Obi castle – ページ 2 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

195.Nobeoka Castle Part1

A castle all built using stone walls by Mototane Takahashi

Location and History

Only Castle completely built using Stone Walls in Hyuga Province

Nobeoka is an industrial city, located in the northern part of Miyazaki Prefecture which used to be called Hyuga Province. The province was very long from the north to the south and its terrain was complex with plain and mountain areas, so it was divided by many lesser lords until the end of the Edo Period, except for a short period when the Ito Clan prospered in the late 17th Century. These lesser lords lived in castles mainly built using soil from the natural terrain, such as Sadowara and Obi Castles. However, Nobeoka Castle was the only castle which was completely built using stone walls in the province by Mototane Takahashi.

The range of Hyuga Province and the location of the castle

Talented Mototane Takahashi

Mototane originally came from the Akizuki Clan, which governed part of Chikuzen Province, north of Hyuga, and he was adopted by the Takahashi Clan. When the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, invaded the Kyushu Region in 1587 for his unification of Japan, Mototane and his parents’ clan quickly surrendered and supported Hideyoshi. Mototane was loved by Hideyoshi, which resulted in him becoming the lord of the Nobeoka area after Hideyoshi’s conquest of the region. Motonane must have made an good impression on his boss.

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

In 1600, after Hideyoshi died, the East Squad, led by Ieyasu Tokugawa and the West Squad, led by Mitsunari Ishida, supporting the Toyotomi Clan, fought a decisive battle in the Sekigahara field. Mototane joined the West Squad and stayed in Ogaki Castle near the field. Once he heard that his side had been beaten, he quickly changed his sides, killed some of the lords of the West Squad, and surrendered to Ieyasu. That also resulted in his territory being maintained by the Tokugawa Shogunate, established by Ieyasu. Mototane must have had great tact.

Very Defensive Castle built in Sandbank

After that, he started to build his new home base in 1601, which would be called Nobeoka Castle, on a hill in a sandbank which was sandwiched by the Gokasegawa and Osegawa rivers. The Main Tower, Main, Second and Third Enclosures were built on the hill from the top in a tiered form and they are all surrounded by stone walls. However, the Main Tower Enclosure actually did not have the Main Tower building. The sandbank was divided into warriors’ residences, including the castle, and townsmen area, by a moat which can be crossed over by only one bridge. Moreover, the rivers around the sandbank had no bridges at that time, which would be very defensible. If enemies somehow arrived at the Main Gate of the castle at the foot, they would need to pass 5 gates and turn 11 times to reach the top.

The greatest stone walls of the castle are the ones called “The one thousand murder stone walls” which is about 19m high. They are the third highest stone walls in the Kyushu Region, following Kumamoto and Kokura Castles. The top two castles were built by great lords under Hideyoshi Toyotomi and Ieyasu Tokugawa, such as Kiyomasa Kato and Tadaoki Hosokawa, who also had much larger territories than Mototane who was just a local lord. In addition, the stone walls were piled using natural stones which would have been impossible to pile to such height, unless an excellent stone wall guild had been invited. Mototae must have had more power and a better connection than we expect. The nickname originates from the scale of the stone walls which would collapse and kill 1,000 soldiers below the walls if the corner base stone was pulled out.

“The one thousand murder stone walls” of Nobeoka Castle

Mototane is suddenly Fired

Mototane was suddenly fired by the shogunate in 1613. He had accommodated his wife’s relative who caused a trouble in the Tsuwano Domain and escaped from it. The domain’s lord, Naomori Sakazaki was monomaniac and sued Mototane in the Shogunate Court. Though it is still uncertain if that really caused such a serious outcome, the fact is that Mototane emerged and left in a short time. His work should be studied more. Nobeoka Castle and the area around it called the Nobeoka Domain were followed by the Arima Clan, which completed the castle building some turrets in 1656. During the peaceful Edo Period, bridges were built over the rivers around the castle and the Drum Tower in the Main Tower Enclosure which announced the time to people. Luckily, no battles happened to the castle until the end of the Edo Period when the Naito Clan took over.

The portrait of Naomori Sakazaki, private owned (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

To be continued in “Nobeoka Castle Part2”

197.Shibushi Castle part1

A castle on the Shirasu Plateau, built near an important port

Location and History

Shibushi has been Important Port

Shibushi City, which is located in the eastern part of Kagoshima Prefecture, may have kind of a unique name even in Japanese. This is because when you say the city’s name in Japanese, you will say “SHI-BU-SHI-SHI(city)” which may be difficult to pronounce. This phrase is sometimes used as an example of a Japanese tongue twister like “Shibushi-shi, Shibushi-cho, Shibushi, no, Shibushi-shiyakusho, no, Shibushi-shisho” which means “The Shibushi branch office of the Shibushi city hall, Shibushi, Shibushi Town, Shibushi City”. If you want to understand why it’s called “Shibushi”, you can find it refers to “Present, Cloth and Present” in Japanese. It is said to originate from the legend of the ancient Emperor Tenchi visiting. He was presented cloths from both upper-class and lower-class people, he was very pleased and came up with the name. We are uncertain if the legends are true but the land does have a long history.

The range of Shibushi City and the location of the castle

The signboard of the Shibushi branch office of the Shibushi city hall at the site *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Another feature of the city is Shibushi Port which is designated as a Major Port and a Core International Port. If you go around the port area, you can see huge amount of containers and wood, and some ferries such as Sunflower. The port has actually been prospering since the end of the Ancient Times when some manors in the southern Kyushu Region were developed. International trading was also done during the Middle Ages, which made lords around the area rich. That’s why they wanted to possess the area and they often battled each other over it. Shibushi Castle was a mountain castle for the base to govern the area.

One of Southern Kyushu type Castles

Shibushi Castle also had an important feature as one of the Southern Kyushu type castles which were built on the Shirasu Plateau looking like a mountain or hill in the area. The plateau has been made from volcanic ash caused by ancient eruptions. Its soil is fragile and can easily collapse to form cliffs. Warriors in the area often used this to build their castles because it was easy for them to process natural terrain for strong defensive systems such as deep moats and high walls. Some popular examples of that type castles were Chiran, Sadowara, Obi and Shibushi.

The relief map around the castle

For example, if you are in Shibushi Port and look back at the inland area, you will see the long lying cliffs set back from the coastline. The lords in Shibushi built their castles one by one using that natural terrain. In fact, Shibushi Castle is the generic name of four local castles, Uchijo, Matsuojo, Takajo, and Shinjo. It is said that the Nirei Clan first built Matsuojo in the 14th Century, followed by Uchijo, used as the Hatakeyama and the Niro Clan’s home base in the 16th Century. By then, Takajo and Shinjo were also built as outer compounds for the other two castles. The lord of Shibushi Castle changed again and again to the Kimotsuki Clan and finally the Shimazu Clan. This was because the area around the castle was attractive so it became a battle field between great warlords, the Ito Clan in the north and the Shimazu Clan in the south. Some lords of the castle changed loyalty between the two great lords.

A view of the long lying cliffs of the Shirasu Plateau from Shibushi Port

The aerial photo of the local four castle in Shibushi Castle, from the signboard at the site (adding the red Englich letters)

Strong Defense system using Shirasu Plateau

At the peak of the castle, the main Uchijo had a very complex defensive system. The original Shirasu plateau was cut by three dry moat lines lengthwise and five dry moat lines crosswise. The remaining parts of the plateau became enclosures independently, surrounded by earthen walls and fences. These enclosures had turrets, barracks and residences to maintain and protect the castle. If visitors or enemies wanted to enter the enclosures, they needed to go from the bottom of the moat and pass the defensive gateway of the enclosure. Enemies at the bottom would be attacked from far above by defenders at the enclosures.

The miniature model of Uchijo, exhibited by Shibushi City Center for Archaeological operations

the part of the Main Enclosure from the miniature model above

The lords of the castle usually lived in the residence at the foot and used the castle in the cases of emergency such as a battle. However, the excavation team found in the castle ruins, expensive trading items from overseas such as Ceramic ware as well as daily necessities like domestic pottery, coins, and bullets. These items show that the castle was used for a long time and involved with Shibushi Port where the international trading was done. The castle was finally abandoned by the last owner, the Shimazu Clan due to the Law of One Castle per Province, issued by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1615.

The ruins of Shibushi Castle (the Main Enclosure)

To be continued in “Shibushi Castle Part2”

196.Sadowara Castle Part1

The castle symbolized the Ito Clan’s success and failure.

Location and History

Ito Clan from eastern Japan builds Castle

Miyazaki Prefecture is located in the eastern part of the Kyushu Region, which is known for its agriculture. Because of its long from the north to the south and its face is the direction of sunrise, therefore, it’s suitable for farming. Almost all the area of the prefecture was called Hyuga Province, which means the province facing the sun. It is easy to see the province had been fertile since the Ancient Times. There has actually been the popular Saitobaru Burial Mounds which were built between the 4th and 7th Centuries in the central part of the prefecture. The province also had the legend of the first Emperor Jinmu coming from there, going to the east, in order to establish Yamato Imperial Court.

The range of Miyazaki Prefecture and the location of the castles

Sadowara Castle was the one which once became the center of Hyuga Province and the home base of the Ito Clan. The clan originated from the Kudo Clan and called themselves a land name of Ito when they settled in Ito, the eastern part of Izu Peninsula, eastern Japan in the 12th Century. Since the Kamakura Shogunate was established at the end of the century, some of the warriors were sent by the shogunate to local areas to govern them. A branch of the Ito Clan, which was sent to Hyuga Province, was one of them. The Tajima-Ito Clan, which was named after the settlement, was said to have first built the castle in the 14th Century.

The range of Izu Peninsula (inside the blue line) and the location of Sadowara Castle

Top of Ito 48 Castles

Meanwhile, another person from the core family of the Ito Clan was also sent by the Ashikaga Shogunate to Hyuga Province in the same century to govern the area during the Northern and Southern Courts period. Both Ito Clans were eventually unified and became a strong warlord based in Sadowara Castle. During the Sengoku Period between the 15th and 16th Centuries, the clan often fought against the Shimazu Clan from the south over Hyuga Province. The lord of the clan at that time, Yoshisuke Ito was so aggressive that he was able to capture Obi Castle, a major one in the southern Hyuga Province in 1569. He was just at his peak, having owned 48 castles in the province, in which Sadowara Castle was at the top. Its castle town prospered like the provincial capital and it was called Little Kyoto in Kyushu.

The portrait of Yoshisuke Ito, from the Sakai City History Volume 1 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Sadowara Castle is basically considered one of the Southern Kyushu type castles which were built on the Shirasu Plateau looking like a mountain or a hill in the area. The plateau has been made from volcanic ash caused by ancient eruptions. Its soil is fragile and can easily collapse to form cliffs. Warriors in the area often used this nature to build their castles because it was easy for them to process natural terrain for strong defensive systems. For example, they built deep dry moats, high walls under enclosures, and narrow defensive gates by cutting the soil. Some popular examples of them were Chiran, Obi and Sadowara Castles.

The dry moat of Chiran Castle *(licensed by PIXTA)*

Castle is captured by Shimazu Clan due to Collapse of Ito

Yoshisuke Ito’s glory didn’t last long, however. He was losing the Ito 48 Castles one by one, triggered by the lost of the Battle of Kizakihara against the Shimazu Clan in 1573. The Shimazu’s force and the Ito’s deterioration also made his retainers alienate him more and more. He wondered if he could be besieged in Sadowara Castle, but the situation didn’t allow him to do so, but he was forced to leave the castle. He escaped from Hyuga Province with his family and few vassals to Bungo Province in the north, where his ally, Sorin Otomo governed. This was called the Collapse of Ito. They had finally lost all that they had and eventually became wanderers. Yoshisuke died while drifting in 1585 before his son, Suketake returned to Obi Castle in Hyuga Province in 1588 by serving his new master, the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi.

The portrait of Sorin Otomo, owned by Zuihoin (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The portrait of Suketake Ito, owned by the board of education of Nichinan City (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Sadowara Castle was eventually owned by the Shimazu Clan. The clan might have improved the castle by building the Main Tower on the top, but It has not been confirmed yet. The Main Tower is said to be the one which was located in the southernmost place in Japan. After the lord of the castle, Toyohisa Shimazu was killed in the battle of Sekigahara in 1600, the castle was followed by the Tokugawa Shogunate and Mochihisa Shimazu whose successors governed it until the end of the Edo Period as the Sadowara Domain. Mochihisa’s son, Tadaoki abandoned the castle on the mountain and moved it to the foot where the Main Hall was built. This was because maintaining the castle on the Shirasu Plateau was too difficult and the hall on the plain land was convenient for the government during the peaceful Edo Period.

The ruins of the Main Tower base of Sadowara Castle

The portrait of Mochihisa Shimazu, from the database of Historiographical Institute The University of Tokyo (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The restored Main Hall at the foot as an historical museum

To be continued in “Sadowara Castle Part2”