was a

Japanese castle are fortresses constructed primarily of wood and stone. They evolved from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries and came into their best-known form in the 16th century. Castles in Japan were built to guard important or strategic sites, such a ...

located in the city of Takayama,

Gifu Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,910,511 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The castle was built on a mountain nearly in height and had many typical castle features, including a stone base, earthen walls and a surrounding moat.

History

During the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

Hida Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Gifu Prefecture in the Chūbu region of Japan. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Wakasa''" in . Hida bordered on Echizen, Mino, Shinano, Etchū, and Kaga Provin ...

was nominally under the control of the

Kyōgoku clan The were a Japanese ''daimyō'' and samurai clan which rose to prominence during the Sengoku and Edo periods. The clan descend from the Uda Genji through the Sasaki clan.Papinot, Jacques. (2003)''Nobiliare du Japon'', pp. 27–28./ref> The ...

, but in reality was divided between several small local

warlords Warlords are individuals who exercise military, economic, and political control over a region, often one without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over local armed forces. Warlords have existed throug ...

such as Anegakōji clan or Ema clan. Being surrounded by the powerful

Takeda clan The was a Japanese samurai clan active from the late Heian period until the late 16th century. The clan was historically based in Kai Province in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture. The clan reached its greatest influence under the rule of Taked ...

Uesugi clan The is a Japanese samurai clan which was at its peak one of the most powerful during the Muromachi period, Muromachi and Sengoku periods (14th to 17th centuries).Georges Appert, Appert, Georges. (1888) ''Ancien Japon,'' p. 79./ref> At its heigh ...

Oda clan The is a Japanese samurai family who were daimyo and an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they reached the peak of their power under Oda Nobunaga and fell soon after, several branches of the ...

s, these local lords frequently changed allegiance based on circumstance. Miki Yoritsuna (1540-1587) who ruled the southern half of Hida gradually expanded his domains with the support of

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

. After Nobunaga's assassination in 1582, he decisively defeated an alliance of the remaining local lords united Hida province, with his base at

Matsukura Castle was a Muromachi period ''yamajiro''-style Japanese castle located in what is now the city of Uozu, Toyama Prefecture, in the Hokuriku region of Japan. It was one of the three major mountain-castles in Etchū Province, along with Matsuyama Castl ...

. However, Yoritsuna supported

Sassa Narimasa was a Japanese samurai lord of the Sengoku through Azuchi–Momoyama periods. He entered Oda Nobunaga's service at the age of 14 and remained in his service throughout Nobunaga's rise to power. He was a member of the so-called Echizen Sannin ...

in neighboring

Etchū Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today Toyama Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Etchū bordered on Noto and Kaga Provinces to the west, Shinano and Hida Provinces to the south, Echigo Province to the east and the Sea o ...

against

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

and was destroyed by the forces of

Kanamori Nagachika was a Japanese samurai who lived from the Sengoku period into the early Edo period. He was the first ruler of the Kanamori clan and served as a retainer of the Saito clan, Saito, Oda clan, Oda, Toyotomi clan, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa clan, Tokuga ...

(who was then the ruler of Echizen Ōno Castle). Hideyoshi awarded Hida Province to Kanamori, who started to build a new castle on Shiroyama mountain in Takayama in 1588.Takayama City Sightseeing Information
. City of Takayama. Accessed June 12, 2008. By 1600, the main and secondary castle keeps were completed, but it would be another three years before the third keep was completed. In addition to the construction of the castle, Nagachika also developed a

castle town A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, ...

at the same time. The Kanamori clan ruled as ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

'' of

Takayama Domain The was a feudal domain in Hida Province, Japan. It was also called the Takayama Domain (高山藩 ''Takayama-han''). The area was controlled by the Kanamori clan. 270px, Kanamori Yoritoki, final daimyo of Hida-Takayama Domain History Kanam ...

for about 100 years. When the Kanamori clan was transferred to

Dewa Province was a province of Japan comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. Dewa bordered on Mutsu and Echigō Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . History Early per ...

in 1692, the castle came under the control of the

Maeda clan The was a Japanese samurai clan who occupied most of the Hokuriku region of central Honshū from the end of the Sengoku period through the Meiji Restoration of 1868. The Maeda claimed descent from the Sugawara clan through Sugawara no Kiyotom ...

. Three years later Hida Province became ''

tenryō The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil war ...

'' territory, under the direct control of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

, and the buildings of the castle were pulled down, with a ''

jin'ya A was a type of administrative headquarters in the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Edo period of Japanese history. ''Jin'ya'' served as the seat of the administration for a small domain, a province, or additional parcels of land. ''Jin'ya'' ho ...

'' built at the foot of Shiroyama. Currently the shape of areas remain with only a little part of stone walls, but several buildings were transferred to neighbor temples at the time of abolition and still remain. The local magistrate's office is preserved in almost the original style, called the

Takayama Jin'ya The is a surviving Edo period ''jin'ya'' which served as the Daikansho for Hida Province under the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan from 1692 to 1871. It is located in what is now Hachiken-machi of the city of Takayama in Gifu Prefecture. It has bee ...

. The remains of the castle are in the present-day

Shiroyama Park is a public park located in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and ...

Castle rulers

;

Kanamori clan was a Japanese samurai who lived from the Sengoku period into the early Edo period. He was the first ruler of the Kanamori clan and served as a retainer of the Saito, Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa clans. Later in his life, he also became a '' ...

# Kanamori Arishige (金森可重) # Kanamori Shigeyori (金森重頼) # Kanamori Yorinao (金森頼直) # Kanamori Yorinari (金森頼業) # Kanamori Yoritoki (金森頼時)

References

{{Authority control Castles in Gifu Prefecture Ruined castles in Japan Takayama, Gifu Hida Province Designated historic sites of Gifu Prefecture

History

Castle rulers

Further reading

References