タグ: Yamanashi prefecture

128.Yogaiyama Castle Part1

The final part of the Takeda Clan for a battle

Location and History

Nobutora Takeda builds set of this Castle and Takeda Clan Hall

Yogaiyama Castle was located in what is modern day Kofu City, the capital of Yamanashi Prefecture which was called Kai Province. The city was also the provincial capital since Nobutora Takeda, the governor of the province, built his official residence there in 1518. During the Sengoku Period, Most local lords didn’t only serve their governor with authority. The situation in Kai Province was the same, Nobutora needed to force the local lords to serve him by power. Otherwise, some local lords or even his relatives tried to take him over. The construction of the residence was done after Nobutora unified the whole of Kai Province. The residence was called Takeda Clan Hall, which was also used as the home base of the clan.

The location of the castle

The portrait of Nobutora Takeda, attributed to Nobukado Takeda, owned by Daisen-ji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

He built the hall on a square enclosure which was nearly 200m on one side, surrounded by earthen walls and water moats. This was a typical style of the residences for governors in Japan at that time, emulating the style of Shogun’s palace in Kyoto. The completion of the hall meant that his authority was established in the province. He also became a strong warlord of the province. However, this was not enough for him because he was still uncertain the local lords would be loyal to him from then on. Moreover, other warlords in other provinces could have invaded Kai Province at anytime. For these reasons, Nobutora built another castle on a mountain about 2km away from the hall on the north, called Yogaiyama Castle, in 1520. The main purpose of the castle was for emergencies. In case there was a battle happening, he and his family could escape from the hall to the mountain castle.

The miniature model of Takeda Clan Hall, exhibited by Kofu Fujimura Memorial Museum
The aerial photo of the ruins of Takeda Clan Hall and Yogaiyama Castle, exhibited by Kofu Fujimura Memorial Museum, adding the red letters

Castle works very well in battle against Imagawa Clan

The chance to use Yogaiyama Castle came quickly in 1521. The Imagawa Clan, a great warlord in Suruga Province, located in the south of Kai, sent their troops who were led by Masashige Kushima, a retainer of the clan, to invade Kai. Nobutora actually told his wife to escape from the hall to Yogaiyama Castle while he fought with Imagawa’s troops. It was said that his son, Shingen Takeda was born at Yogaiyama Castle during the battle. As a result, Nobutora completely repelled his enemies, making his unification of the province stronger. The network of the hall and the mountain castle worked very well.

The statue of Shingen Takeda in front of Kofu Station

The relief map around the castle

Yogaiyama Castle was made to be the final part for a battle, so it was very practical. The structures of the castle were constructed using natural terrain and partly stonework. A lot of enclosures were built along the ridge of the mountain. They were basically surrounded by earthen walls and had a defensive entrance called Koguchi partly using stone walls. The route to the center of the castle through these enclosures was designed in a zigzagging pattern in order to slow down enemies and prevent them from attacking easily. Vertical moats were dug on slopes of the mountain to avoid enemies moving easily. Some enclosures were also divided by an artificial ditch. The Main Enclosure on the top was the residential area and a rock garden where the lord family used.

The layout of Yogaiyama Castle, from the signboard at the site
The stone walls used for the entrance of an enclosure of Yogaiyama Castle

Castle is abandoned after Kofu Castle is built

Shingen and his son, Katsuyori maintained this castle. However, Katsuyori was unfortunately defeated by Nobunaga Oda in 1582. The castle was owned by the Oda Clan, followed by the Tokugawa Clan and Mitsuyasu Kato under the Toyotomi Clan. It was said that Mitsuyasu improved the castle probably by building stone walls. On the other hand, the Tokugawa Clan and Mitsuyasu built Kofu Castle using high stone walls on a plain land, which was strong enough even in such a location. As a result, Yogaiyama Castle was eventually abandoned in the early Edo Period.

The Portrait of Katsuyori Takeda, ownd by Koyasan Jimyoin (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The portrait of Mitsuyasu Kato, private owned (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The ruins of Kofu Castle

To be continued in “Yogaiyama Castle Part2”

127.Shinpu Castle Part1

The mysterious Takeda’s last castle

Location and History

Katsuyori Takeda moved from Kofu to Simpu

Shinpu Castle was located in what is now Nirasaki City, the northwest part of Yamanashi Prefecture which was called Kai Province. The province was owned by the Takeda Clan for a long time until the late 16th Century and their home base had been located in the Takeda Clan Hall in Kofu, the center of the province. Katsuyori Takeda, the last lord of the clan decided to move his home base to Shinpu Castle in 1581. He moved to the castle within the year.

The location of the castle

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

The move was done for several reasons. First, Takeda’s territory expanded to the west such as Shinano Province (now Nagano Pref.), in order to make Shinpu Castle the center of their territory. Secondly, the large territory made Takeda’s vassals so many that the Takeda Clan Hall and Kofu were too narrow and small for them. Lastly, Katsuyori was threatened by Nobunaga Oda and Ieyasu Tokugawa from the west, after several defeated battles with them such as those of Nagashino Castle and Takatenjin Castle. Katsuyori needed to prepare a stronger castle for a possible invasion from them.

The location of Shinpu Castle and the range of Shinano Provence (on the left) and Kai Province (on the right)

The ruins of Nagashino Castle

Final version of Takeda Clan’s Method for building Castles

Shinpu Castle was built on a mountain on a long cliff wall called Shichiri-Iwa, which means about 28km long rock, along the Kamanashigawa River on the westerly direction. The eastern side of the castle was also a steep cliff of the mountain. The southern part of the castle had the Main Gate with the large Umadashi which was Takeda’s characteristic defense system. The northern part had this castle’s unique defense system called Degamae with water moats. The back entrance had doubled gates with a square space inside called Masugata. The Main Enclosure, the Second Enclosure, and the Third Enclosure were placed on several tiers to protect the castle. Katsuyori’s Main Hall was built in the Main Enclosure on the top. Overall, the castle could be very defensive even though it was all made of soil.

The relief map around the castle

The imaginary drawing of Shinpu Castle (from the signboard at the site)

However, Katsuyori burned the castle by himself and escaped from it in Mar 1582 after only his three-month stay, when he had heard of Takato Castle, located in the west of Shinpu Castle, being captured by Nobunaga’s invasion. Moreover, Katsuyori was defeated by his retainer’s betrayal just after eight days from the escape. So, why did Katsuyori withdraw from the castle?

The positional relation between Shinpu Castle and Takato Castle

The ruins of Takato Castle

Why did Katsuyori throw Castle away?

The reason which had been often said was that the castle was still unfinished. For example, the Main Gate was found to have no buildings through excavation. Others point out that Katsyori had only hundreds of his troops including women and children when they escaped because most of his vassals left him. Some remaining senior vassals recommended that he should be accommodated to another castle. For example, Masayuki Sanada offered Sanada’s Iwabitsu Castle in Kozuke Province (now Gunma Pref.). Katsuyori finally took another suggestion from the retainer who would deceive him. Another historian even says Sinpu Castle maybe did not deserve a castle, but a large hall would have been more suitable. This is because it needed more moats for a castle. Only Katsuyori knew the answer.

The portlait of Masayuki Sanada, privately owned licensed under Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
The ruins of Iwabitsu Castle

After Nobunaga was also killed in the Honnoji Incident in June 1582, Ieyasu used Sinpu Castle again for his stronghold to get Kai Province. He succeeded in getting it, used Takeda Clan Hall to govern it, and built Kofu Castle as its new home base before Shinpu Castle was eventually abandoned.

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

To be continued in “Shinpu 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”