タグ: Ieyasu Tokugawa

143.Mino-Kaneyama Castle Part1

The home base of the brave Mori Clan

Location and History

Mori Clan’s Severe History

Mino-Kaneyama Castle was located in the eastern part of Mino Province, what is now modern day Gifu Prefecture. The castle was built on a mountain which was sandwiched between Kiso-gawa River in the north and Nakasendo Road in the south. That meant it was an important point for controlling transportation during the Sengoku Period when many battles occurred. It was said that it was first built by the Saito Clan in the first 16th Century, and called Uho Castle in its first stage. After that, it was featured since the Mori Clan owned the castle in 1565 and renamed it Kaneyama Castle. The Mori Clan worked under the three rulers; Nobunaga Oda, Hideyoshi Toyotomi and Ieyasu Tokugawa from the Sengoku to the first Edo Periods. If you look into the history of the clan, you will see how severe their lives were and what they did to survive.

The location of the castle

The relief map around the castle

Lords and Brothers are killed in battles one after another

Yoshinari Mori was the lord of the clan in the late 16th Century, who served Nobunaga Oda since Nobunaga did not own many territories. That’s why he was promoted to be the lord of Mino-Kaneyama Castle during Nobunaga’s reign of Mino Province. However, Yoshinari had to join many battles in other provinces through Nobunaga’s instructions. Yoshinari was killed in a battle against the Azai and Asakura Clans in Omi Province (now modern day Shiga Pref.) in 1570. Yoshinari’s son, Nagayoshi followed his father’s position and was also active under Nobunaga.

Yoshinari Mori drawn in the Ukiyo-e painting “Mori Sanzaemon Yoshinari”, attributed to Yoshiiku Ochiai, in 1867  (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The illustration of Nagayoshi Mori, owned by Joshoji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

He was often referred to Daredevil Musashi (it is part of his official title as the governor of Musashi Province). His three young brothers became Nobunaga’s pages, one of whom was Ranmaru, a famous historical person in Japan. This is because the cast for him is always performed with that for Nobunaga in modern plays showing the Honnoji Incident in 1582 where Nobunaga was killed. Nobunaga actually showed favor to Ranmaru who became the 3rd lord of Mino-Kaneyama Castle after Yoshinari was promoted to be another lord. However, the truth is that all the three brothers were killed in the incident.

The picture of the Honnoji Incident, attributed to Nobukazu Yousai, in 1896 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Ranmaru Mori drawn in the Ukiyo-e painting “Mori Ranmaru Nagayasu”, attributed to Yoshiiku Ochiai, in 1867 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Only One Brother is left as Next Lord

After the Honnoji Incident, Nagayoshi went back to Mino-Kaneyama Castle and followed Hideyoshi Toyotomi who was Nobunaga’s successor. In 1584 when the Battle of Komaki-Nagakute between Hideyoshi and Ieyasu Tokugawa happened, Nagayoshi joined a feint attack. However, Ieyasu noticed this plan, so he then ambushed and suddenly attacked it. Unfortunately Nagayoshi was instantly killed by a gun shot. As a result, Only Tadamasa, the youngest brother would be left to became the next lord of the Mori Clan. Nagayoshi actually left a will before his death, stating that Tadamasa shouldn’t be the lord of Mino-Kaneyama Castle. His intention is uncertain, but it might have been because he did not want Tadamasa to join battles and risked being killed.

The folding screens of the Battle of Komaki-Nagakute, owned by Toyota City Museum of Local History (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Tadamasa followed Nagayoshi’s position which included the lord of Mino-Kaneyama Castle through Hideyoshi’s instructions. He worked under Hideyoshi, but changed his master to Ieyasu Tokugawa who killed his brother, but would be the next ruler after Hideyoshi died. There might have been other reasons for him to do this, but the main reason was to make a cool-headed decision in order to survive. He was finally promoted as the lord of Mimasaka Province which was a larger territory than before in 1603. He was transferred from Mino-Kaneyama Castle to another in 1600.

The statue of Tadamasa Mori at the ruins of Tsuyama Castle in Mimasaka Province

One of Shokuho Style Castles

As for Mino-Kaneyama Castle itself, it was improved as the Mori Clan was becoming more powerful. The castle had several enclosures on many tiers on the mountain. There were the Main Enclosure on the top, the Barbican Enclosure on the mid slope, and the Second and Third Enclosures between them. It was one of the typical Shokuho style castles which Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and their retainers built around Japan at that time. The style had three major features; building stone walls, stone foundations for buildings and roof tiles. These items were originally used for temples, high-class government houses and Imperial Palaces before that time. Nobunaga started to use them on his and his retainers’ castles to show his authority and power similar to his Azuchi Castle. The enclosures of Mino-Kaneyama Castle were surrounded by stone walls. At least, some buildings on the Main Enclosure were built on stone foundations using roof tiles. However, the castle was abandoned after Tadamasa moved to another castle in 1600.

The imaginary drawing of Azuchi Castle, exhibited by Gifu Castle Museum
The imaginary drawing of Mino-Kaneyama Castle, exhibited by Sengoku Yamashiro Museum

To be continued in “Mino-Kaneyama Castle Part2”

144.Ogaki Castle Part3

Let us feel a water of city and an atmosphere of the castle town.

Features

Walking along Former Outer Moat

The map around the castle

If you want to know what a Water Castle is like, consider walking around Suimon-gawa River, the former Outer Moat. The river still surrounds the northern and western sides of the castle. If you walk from the north to the west along the flow of the river, you can understand how large the castle was in the past. You can also see the ruins of the Tatsunokuchi-mon Gate on the northern side and the ruins of the Takebashiguchi-mon Gate on the western side.

Suimon-gawa River
The ruins of the Tatsunokuchi-mon Gate
The illustration of the Tatsunokuchi-mon Gate in the past, from the signboard at the site
The ruins of the Takebashiguchi-mon Gate

In addition, there are the Spring of Ogaki at the northwest corner and the Suito Park at the southwest corner where you can see Ogaki is still a city of water.

The Spring of Ogaki
The Suito Park

Walking along Old Mino Road

If you arrive at the Suito Park, you can walk along the old Mino Road as the road still goes on the southern and eastern sides of the castle through the former castle town. The pavement of the road is painted in a different color (beige) from other roads, so you can easily follow it.

The old Mino Road
The road is painted in a different color from other roads

You will see some traditional items such as an old sweet beans jelly shop, the ruins of Honjin (officially appointed inn) of Ogaki-juku Station on Mino Road and the ruins of Toiyaba (administration office). You can still feel what the castle town was like there.

The elegant roof of the sweet beans jelly shop
The ruins of Honjin (officially appointed inn) of Ogaki-juku Station
The ruins of Toiyaba (administration office)
An old rice dracker shop

My Impression

Before the Battle of Sekigahara, there might have been a chance for Mitsunari to defeat Ieyasu. If Mitsunari stayed in Ogaki Castle for longer time, the number of his supporters, including his master Hideyori, could increase. However, I think Ieyasu was much superior to Mitsunari as a general. Ieyasu trapped Mitsunari by wining Mitsunari’s allies like Hideaki Kobayakawa over to Ieyasu’s side. Ieyasu made Mitsunari leave Ogaki Castle by choice. I think Ieyasu learned a lot from his lost in the Battle of Mikatagahara in 1573 when he was young. He was trapped by Shingen Takeda to leave his Hamamatsu Castle by himself and defeated. As a result, he did a similar way in Sekigahara to what he had been done in Mikatagahara.

The statue of Ieyasu Tokugawa at Hamamatsu Castle
The present Hamamatsu Castle
The monument of the Battle of Mikatagahara

How to get There

If you want to visit the castle by car, it is about 15 minutes away from Ogaki IC on the Meishin Expressway. There are several parking lots around the park.
By public transportation, it takes about 10 minutes on foot from the JR Ogaki Station.
To get to Ogaki Station from Tokyo or Osaka: Take the Tokaido Shinkansen super express and transfer to the Tokaido Line at Nagoya Station.

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Ogaki Castle Part1”
Back to “Ogaki Castle Part2”

144.Ogaki Castle Part1

A castle which might have been a crucial battle field

Location and History

Battlefield of Crucial Event

The Battle of Sekigahara have been one of the most crucial events in the Japanese History. The East squad led by Ieyasu Tokugawa and the West squad led by Mitsunari Ishida battled each other at Sekigahara Field in 1600 before the Tokugawa Shogunate was established. Most Japanese people know about Skigahara, but what about Ogaki Castle? In fact, the castle might have become the battle field of the crucial event if the situation changed (if Mitsunari decided to stay in that castle).

The Portrait of Ieyasu Tokugawa, attributed to Tanyu Kano, owned by Osaka Castle Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The portrait of Mitsunari Ishida､ owned by Hajime Sugiyama (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Ogaki Castle as Important Point

Ogaki Castle was located in the western part of Mino Province (now Gifu Prefecture) connecting to western Japan trough Sekigahara. It is uncertain when the castle was first built, but it became important as the country had been unified in the late 16th Century during the Sengoku Period. The ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi said “Ogaki Castle is an important point” and actually sent his relatives to the castle as its lords. The castle was built on a plain land, but surrounded by several moats and rivers, which looked like a Water Castle.

The location of the castle

After Hideyoshi died in 1598, a political conflict began between Ieyasu Tokugawa and Mitsunari Ishida. Mitsunari doubted Ieyasu would take over the power of Hideyoshi’s young son, Hideyori who was still the ruler of Japan. Ieyasu went to eastern Japan to conquer the Uesugi Clan who were against Ieyasu in June 1600. Mitsunari raised an army to defeat Ieyasu in July in western Japan. The East and West squads were expected to fight in central Japan including Ogaki Castle and Sekigahara. Mitsunari stayed in Ogaki Castle as his stronghold and built several battle castles, such as Nangusan Castle, on the mountains behind Ogaki Castle for his allies to stay. He was waiting for Ieyasu’s attack at the castle doing as best as he could. He also built large mountain castles such as Matsuoyama Castle around Sekigahara Field to call for a great warlord, Terumoto Mori and his master, Hideyori to support him. If his plans came true, Ieyasu might have been defeated because Hideyori was still Ieyasu’s master as well.

The portrait of Hideyori Toyotomi, owned by Yogenin Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Why did Mitsunari leave Castle?

However, on September 15th, Mitsunari suddenly got away from the castle, fought against Ieyasu at Sekigahara Field, and defeated in a day. Why did Mitsunari cancel his own plan and choose the field battle he probably dislike but Ieyasu was more familiar with? The long-accepted theory says Mitsunari noticed Ieyasu tried to skip Ogaki Castle and attack western Japan directly. Mitsunari and his allies were one jump ahead of Ieyasu, and took up their positions at the field. They fought well in the first part, but finally got defeated by the betrayal of Hideaki Kobayakawa, one of their allies, during the battle. This story is dramatic, so Japanese people believed it for a long time. However, it was first seen in war chronicles in the Edo Period, about 60 years later than the actual battle. I also think the reason above is too weak for Mitsunari to leave the castle.

The portrait of Hideaki Kobayakawa, owned by Kodaiji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Some new studies may tell us the real reasons why Mitsuhide left Ogaki Castle. According to these studies, Hideaki Kobayakawa was expected to support the East quad earlier than what the previous theory says. Hideaki occupied Matsuoyama Castle and moved to Sekigahara Field before the battle against Mitsunari’s plan. If he stayed, he could have been attacked on both sides. Mitsunari might have noticed Hideaki’s movement, so this may be why he quickly moved to Sekigahara to avoid the worst situation. One theory says Mitsunari tried to get to another mountain castle, called Tama Castle, to fight against Ieyasu and Hideaki, but was unfortunately defeated around Sekigahara Field. After the battle, some Mitunari’s retainers still stayed in Ogaki Castle, however, they were outnumbered. They surrendered after being besieged by the East squad for about a week.

The folding screens of the Sekigahara Battle, owned by Sekigahara Town History and Folklore Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Ogaki as City of Water

After the Battle of Sekigahara, Ogaki Castle was still recognized as an important point connecting eastern and western Japan. Several different lords governed and improved the castle. For example, the Ishikawa Clan completed the Outer Moat and the Matsudaira Clan renovated the four-level Main Tower. The tower was in the Main Enclosure which is connected with the Second Enclosure where the Main Hall for the lord was. Both enclosures were surrounded by the Inner Moat. Overall, the tripled moats surrounded the castle. In addition, the castle town was consolidated with the castle by waterways and rivers. That’s why Ogaki City has been called The city of water. Since 1635, the Toda Clan governed the castle and the area was called the Ogaki Domain until the end of the Edo Period.

The four-level Main Tower of Ogaki Castle, from the signboard at the site
Part of the illustration of Ogaki Castle in Mino Province, exhibited by the National Archives of Japan
The center of Ogaki Castle, from the illustration above
The statue of Ujikane Toda, the founder of the clan in the Ogaki Domain

To be continued in “Ogaki Castle Part2”