タグ: location

130.Takashima Castle Part1

A castle once at lakeside

Location and History

Suwa Area and Suwa Clan with Long History

Suwa Area of Nagano Prefecture is famous for its tourist spots like Suwa Lake and Suwa-taisha Shrine which are related to Takashima Castle. The shrine is said to have originated from a god in the oldest remaining history book called Kojiki. The god was also supposed to be the origin of the Suwa Clan that had been the lord of Suwa District of Shinano Province (same as now Suwa Area) and “Ohori” or the highest rank of the saints in Shinto at the shrine until the first 16th Century during the Sengoku Period. They still lived in other mountain castles.

The aerial photo around Suwa Lake

Suwa-taisha Shrine (licensed by Saigen Jiro via Wikimedia Commons)

Invasion by Shingen Takeda

Shingen Takeda, one of the greatest warlords of Kai Province next to Shinano Province, aimed to invade the province. He defeated the Suwa Clan in 1542 and governed Suwa District. The Takeda Clan was also defeated by Nobunaga Oda in 1582. However, there was a confusion in the district when Nobunaga was killed in the same year. People in the district invited one of the Suwa Clan’s relatives who remained as Ohori at Suwa-taisha Shrine as their new lord, Yoritada Suwa.

The ranges of Shinano Province and Suwa District (the highlighted part)

The portrait of Shingen Takeda, owned by Jimyo-in Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Takayoshi Hineno built Takashima Castle

When Hideyoshi Toyotomi gained the power at the end of the 16th Century, he sent his retainer, Takayoshi Hineno to Suwa District. Yoritada Suwa was regretfully transferred to another province however. Takayoshi built a new castle alongside Suwa Lake called Takashima Castle bringing advanced techniques for that time from western Japan. The castle had four enclosures in a line facing the lake. Only one route was accessible to the enclosure at the edge of the castle. That means the castle could be very defensive.

The layout of Takashima Castle (licensed by Fraxinus2 via Wikimedia Commons)

The Main Enclosure was surrounded by stone walls which must have been very difficult to build them on the lakeside. They were actually built on wooden rafts in order to be stable even on the soft ground. The Main Enclosure also had the three-story Main Tower which was rare for eastern Japan at that time. The tower had a wood strip roofing different from other castles which usually used roof tiles. This is because the wooden tiles made the weight of the tower lighter on the soft ground and were more durable against the cold climate of the area.

The Main Enclosure surrounded by the stone walls
The old photo of the original Main Tower, exhibited by Suwa Takashima Castle

Suwa Clan revived and maintained Castle

In 1601 after the Tokugawa Shogunate gained the power instead of the Toyotomi Clan, the Suwa Clan came back to Suwa District. They supported the Shogunate very well in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Yoritada Suwa’s son, Yorimizu became the lord of Takashima Domain and lived in Takashima Castle. In the peaceful time during the Edo Period, a view of the castle with Suwa Lake became a popular attraction in the area, called “the floating castle of Suwa”. Some Ukiyo-e artists such as Hokusai Katsushika drew paintings of the scenery for their Ukiyo-e or woodblock prints. On the other hand, the reclamation of Suwa Lake was done to make more farms and to prevent floods through the Edo Period. Takashima Castle was moving away far from the lake.

The Suwa Clan’s family crest, Suwa Kajinoha or Paper mulberry leaves of Suwa (licensed by Mukai via Wikimedia Commons)
”Suwa Lake in Shinano Province” from the series “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji” attributed to Hokusai Katsushika in the Edo Period (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

To be continued in “Takashima Castle Part2”

30.Takato Castle Part1

The stage for the battle of Takato Castle

Location and History

Castle for governing Ina District

Takato Castle was located in Shinano Province (what is now Nagano Prefecture). The Province was very large, so people often considered it as a group of districts. Ina District was the southern part of the province with a long valley terrain from the north to the south sandwiched by mountains. That’s why people also often call the district the Ina Valley. The valley connected the center of the province such as Suwa District and other provinces in the south such as Mikawa Province. That means Ina District was very important for transportation and governance. Takato Castle was on the edge of the mountains on the east of the valley, which was a good location to govern the district.

The ranges of Shinano Province and Ina District (the highlighted part)

The relief map around the castle

Improved by Takeda Clan

The Takato Clan, a local warlord first lived in Takato Castle in the first 16th Century during the Sengoku Period. In 1545, The Takeda Clan of Kai Province from the east capture the castle in the process of invading Shinano Province. Since then, The Takeda Clan sent their relatives as the lords of the castle, such as Katsuyori Takeda who became the last lord of the clan later. They improved the castle during their governance.

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

The foundation of castle was built using only soil. The edge of the mountains where the castle was located was surrounded by the Mibu and Fujisawa Rivers in the north, south and west. The mountains in the east were visible through the Back Gate. The Main Gate was at the western side of the castle, facing a steep slope. In addition, the castle was protected by tripled moats. The Main Enclosure was inside the Inner Moat, the Second Enclosure was inside the Middle Moat, and the Third Enclosure was inside the Outer Moat.

Part of the illustration of Takato Castle in Shinano Province, exhibited by the National Archives of Japan

Battle of Takato Castle happens

In 1582, the Battle of Takato Castle between the Takeda Clan and the Oda Clan happened. Nobunaga Oda, unifying the whole country sent his son, Nobutada Oda with about 50,000 soldiers to Takeda’s territory. On the other hand, Morinobu Nishina, Katsuyori’s little brother was in the castle with only 3,000 defenders. Katsuyori, who was at Shinpu Castle about 70km east of Takato Castle, tried to help his brother, but couldn’t. Because most of his vassals betrayed or escaped before the Takeda Clan was defeated. Morinobu didn’t surrender and had to fight with Oda without help. Nobutada himself instructed his troops and charged into both gates of the castle, while the defenders including women fought a desperate defensive battle. However, they were outnumbered, and the castle finally fell in one day. This battle is regarded as the only resistance during the Oda’s invasion into Takeda’s territory.

The portrait of Nobutada Oda, owned by Sokenji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The portrait of Morinobu Nishina, owned by Takato Historical Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Maintained by Takato Domain

There was confusion after Nobunaga’s sudden death, a former Takeda’s retainer, the Hoshina Clan got Takato Castle and became the first lord of the Takato Domain in the Edo Period. The castle also became the government building of the domain. The castle for the domain followed the layout of Takeda’s period, but some turrets and plaster walls were built as a castle in the Early Modern Times. The Hoshina Clan accepted the second Shogun’s son named Masayuki as their successor. He also became a senior vassal of the Tokugawa Shogunate and contributed the stabilization of its governance. He was lastly promoted to the lord of Wakamatsu Castle at Aizu Domain. Takato Castle and Takato Domain were followed by the Torii Clan and finally the Naito Clan. The Naito Clan governed them for a long time between 1691 and 1871.

The portrait of Masayuki Hoshina, attributed to Tanyu Kano, owned by Hanitsu Shrine (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

To be continued in “Takato Castle Part2”

25.Kofu Castle Part1

A very important strongpoint for the Tokugawa Shogunate

Location and History

Mitsuyasu Kato might have developed it greatly

Kofu Castle was located in Kai Province (what is now Yamanashi Prefecture). Kai Province was owned by the Takeda Clan for a long time until 1582 when the clan was defeated by Nobunaga Oda. Since then the Oda clan governed the province but immediately followed by the Tokugawa, Toyotomi, and the Tokugawa clan again. Kofu City, which is the prefectural capital of the prefecture, had already been the castle town for the Takeda Clan Hall. It is said that the Tokugawa Clan first built Kofu Castle at the south of the town in 1583 of their first governance, but it is uncertain. In 1590, Toyotomi’s servant, Mitsuyasu Kato was given Kai Province. He improved Kofu Castle greatly, probably with building the large scale stone walls. This is because Toyotomi had the craftsmen who were able to build stone walls called Ano-shu, which Tokugawa didn’t have. It is thought that the basic structure of the castle was completed at the same time.

The location of the castle

The portrait of Mitsuyasu Kato, private owned (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Protected by High Stone Walls and Tripled Moats

The castle consisted of three parts. The main portion is called Uchi-shiro, it includes the Main Enclosure, the base for the Main Tower and other enclosures. It was surrounded by stone walls and the Inner Moat. It was also on a hill called Ichijo-koyama, and had three entrances – the Main Gate on the south, the Yamanote-mon Gate on the north, and the Yanagi-mon Gate on the west. The eastern part of the main portion is protected strictly by the high stone walls. Secondly, the ground for the warriors’ houses called Naikaku was around the main portion, surrounded by the Second Moat. Lastly, the ground for the castle town was around Naikaku, also surrounded by the Third Moat.

The old map of Kofu Castle, from a book “Rakushido-nenroku” by Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa, owned by The Yanagisawa Library (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The miniature model of the main portion of Kofu Castle, the front of the photo is the high stone walls on the east (an exhibition in the Inari Turret)

Important Strongpoint for protecting Edo

In the Edo Period from the 17th Century, Kofu Castle became a very important spot. The Tokugawa Shogunate set the Five Major Roads including the Kofu Road passing through Kofu town. Kofu was regarded as the western strongpoint to protect Edo (what is now Tokyo), the Shogun’s home base. For this reason, the Shogunate basically governed the castle directly. For example, the Shogun’s relative Tsunatoyo Tokugawa lived in the castle, who became the sixth Shogun Ienobu later. Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa was the first lord of the castle out of non-Shogun’s relatives in 1705, who was a senior vassal of the Shogunate. His son, Yoshiyasu was transferred to Yamato-Koriyama Castle in 1724, then Kofu Castle was Shogunate-owned again.

The positional relation between Kofu and Edo

The portrait of Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa, owned by Ichiren-ji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

In 1868 during the Meiji Restoration, the battle between the New Government and the Shogunate happened. Taisuke Itagaki, one of the leaders of the New Government Army thought they needed to capture Kofu Castle faster than the Shogunate. The Shogunate also sent the famous warrior party called the Shinsen-gumi led by Isami Kondo to Kofu Castle. Itagaki rushed and succeeded to enter the castle by a narrow margin, so that he could defeat the Shinsen-gumi.

The picture of Taisuke Itagaki, published by the Eastern Culture Association (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The picture of Isami Kondo, owned by the National Diet Library (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

To be continued in “Kofu Castle Part2”