Hojo clan – ページ 4 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

32.Kasugayama Castle Part1

The castle of Kenshin Uesugi, the strongest warlord

Location and History

Kenshin Uesugi, Warlord who respected Justice

Kasugayama Caste was located in Echigo Province (what is now Nigata Prefecture), facing the Japan Sea. The castle is well known for one of its lords, Kenshin Uesugi. Kenshin is said to be the strongest warlord in the 16th Century during the Sengoku Period. While he fought over 70 battles during his 49-year life, he suffered no obvious defeat.

The location of the castle

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

Kenshin also had very unique perspectives which other warlords never had. He never fought to invade other provinces by himself. He only fought with the help of others who were defeated by another warlord. As a result, he fought with a great warlord, Shingen Takeda 5 times on the south of his province. He also went over the mountains to the Kanto Region facing the Pacific Ocean to fight with the Hojo Clan as many as 17 times. Kenshin was a devout Buddhist, remained single all his life, and prayed for victory at the Bishamon-do Hall several days before his battles. He once escaped from the castle and tried to become a Buddhist priest, but his retainers urged him to go back to the castle until he gave up trying to become a priest.

*The statues of Shingen Takeda (on the left) and Kenshin Uesugi (on the right) at the Kawanakajima Battlefield (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Despite Kenshin’s strength, he was not able to become a ruler. Every time he withdrew from a province after his win, his enemies got their territories back. He is sometimes criticized by historians. However, many history fans still love him as a warlord who respected justice.

The flag of Kenshin Uesugi (taken by 松波庄九郎 from photoAC)

Castle covered with Enclosures and Buildings.

Kasugayama Castle was built using earthworks on an 189m high mountain beside the Kubiki Plain, the western part of Nigata Pref. It is uncertain when the castle was first built, but Tamekage Nagao, Kenshin’s father, improved the castle. The scale of the castle became larger in Kenshin’s period, and the mountain was covered with uncountable enclosures and buildings.

The old drawing of Kasugayama Castle (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The castle consisted of three parts at that time. The main portion of the castle was on the top of the mountain with the front facing the plain on the east. It included the Main Enclosure, the Bisyamon-do Hall, a senior vassal Naoe’s Hall, and Halls for Kenshin’s two adopted sons, Kagekatsu and Kagetora. Next, the Main Route went up from the southeast foot of the mountain to the top. It was a long detour around the mountain, passing the guard house and other senior vassals’ halls such as Kakizaki. Lastly, the Back Route also went up from the northeast foot to Naoe’s Hall. It passed through the Kurogane-mon Gate, the Hall for the Lord, the Sengan-mon Gate and the alternate entrance called Koguchi.

The georama of Kasugayama Castle at Joetsu City Buried Cultural Property Center

The castle might not have had complex defense systems, but it had the network of the branch castles, such as Samegao Castle, to work together when a battle happened.

The network of the branch castles around Kasugayama Castle (Joetsu City Buried Cultural Property Center)

Abandoned at Peaceful Time

After Kenshin died in 1578, an internal battle unfortunately happened in the castle between Kagekatsu and Kagetora. Kagekatsu finally won, but he was transferred to Wakamatsu Castle by the ruler Hideyoshi Toyotomi in 1598. After that, the Hori Clan governed the castle, building the outer earthen walls called So-gamae to make the castle the largest. However, the clan moved to Fukushima Castle on the plain for convenience of governance in 1607. Kasugayama Castle was abandoned at the same time.

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

To be continued in “Kasugayama Castle Part2”

22.Hachioji Castle Part1

A completed version of a mountain castle in Japan

Location and History

One of main Branch Castles of Hojo Clan

Hachioji Castle was a large mountain castle located in what is now Hachioji City, the western part of Tokyo Metropolitan, the Kanto Region. In the late 16th Century during the Sengoku Period, the Hojo Clan owned most of the region. The clan was based in Odawara Castle located at the southwest corner of the region, while they built the network of branch castles in the region to maintain their territory. Hachioji Castle was one of the main branch castles for the clan.

The location of the castle

The castle was first built by Ujiteru Hojo at latest in 1584, replacing Takiyama Castle located about 10km northeast of Hachioji Castle. There were several reasons for the replacement, one of which was that the Hojo Clan wanted to have a much stronger castle. The tension between Hojo and the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi was increasing at that time, so Hojo hurried to improve the castle. They put as much of their power and technology as they could into this castle.

Three Parts

Hachioji Castle consisted of three parts. The first one is called the Nekoya Area which was used for residences of retainers and craftsmen around the entrance of the castle. This area is alongside the Shiroyama River in a valley terrain.

The second part is called the Residence on the Foot Area where the Main Hall for the lord of the castle was built. This area is also alongside the river and the back of the Nekoya Area but was strictly protected. Visitors had to go across the river to enter the Main Gate, go the Main Route, and go across the river again over the Movable Bridge in front of the Main Hall. The bridge would be removed when a battle happened. The entrance of the hall was zigzagged, and its foundation was covered with terraced stone walls. The hall was made up of several buildings including the formal ones called “Shuden” or the Palace, and “Kaisho” or the Club. It also had a pond garden to host visitors. A lot of items such as utensils, weapons, and imported porcelains were found by the excavation.

The restored or developed Residence on the Foot Area

The last part is the Fortress on the Mountain Area which would be used when a battle happened. The Main Enclosure is on the 445m high top of the mountain (about 200m higher than the foot, which itself is a 200m above ground). Many other enclosures were built around the Main Enclosure and the ridges are used for the trails between the top and the foot of the mountain. In particular, lots of stone walls covered these enclosures and trails. In addition, not only the front of the Main Enclosure, but also the back of it was also protected strictly by small forts and ridges covered with stone walls. Such structures for a mountain castle were very rare, so the castle can be seen a completed version of mountain castles in Japan.

The ruins of the Fortress on the Mountain Area

Captured by Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s troop in One day

However, the castle was taken over by Hideyoshi’s troops in one day. On June 23, 1590, at least 35,000 soldiers attacked the castle, while the number of the defenders was only 3,000 including farmers and women. The lord, Ujiteru wasn’t there because he was at Odawara Castle. In addition, Hideyoshi ordered his troops to charge and capture the castle. The castle was too large for the 3,000 people to prevent from the bare-knuckled attack. There has been a sad story that many women threw themselves into the waterfall basin of the river before the castle fell.

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

The waterfall of Go-Shuden *(licensed by じゃんもどき via Wikimedia Commons)*

To be continued in “Hachioji Castle Part2”

121.Motosakura Castle Part1

The castle of the Chiba Clan, an illustrious clan in Kanto Region

Location and History

Chiba Clan built it in 15th Century

Motosakura Castle was a large castle which was located in Shimosa Province (what is now the northern part of Chiba Prefecture). A warlord, Suketane from the Chiba Clan, first built the castle at latest in 1484 on a hilly area called Masakado-yama. The area was surrounded by Inba-numa Lake, and only open to the Shimosa Road on flat land in the southern direction. This meant the area was defensive and convenient for water and land transport.

The map around the castle in the early Meiji Era, Inba-numa Lake was still near the castle

The Chiba Clan’s family crest, Gessei or Moon and Star *(licensed by Los688 via Wikimedia Commons)*

Central portion, Inner Compounds.

When the castle was first built, the warlords in the Kanto Region were split into two groups, the western group and the eastern group. The western group was led by the shogunal deputy for the Kanto Region, the Uesugi Clan, and the eastern group was led by the head of the Kanto government in Koga, the Ashikaga Clan. The Chiba Clan was included in the eastern group and the Motosakura Castle was also an important site which connected Koga in Shimosa Province to the other provinces in Boso Peninsula inside the group. The clan built several enclosures in the central portion of the castle called the Inner Compounds.

The location of the castle

The Main Enclosure called Shiro-yama had the Main Hall for the lord of the castle. The hall had a set of two formal buildings called Shuden and Kaisho, because the clan was the governor of the province. The Okuno-yama enclosure, which had the Myoken Shrine where the clan went for worship, is next to the main enclosure on the west. The Okuno-yama enclosure was connected to the Main Enclosure by a wooden bridge . The next one is the Kura-ato Enclosure which had warehouses. The westmost one is the Settei-yama Enclosure which was used for guesthouses. In addition to these enclosures, the Higashi-yama Enclosure was set to protect them, and the Tokoji-byo Enclosure, which had temples, faced Inba-numa Lake.

The enclosures of the Inner Compound (from the signboard at the site)

Outer Compounds were built against Satomi Clan

In the middle of the 16th Century, the situation of the Kanto Region changed. The Hojo Clan captured most of the region, then the Chiba Clan decided to support Hojo by adopting a son from them. However, the Satomi Clan in Boso Peninsula (the south of Honsakura Castle) was against Hojo. As a result, the Chiba Clan had to reinforce the defense of the castle on the south.

The location of Motosakura Castle and the home base of the Satomi Clan

The clan built large enclosures outside the Inner Compounds, called the Outer Compounds such as Araue, Negoya, and Mukai-Negoya. They were surrounded by thick earthen walls and had the sticking out defensive positions called Umadashi, which were built using Hojo’s techniques. In addition, the Settai-yama Enclosure became the pivot of the defense because it was the connecting point between the Inner Compounds and the Outer Compounds. The range of the castle finally reached 39,000 square meters.

The whole image of the castle including the Outer Compound *(from the signboard at the site)*

However, The Chiba Clan was fired by the ruler Hieyoshi Toyotomi in 1590, as their master Hojo Clan was also defeated by Hideyoshi. After that, Motosakura Castle was sometimes used by several clans. The castle was finally abandoned in 1615.

To be continued in “Motosakura Castle Part2”