tomita. Overall, Ieyasu seemed to want to remove possible rebels like Nobuyoshi with strong castles like Karasawayama.

*The Portrait of Ieyasu Tokugawa, attributed to Tanyu Kano, owned by Osaka Castle Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons*)

To be continued in “Karasawayama Castle Part2”

114.唐沢山城　その１

最後の城主となった佐野信吉は、関東地方では稀な高石垣を城の主要部に築き上げました。これには豊臣秀吉による援助があったと考えられます。秀吉やその部下たちは、西日本で多くの似たような石垣を築いていたからです。

立地と歴史

佐野氏が戦国時代に築城

唐沢山城は、現在の栃木県佐野市にあった城です。この城は、関東平野の北端に沿った大規模な山城でした。言い伝えによれば、有名な武将であった藤原秀郷が平安時代の972年にこの城を築いたとされていますが、歴史家によれば、秀郷の子孫であり、この城を長く治めた佐野氏によって作られた話であろうとのことです。調査研究の結果、佐野氏は最初は１５世紀まではこの山の西麓に館を構えていましたが、戦国時代になって関東地方で多くの戦が起こるようになって、山の上に城を築いたか拡張したと考えられています。金山城や箕輪城など関東地方の他の有名な山城は、この厳しい状況を乗り切るために同じ時期に築かれています。佐野氏は最初はこの山城を緊急事態のときに使っていましたが、やがて生き残りのためそこを居城とするようになります。

佐野市の範囲と城の位置

城周辺の起伏地図

上杉謙信が執着した城

一方、関東地方を支配したい有力戦国大名は、その有利な立地条件から唐沢山城を確保したいと思うようになります。上杉謙信はそのうちの一人で、その実現に執着しました。そのことを如実に示すエピソードがあります。1560年前後に謙信が最初に関東地方に侵攻したとき、北条氏の大軍が唐沢山城を包囲する中、僅かな近臣とともに城を訪れ、城主の佐野昌綱（さのまさつな）を説得し、謙信への支持を取り付けたのです。ところが、謙信が越後国の本拠地、春日山城に引き上げると、北条氏は領土奪還を始め、地元領主たちに服従を強いました。昌綱もその一人であり、北条方に寝返りせざるをえませんでした。

上杉謙信肖像画、上杉神社蔵 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

最強の武将の一人とされていた謙信は激怒し、唐沢山城を攻撃しますが、城もまた大変強力であり、強攻策では落とせませんでした。その後、昌綱は謙信に降伏することになりますが、謙信が引き上げると、また同じ事が繰り返されました。その結果、彼らは少なくとも５回も戦いました。謙信は一時、昌綱を城から追放し、親族（虎房丸、人質として引き取った昌綱の子という説もあります）や重臣を送り、城の直接統治を行いました。ところが、謙信はなぜか昌綱に城を返してしまいます。遠くにあるこの城をコントロールする難しさを感じていたのかもしれません。

佐野昌綱肖像画、大庵寺蔵 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

豊臣秀吉の援助で高石垣が築かれる

唐沢山城を含む関東地方は、1570年代から1580年代にかけて、北条氏に帰属するようになります。北条氏もまた、謙信が行ったように、この城に一族の北条氏忠を送り込みました。一方、正綱の一族、佐野房綱（さのふさつな）は関東地方から西日本に逃れ、当時天下人として君臨していた豊臣秀吉に仕えました（房綱は当時は天徳寺宝衍（てんとくじほうえん）と名乗っていました）。そして、秀吉が1590年に関東地方に侵攻したときには、その先導役を務めたのです。その結果、房綱は唐沢山城の城主に返り咲きました。ところが、秀吉もまたこの城を自身の影響下に置きたかったようです。秀吉は、近臣である富田信高の弟を、房綱の跡継ぎに送り込み、佐野信吉（さののぶよし）となります。そして、彼が最後の当主、最後の城主となりました。これは、秀吉によって関東地方に転封されたライバルの徳川家康を、信頼できる誰かに監視させる目的であったと思われます。

豊臣秀吉肖像画、加納光信筆、高台寺蔵 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

唐沢山城は、いくつもの峰を持つ大きな山の上に築かれました。山頂と峰上には多くの曲輪が設けられ、そこには矢倉、物見、番所、射撃所（「大鉄砲」「大筒」「国崩し」などと呼ばれました）などが置かれ、敵が来ないか監視し、来た場合には反撃できるようになっていました。峰々や曲輪群は、深い堀切によって区切られ、敵の攻撃を弱らせることができました。城に向かうには南側と西側の２つの主要道があり、山頂近くの大手門の前で合流し、城兵のコントロール下にありました。山麓地区は城主と重臣たちの屋敷地となっていて、防衛のため長大な土塁によって囲まれていました。これらは、佐野、上杉、北条の各氏によって長い期間をかけて構築されてきたのです。

この城の基礎部分は基本的には土造りで、当時の東日本での築城においてはそれが一般的でした。しかし、最後の城主となった佐野信吉は、この地方では稀な高石垣を城の主要部に築き上げました。これには秀吉による援助があったと考えられます。秀吉やその部下たちは、西日本で多くの似たような石垣を築いていたからです。一方、関東の家康は、そのような高石垣を築く技術や石工集団をまだ持ち合わせていませんでした。すなわち、強力な唐沢山城にある石垣は、家康にとって大いなる脅威と映ったに違いありません。

徳川家康の命で突然の終焉

秀吉の没後、1600年前後に家康が天下を取ったとき、信吉は家康に味方することで何とか生き延びました。ところが、唐沢山城と佐野氏の没落は突然やってきます。1602年に家康は信吉に、唐沢山から近くの平地にある佐野城への移動を命じました。その理由としては、山城の上から家康の住む江戸城を見下ろすことが無礼とされたから、と言われています。そして1614年に信吉はついに、兄の富田信高の罪に連座して改易となってしまいました。総じてみると家康は、信吉のような者が、唐沢山のような強力な城に籠って反乱を起こすことを、防ぎたかったようです。

徳川家康肖像画、加納探幽筆、大阪城天守閣蔵 *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

「唐沢山城その２」に続きます。

108.Tsurugaoka Castle Part1

Tadakatsu Sakai, the founder of the Shonai Domain, was wondering which castle would be better for his home base, Tsurugaoka or Kamegaoka. His decision was to take Tsurugaoka because he thought Tsurugaoka would be the political center while Kamegaoka would be commercial with Sakata port and town.

Location and History

Shonai Domain has Political Tsurugaoka and Commercial Sakata

The Shonai area of Yamagata Prefecture is a granary on the Shonai Plain, which is known for Shonai Rice. There are two large cities, Tsuruoka and Sakata, in the area. When the area was governed by the Shonai Domain during the Edo Period, the cities shared their respective roles. Tsuruoka was political and Sakata was commercial. Turuagaoka Castle was located in the current Tsuruoka City, which was the home base of the domain, ruled by the Sakai Clan.

The ranges of Tsuruoka and Sakata Cities and the location of the castle

The castle was originally called Daihoji Castle which was first built by a local lord, the Muto Clan, sometime in the early Middle Ages. It was one of their several castles, and its size was still small. As time passed by, the area was targeted by greater warlords from outside, such as the Uesugi and Mogami Clans in the late 16th Century during the Sengoku Period. These clans battled over this area while the power of the Muto Clan declined. Daihoji Castle and Tozenji Castle, which was located in the current Sakata City, were improved by them. In the early 17th Century when the Tokugawa Shogunate was established by Ieyasu Tokugawa, the Shonai area was governed by Yoshimitsu Mogami, based in Yamagata Castle. He renamed Daihoji Castle to Tsurugaoka (meaning the Hill of Cranes) and Tozenji Castle to Kamegaoka (meaning the Hill of Turtles). Cranes and turtles (and Pine trees) have been lucky words for Japanese people because they believed these animals had longer lives than humans. He did it after he had heard that a big turtle was found at the seaside near Tozenji Castle. However, the Mogami Clan was banished by the shogunate in 1622 due to their internal troubles after Yoshimitu died.

*Yoshiaki Mogami from Battle of Hasedo Standing Screen (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons*)

The territory of the Mogami Clan was apportioned to several other lords, one of which, the Shonai area was given to Tadakatsu Sakai as the founder of the Shonai Domain. He was a grandchild of Tadatsugu Sakai, known as One of the Four Generals Serving Ieyasu Tokugawa. That’s why the Sakai Clan had been a senior vassal of the shogun and had loyalty to the shogunate. Tadakatsu was wondering which castle would be better for his home base, Tsurugaoka or Kamegaoka. In terms of defense, Kamegaoka was better. However, his decision was to take Tsurugaoka because he thought Tsurugaoka would be the political center while Kamegaoka would be commercial with Sakata port and town.

The portrait of Tadakatsu Sakai, owned by Chido Museum (*licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Originally, Tsurugaoka Castle was said to have had only the Main and Second Enclosures made of soil, with simple residences, surrounded by double water moats, on a plain land. It would be too small for the Sakai Clan’s home base and not defensive when a battle happened there. So, Tadakatsu started to improve the castle by building the large Third Enclosure and the castle town outside. The Main Hall for the lord was also built in the Main Enclosure. The Main and Second Enclosures had five entrances, which were protected by the Masugata system or the Umadashi system which the Tokugawa relatives had used to build. The Masugata refers to a square defensive space inside the gate and the Umadashi is a small round enclosure which sticks out from the gate. On the other hand, the castle had few stone walls, still mostly made of soil, and had no Main Tower unlike other castles of the Tokugawa relatives. A two-level turret was built on a corner of the Main Enclosure as a substitute of the tower. Overall, the castle can be seen as a mixing of the legacy of the area and the Tokugawa method.

The reconstruction of Tsurugaoka Castle from the signboard at the site, adding colored circles, the Umadashi systems in the red circles and the Masugata systems in the blue circles

The miniature model of the castle, seen from the same direction as above (the east), exhibited by Chido Museum

The main enclosure in the miniature model, seen from the west, the substitute for the Main Tower is in the red circle

Deadlock and Reform of Government

The early government of the Shonai Domain was actually unstable. Tadakatsu’s tax policy was harsh because he wanted to have more income to contribute to the shogunate. However, the Tohoku Region including the Shonai area often suffered damage from cold weather, droughts, and floods. Despite these variable situations, the domain asked the farmers to pay the same amount of taxes every year. That resulted in many farmers fleeing the area, having huge debt, and even selling their families, leaving the area devastated.

A wealthy merchant of Sakata town, Mitsuoka Honma saved the domain during the late 18th Century. Ocean voyages were prohibited by the shogunate due to its policy of closing the country, but coastal sailing in small crafts became a major mean of transportation. Sakata port was one of the transport hubs, which made the town and merchants so rich. That’s why the domain asked Mitsuoka for help to solve its financial problems. He provided not only enormous tax money but also was in charge of financial matters of the domain. The domain changed the ways to treat the farmers flexibly as well. It also opened the domain school called Chidokan in 1805 to educate the domain retainers. The situation was getting better and the people in the area became united.

The miniature model of a large Japanese junk called Benzai-sen, which was used for the coastal sailing, exhibited by Chido Museum

The tablet of Chidokan domain school, which was used during the Edo Period

Reform is proven during End of Edo Period

The result of the reform was proven in 1840 when the shogunate ordered the Shonai Domain to move to another and the Matsudaira Clan would be expected to come from the Kawagoe Domain. The movement of the people including farmers in the Shonai Domain against the shogunate’s decision occurred. They urged the shogunate that they wanted to be with the lords of the Sakai Clan. In fact, the movement might have been triggered by suggestions from some warriors, who didn’t want to move, that the next lord would be too strict. As a result, the order was canceled, which was a very rare case during the Edo Period.

The picture of people celebrating the cancelation of the movement in front of the castle, exhibited by the domain school

When the shogunate collapsed and the new government was established in 1868 during the Meiji Restoration, several domains in the Tohoku Region, including the Shonai Domain, made an alliance to be against the government. The Shonai’s troops led by a senior vassal, Genba Sakai were organized by warriors, farmers and even merchants, and were very strong. This was because the Honma Clan imported advanced foreign weapons and gave them to the troops. They repelled the Government Army and attacked other domains supporting the government instead. However, all of their allies were defeated or surrendered to the government before the last lord, Tadazumi Sakai also decided to surrender though his troops and Tsurugaoka Castle were intact.

Genba Sakai, in the early Meiji Era *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

To be continued in “Tsurugaoka Castle Part2”