タグ: Tokugawa shogunate

11.Nihonmatsu Castle Part1

An important castle that many lords wanted to rule

Location and History

After Nihonmatsu Clan built, Date and other Clans owned it.

Nihonmatsu Castle was a castle with a long history which was located in what is now Nihonmatsu City in Fukushima Prefecture. The castle was built along the Oshu Road, an important route in Tohoku Region, and also connected to other important inland areas such as Aizu District. When the Ashikaga Shogunate was established in the first 14th Century, the shogunate sent their relative Hatakeyama Clan to the Tohoku Region to govern the region. The clan settled in the region and built Nihonmatsu Castle in the first 15th Century. It started as a simple mountain castle but later on transformed to another type of castle.

The location of the castle

The clan later called themselves the Nihonmatsu Clan which governed the castle and the area around for a long time. In the late 16th Century during the Sengoku Period, one of the greatest warlord, Masamune Date attacked Nihonmatsu Castle and the Nihonmatsu Clan finally surrendered in 1586. Since then, the castle became a branch castle of Wakamatsu Castle in Aizu District, which was the Date Clan’s home base. The lords of Wakamatsu Castle were changed to the Gamo, Uesugi, and Kato Clans, They also improved Nihonmatsu Castle by building stone walls.

伊達政宗像、仙台市博物館蔵（licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Wakamatsu Castle

Niwa Clan mostly Governed Castle in Edo Period

In 1643 during the Edo Period, The Niwa Clan was transferred to the lord of the castle as the government building of the Nihonmatsu Domain by the Tokugawa Shogunate. The clan renovated the castle as well. They built the stone wall base for the Main Tower on the top of the mountain, but it is unknown if the tower was built at all. They also built the Main Hall for the lord with many other buildings for governing at the foot of the mountain. They also improved the defense system of the castle. The Oshu Road was moved beyond a hill from near the castle and visitors from the road had to pass through the Main Gate on the hill. The area around the castle called Kakunai or the Inner Compounds was protected by five gates including the Main Gate. The Niwa Clan peacefully governed the castle until the end of the Edo Period.

The portrait of Mitsushige Niwa, the founder of the Nihonmatsu Domain, owned by Dairinji Temple （licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons）
Part of the illustration of Nihonmatsu Castle in Mutsu Province, exhibited by the National Archives of Japan

Castle falls in one day in Boshin war

However, the castle got involved in the Boshin war in 1868 during the Meiji Restoration. The New Government Army attacked the Nihonmatsu Domain which still supported the Tokugawa Shogunate. Many of the warriors of the domain were sent to Shirakawa-Komine Castle, located in the south of Nihonmatsu Castle, to reinforce the allies at the moment. They had to protect the castle with only a few defenders including the drafted child soldiers between the age of 12 and 17. They were confused by the sudden attack and the castle was captured in just one day. Some warriors such as senior vassals of the domain committed suicide while most of the castle building being burned down. Many of the child soldiers were also killed, and they have been called Nihonmatsu Shonentai, symbolizing the tragedy of the war.

Shirakawa-Komine Castle
Nihonmatsu Castle and the statues of the Nihonmatsu child soldiers

To be continued in “Nihonmatus Castle Part2”

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”