Kenshin Uesugi – ページ 2 – 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”

18.Hachigata Castle Part1

Hachigata Castle was located in modern day Yorii Town in the northern part of Saitama Prefecture. The castle was prominent both when the Sengoku Period of the Kanto Region started and ended.

Location and History

Hachigata Castle was located in modern day Yorii Town in the northern part of Saitama Prefecture. The castle was prominent both when the Sengoku Period of the Kanto Region started and ended.

Beginning of Sengoku Period in Kanto Region

The location of the castle

The region ran into the unquiet Sengoku Period in 1455 when the Kyotoku War began. The Ashikaga Clan, the shogunate head for the Kanto Region and the Uesugi Clan, the shogunate deputy for the region opposed and confronted each other at the Tone River, the largest river in the region. The Uesugi Clan constructed Ikkako Encampment at the western riverside and used it for over 20 years. The clan actually consisted of two branch clans, the Yamanouchi and the Ogigayatsu Clans. Each branch clan also had a main retainer to control many warriors and matters from the Nagao Clan for the Yamanouchi and the Ota Clan for the Ogigayatsu. One of the main retainers, Kagenobu Nagao died in 1473 before his position was assigned by his boss, Akisada Yamanouchi to his little brother, Tadakage.

The yellow area was influenced by the Uesugi Clan and the purple area was influenced by the Ashikaga Clan at that time, from the signboard at the site

Kageharu Nagao builds Castle

This was a reasonable decision, because Tadakage was considered as a senior and experienced person. However, Kagenobu’s son, Kageharu thought otherwise, as the position was inherited by his grandfather and father. Kageharu left the encampment, built Hachigata Castle in 1475, and started a rebellion in 1476. The castle was built on a high cliff at the meeting point of Arakawa River, another large river in the region, and Fukasawagawa River, a peninsula affording natural defense. Though the details of the first stage of the castle are unknown, it would have been easy for Kageharu to attack the Ikkako Encampment which had no guard on its southern side (which faced the castle). Many other retainers, who worried about their own positions in the new power hierarchy, supported Kageharu. The encampment finally collapsed in 1477.

The family crest of the Nagao Clan, called Kuyou-Tomoe (meaning the nine comma-shaped figures)

The relief map around the castle

The Arakawa River and the cliffs behind, where the castle was built

What Kageharu really wanted was unclear, but he tried to get many territories with his supporters and the Ashikaga Clan with whom Kageharu took sides. Kageharu was an excellent general. However, the other main retainer for the Ogigayatsu, Dokan Ota was superior to him. Dokan, who is known for building Edo Castle, which would become the center of the government during the Edo Period , and is now the Imperial Palace, was also a great strategist and politician. Dokan captured the Kageharu supporters’ castles, such as Kozukue Castle, one by one. He also made brokered a fragile peace with the Ashikaga Clan, which drove Kageharu back to his home base, Hachigata Castle. Dokan finally attacked and captured the castle in 1478, so Kageharu was forced to flee. Dokan became the greatest lord in the Kanto Region, however, he was killed in 1485 by his master, Sadamasa Ogigayatsu who feared his power. The region became unstable again and Kageharu continued to fight against his masters, the Yamanouchi, throughout his life as a soldier of fortune. He finally settled down under Sozui Ise, the founder of the Hojo Clan, until his death in 1514.

The portrait of Dokan Ota, owned by Daijiji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The ruins of Edo Castle (the current Imperial Palace)

The replica of the portrait of Soun Hojo, owned by Odawara Castle (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Castle becomes Hojo’s Branch

Hachigata Castle was occupied by the Yamanouchi for a while, but eventually abandoned. The power of the Uesugi Clans (Yamanouchi and Ogigayatsu) decreased while the Hojo Clan invaded the Kanto Region during the 16th Century. The Hojo Clan was based in Odawara Castle in Sagami Province (now Kanagawa Pref.) and they set several important branch castles where the Hojo’s relatives were sent to govern the region’s stability. Hachigata Castle was chosen as one of the castles as its location was at the northern edge of their territory. Ujikuni Hojo became the lord of the castle in 1568 and struggled to keep. For example, when the Hojo Clan allied with Kenshin Uesugi who was the successor of the Yamanouchi and one of the strongest warlords, Ujikuni was charged with negotiating with him. However, once the alliance was broken, Kenshin attacked Hachigata Castle, set fire to its castle town, and withdrew.

The family crest of the Hojo Clan, called Hojo-Uroko (meaning the squames of the Hojo)

Ujikuni Hojo, Last Lord of Castle

To survive under these severe conditions, Ujikuni greatly improved the castle. The castle’s defenses were naturally strong, having been built on a tall cliff, sandwiched by the two rivers to the north, the east, and the west. It also had many enclosures made of soil, mainly including the Main, Second and Third Enclosures in a line from north to south. Therefore, enemies would have to attack the Third Enclosure first from the south. To prevent attack, these enclosures were divided by deep dry moats and surrounded by high, thick earthen walls. Part of the walls were supported by stone mounds looking like stone walls. The entrances of the enclosures were protected by a set of gates and the Umadashi system. The Umadashi system refers to a connected smaller enclosure in front of the gate, connected by a narrow path to the larger enclosures. The position could be used to both protect the enclosure and attack from it.

The diorama of the castle at the site, viewed from the north

The history of the castle suddenly ended in 1590 when the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi invaded the Kanto Region as the Hojo’s territory to complete his unification of Japan. He went there with over 200,000 soldiers and about 35,000 of which, attacked Hachigata Castle in May, led by Toshiie Maeda. Ujikuni, along with about 3,000 defenders, was besieged for a month. The attackers didn’t assaulted the castle, directly, instead, it is said that they fired large guns from Kuruma-yama Mountain, about 1 km away from the Main Gate of the castle to the south. Ujiie finally surrendered and opened the castle in June, perhaps because there was no hope for reinforcements, or due to the damage from the guns. The castle passed to the Tokugawa Clan, who now ran the region instead of the Hojo Clan, however, it was eventually abandoned at the end of the Sengoku Period.

The Kuruma-yama Mountain seen from the Outer Enclosure

To be continued in “Hachigata Castle Part2”

133.Samegao Castle Part1

The final place of the Otate Rebellion and Kagetora Uesugi

Location and History

Branch of Kasugayama Castle

Samegao Castle was located on a mountain in the western part of Echigo Province which is now Nigata Prefecture. It is uncertain when the castle was first built, but in the late 16th Century, it was one of the satellite castles of Kasugayama Castle, the home base of Kenshin Uesugi. Kenshin was one of the greatest warlords at that time in Japan, who built the network of castles to protect his home base. Samegao Castle is, in fact, rather well-known as the final battlefield of the Otate Rebellion and the place of Kagetora Uesugi’s death, who was defeated in the rebellion.

The location of the castle

The network of the branch castles around Kasugayama Castle exhibited by Joetsu City Buried Cultural Property Center, Samegao Castle is marked by the red circle

Kagetora is adopted from Hojo to Uesugi

Kagetora Uesugi was an adopted child of Kenshin, but had been born as a family member of the Hojo Clan, which fought with Kenshin over the Kanto Region. The reason why Kagetora came to Uesugi was that Uesugi and the Hojo made peace temporarily in 1569 against the Takeda Clan. The Takeda clan broke the alliance of the three clans (Takeda, Imagawa and Hojo) by invading Imagawa territory. The Hojo clan was very angry about it. However, the new alliance between Uesugi and the Hojo lasted for only two years because the Hojo quit and reforged the alliance with the Takeda in 1571. Ordinarily, Kagetora could have been returned to the Hojo, but Kenshin let Kagetora stay as a part of the Uesugi clan for some reason. It is said that Kenshin personally liked Kagetora. Even though no portraits of Kagetora remain, records say he was attractive and looked beautiful.

The imaginary portrait of Kagetora Uesugi, from the signboard at the site

Two adopted sons are against each other after Kenshin’s death

With the cessation of the alliance with the Hojo, Kenshin adopted another son from his relatives, called Kagekatsu Uesugi. Kenshin seemed to hope that Kagetora would support Kagekatsu and they would cooperate with each other. Many historians also say Kenshin had not clearly decided his successor before his sudden death in March 1578. In fact, these two adopted sons lived in the same Kasugayama Castle as if Kagekatsu was the master for a while after their father’s death. However, the situation didn’t allow them to make peace. The trusted vassals of Kagekatsu, who were the core members of the government, supported him. Other local lords in Echigo Province and some warlords outside the province supported Kagetora because he had come from the outside. Kagetora’s parents’ home, the Hojo and its ally, the Takeda especially wanted him to be the successor. That made the two successor candidates battle each other starting in May 1578, which was called the Otate Rebellion.

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

Otate or the Palace, was originally the residence for Norimasa Uesugi, who was a former shogunate deputy for the Kanto Region and Kenshin’s foster father. Kagetora escaped from Kasugayama Castle to the residence, about 5km from the castle. It became his home base during the battle for nearly one year. At the beginning of the battle, Kagetora was superior in terms of support to Kagekatsu until the lord of the Takeda, Katsuyori Takeda came to Echigo Province with his troops to support Kagetora in June. However, Kagekatsu let Katsuyori return to his home by giving a lot of money and promising to cede some territories. After that, the situation reversed as Kagekatsu had many native loyal retainers while Kagetora had few because of his career. Kagekatsu finally made a full-scale attack on the Otate Residence before it fell in March 1579. Kagetora escaped and tried to get to Odawara, his parental familial home base, Odawara Castle. He stopped by a castle of his supporter, Munechika Horie, which would be the place of his death. This place was called Samegao Castle.

The Portrait of Katsuyori Takeda, owned by Koyasan Jimyoin (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The imaginary scene of the Otate Residence’s fall, exhibited by the Hida Historical Village Information Center

Kagetora dies in Samegao Castle

Samegao Castle was a satellite castle, but had a large scale because it was on the way to Shinao Province (now Nagano Pref.), south of Echigo, where Kenshin and Shingen Takeda, who was Katsuyori’s father, often battled each other. It was a typical mountain castle at that time, using natural terrain to make it defensive. Many enclosures made of soil were built on the ridges. They were divided by artificial ditches and connected by narrow paths cut vertically on both sides. The routes through the valleys were zigzagged so that enemies could not attack the castle easily.

The statues of Shingen Takeda (on the left) and Kenshin Uesugi (on the right) at the Kawanakajima Battlefield in Nagano Prefecture

The illustration of Samegao Castle Ruins, from the signboard at the site

Even staying in the strong castle, Kagetora was not able to survive without reinforcement from the outside. He was attacked by Kagekatsu’s pursuing troops right away. Some records say Munechika Horie, the lord of the castle also betrayed Kagetora. Kagetora finally committed Harakiri (ritual suicide) at the age of 26 after the castle buildings were burned by the troops.

To be continued in “Samegao Castle Part2”