タグ: Tadakuni Mizuno

148.Hamamatsu Castle Part1

The Castle Ieyasu Tokugawa successfully built

Location and History

Home base of Ieyasu Tokugawa after his independence

Hamamatsu Castle was located in the center of Totoumi Province, which is now Hamamatsu City in the western part of Shizuoka Prefecture. The castle is known for the place where young Ieyasu Tokugawa, who would be the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, lived. This is one of the reasons why the castle is also called “Shusse Castle” which literally means “Success Castle”. The former Hamamatsu Castle was called Hikuma Castle which was built on a hill near the branch of Tenryu-gawa River. It is uncertain who first built it around the 15th Century. In the first 16th Century during the Sengoku Period, the Imagawa Clan, a great warlord which was based in Suruga Province (now the central part of Shizuoka Prefecture) owned the castle.

The range of Totomi Province and the location of the castle

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

Ieyasu was originally based in Mikawa Province, the west of Totoumi, and worked under the Imagawa Clan. When the power of Imagawa decreased, Ieyasu got independent and aimed to invade Totoumi Province. In 1568, he succeeded in capturing Hikuma Castle to govern the province. However, this castle was not enough for Ieyasu, as he needed to prepare for possible battles with the Takeda Clan who invaded Suruga Province next to Totoumi. Ieyasu extended the castle to another hill in the west direction, renaming it Hamamatsu Castle. Hamamatsu Castle had several enclosures on the hill, and the old Hikema Castle became part of it. It is thought that these enclosures were made of soil with shingle-roofed buildings in them. This was because Ieyasu still didn’t have advanced techniques and craftsmen for building castles like Azuchi Castle which belonged to Nobunaga Oda, Ieyasu’s ally.

The relief map around the castle

The imaginary drawing of Hamamatsu Castle in Ieyasu’s period
The imaginary drawing of Azuchi Castle, exhibited by Gifu Castle Museum

One of Battlefields for Battle of Mikatagahara

The most impressive event for Ieyasu living in Hamamatsu Castle was the Battle of Mikatagahara in 1573. Shingen Takeda, one of the greatest warlords, invaded the territories of Ieyasu and Nobunaga and captured several Ieyasu’s branch castles such as Futamata Castle. Shingen lured Ieyasu in the castle to the field of Mikatagahara by demonstrating his troops around the castle. Ieyasu fell into Shingen’s trap and was totally defeated. He could somehow turn back to Hamamatsu Castle to survive. Shingen’s troops eventually withdrew after he died of disease in the next year. There have been some traditions about Ieyasu’s actions after his defeat. One says Ieyasu made the castle’s gates open when Shingen’s troops pursued. The troops doubted it and they thought it might be a trap, then withdrew. Another says Ieyasu made a fabric bridge over a deep valley called Saigagake and counterattacked Shingen’s troops to make them fall into the valley. However, it is unclear whether they really happened or not.

The portrait of Shingen Takeda, owned by Jimyo-in, in the 16th century (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The diorama of Ieyasu’s troops withdrawing from the battlefield. exhibited by the Saigagake Museum
The Saigagake Valley Ruins

Yoshiharu Horio improves Castle

After Ieyasu was transferred to Edo Castle (located in now Tokyo) by the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyoyomi in 1590, Yoshiharu Horio, who worked under Hideyoshi, governed the castle. He improved the castle by building stone walls and the Main Tower in the Main Tower Enclosure on the top. The remaining stone walls and stone wall base for the tower were built by him. However, it is quite unknown what the Main Tower looked like because there is no record for it. Only some roof tiles and the well for the tower were excavated. Historians speculate the tower might have looked like the remaining Main Tower of Matsue Castle which was built by the Horio Clan after they were transferred from Hamamatsu in 1600. Both stone wall bases for the towers were similar, so the clan might have used the design plans of Hamamatsu Castle when they built Matsue Castle.

The portrait of Yoshiharu Horio, owned by Shunkoin Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The imaginary drawing of Hamamatsu Castle in Yoshiharu’s period
The Main Tower of Matsue Castle

Promotional track for hereditary feudal lords

Ieyasu got the power and founded the Tokugawa Shogunate at the beginning of the 17th Century. Since then, Hamamatsu Castle had been owned by nine hereditary feudal lord families during the Edo Period. The lords of the castle were often promoted to important roles of the shogunate such as a shogun’s council of elders. This is another reason the castle is called “the Success Castle”. For example, Tadakuni Mizuno, the lord of Karatsu Castle in the first 19th Century, applied to be the lord of Hamamatsu Castle. As a result, he succeeded to both owning the castle and imposing the Tenpo Reforms as the head of the shogun’s council of elders. As for the castle itself, the main tower had eventually been lost, only the Main Tower Gate remained on the top as the symbol of the castle. The center of it was moved to the Second Enclosure beside the hill, which had the Main Hall for the lord to govern the Hamamatsu Domain around the castle.

The portrait of Tadakuni Mizuno, owned by Tokyo Metropolitan University (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Karatsu Castle
The imaginary drawing of Hamamatsu Castle in the Edo Period

To be continued in “Hamamatsu Castle Part2”

185.Karatsu Castle Part1

The castle the Terasawa Clan built

Location and History

Area prospered with sea transportation

Karatsu Castle is located in the northwestern part of Kyushu Island, which is now Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture. The area of the city faces Genkai-nada Sea between Japan and Korea. Because of this reason, the area prospered with sea transportation including overseas trade. For example, there was Matsura Province with the port accepting the envoys from overseas nearly 2000 years ago. A warriors’ group, known as the Matsura Group, was very active using navy forces and sometimes pirates in the Middle Ages. In 1588, the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi issued the Act to Ban the Piracy to control sea transportation. After that, Hideyoshi’s retainer, Hirotaka Terasawa was sent to this area to govern it. He was an excellent practical person who supported the military logistics when Hideyoshi sent large troops from Nagoya Castle near his area to Korea.

The location of the castle

Hirotaka Terasawa built Castle

Hirotaka eventually supported the Tokugawa Shogunate and became the founder of the Karatsu Domain. He also built his new home base, Karatsu Castle between 1602 and 1608. The center of the castle was built on Mitsushima-yama Mountain beside the estuary of Matsuura-gawa River. Hirotaka changed the route of the river to place the mountain and other enclosures in a line on the ground like a peninsula. The mountain was the top of the ground towards the sea. That meant enemies were not able to attack the center from the ground easily. The center was also surrounded by stone walls along the sea. Some turrets were built on the stone walls, which were probably used for monitoring the sea. Some sea ports such as Funairi-mon Gate were also built beside the estuary. On the top of the mountain, the stone wall base for the Main Tower was built. However, it is thought that the Main Tower was not built because there has been no evidence of this.

part of the illustration of around Karatsu Castle in Hizen Province, in the Edo Period , exhibited by the National Archives of Japan
The remaining stone walls of Karatsu Castle

Terasawa Clan fired after Shimabara Rebellion

Hirotaka was also given a new detached territory in the area called Amakusa, in the western part of Kyushu Island by the shogunate due to his contribution. However, this caused the Terasawa Clan’s misfortune. There were a lot of masterless warriors called Ronin who were former retainers of the Konishi Clan who were fired by the shogunate. There were also many Christians which the shogunate banned people from becoming. Hirotaka oppressed both of them in accordance with the shogunate’s instructions. As a result, Shimabara Rebellion, including the people in Amakusa, happened in 1637 in the period of Hirotaka’s son, Katataka. The shogunate took Amakusa away from the Terasawa Clan after the rebellion. Katataka felt anxious and killed himself in 1647 in the end. The Terasawa Clan was fired by the shogunate because of no successor to him.

Part of the folding screens of Shimabara Rebellion, owned by Asakura City Akizuki Museum, from the exhibition of Arima Christian Heritage Museum

Karatsu Domain followed by Mizuno and Ogasawara Clans

After that, five clans governed Karatsu Castle and the Karatsu Domain until the end of the Edo Period. Some of the lords became famous in Japanese history. One of them was Tadakuni Mizuno who performed the Tenpo Reforms in the central government as the head of the shogun’s council of elders. Another was Nagamichi Ogasawara who was a member of the shogun’s council of elders, and devoted to the Tokugawa Shogunate till the very last moment before it fell down.

The portrait of Tadakuni Mizuno, owned by Tokyo Metropolitan University (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The portrait of Nagamichi Ogasawara, from the digital collections of National Diet Library (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

To be continued in “Karatsu Castle Part2”