is 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

Ueda Ueda may refer to: Places *Ueda, Nagano, a city in Japan * Ueda Castle in Japan * Ueda Domain of Japan * Ueda Glacier in Antarctica Other uses * Ueda (surname) *Siege of Ueda Sekigahara campaign Sieges of the Sengoku period Attacks on castles ...

, northern

Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata 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 ...

. At the end of the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, Ueda Castle was home to a cadet branch of the

Matsudaira clan The was a Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). During the Sengoku period, the chieftain of the main line of the ...

, ''

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 Ueda Domain, but the castle is better known for its association with 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 ...

Sanada clan The is a Japanese clan.Edmond Papinot, Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)("Sanada," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 52 DF 56 of 80/nowiki> retrieved 2013-5-3. The Sana ...

. It was also called or . The castle was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1934.

Situation

200px, left, plan of Ueda Castle Ueda Castle is located on a hill overlooking a branch of the Chikuma River at the northeast edge of the Nagano plain, which forms part of its southern defences and acts as a moat. The Central Bailey (''Hon-Maru'') originally had seven two-story '' yagura'', but no ''

tenshu is an architectural typology found in Japanese castle, Japanese castle complexes. They are easily identifiable as the highest tower within the castle. Common translations of ''tenshu'' include keep, main keep, or ''donjon''. ''Tenshu'' are cha ...

'' and was protected by a moat as well as stone ramparts. The Central Bailey is also surrounded by a Second Bailey (''Ni-no-Maru'') also with moats and earthen ramparts. The adjacent Third Bailey (''San-no-maru'') had additional ''yagura'', of which only the foundation bases remain, and contained the main residence of the ''daimyō'' (which was also protected by a moat), gardens and work area and the main gate (''Ōtemon'') of the castle Most of the area of the former Third Bailey is now occupied by the Ueda High School.

History

During the

, the area around Ueda was under the control of the Sanada clan, a minor local warlord in the service of the

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 ...

. After the fall of the Takeda clan to the combined forces 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 ...

and

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

, the Sanada switched side with bewildering rapidity between the

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 ...

, the

Hōjō clan The was a Japanese samurai family who controlled the hereditary title of '' shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate between 1203 and 1333. Despite the title, in practice the family wielded actual political power in Japan during this perio ...

and

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: ...

in an effort to preserve their territory and independence. The construction of the castle began in 1583 by

's order. Two years later,

Sanada Masayuki was a Japanese Sengoku period lord and ''daimyō''. He was the head of Sanada clan, a regional house of Shinano Province, which became a vassal of the Takeda clan of Kai Province. Along with his father and brothers, Masayuki served the Taked ...

moved their main bastion from Sanada-shi Yakata to Ueda Castle. In the same year, the castle was attacked by Tokugawa Ieyasu but the greatly outnumbered Sanada defeated the forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Battle at Kami River, which greatly enhanced Sanada Masayuki’s reputation. However, under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the Sanada were forced to submit fealty to Tokugawa Ieyasu and Sanada Masayuki's first son,

Sanada Nobuyuki was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. He was the son of ''daimyō'' Sanada Masayuki and the older brother of Sanada Yukimura. Early life He was the first son of Sanada Masayuki and his wife, Kansho-in. His younger brother was Sanada Yu ...

, was married to Komatsuhime, an adopted daughter of Ieyasu; while his second son,

Sanada Yukimura , also known as , was a Japanese samurai warrior of the Sengoku period. He was especially known as the leading general on the defending side of the Siege of Osaka. Yukimura was called "A Hero who may appear once in a hundred years", "Crimson D ...

(Nobushige), was married to Chikurin-in, an adopted daughter of Hideyoshi. After the death of Hideyoshi, the Tokugawa ordered the Sanada to participate in their invasion of

Aizu is the westernmost of the three regions of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, the other two regions being Nakadōri in the central area of the prefecture and Hamadōri in the east. As of October 1, 2010, it had a population of 291,838. The princ ...

against the Uesugi clan. Sanada Nobuyuki chose to remain on the Tokugawa side, while Sanada Masayuki and his younger son,

chose to join the pro-Toyotomi armies under

Ishida Mitsunari was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the Azuchi–Momoyama period of the 16th century. He ...

against the Tokugawa. This led to the

Siege of Ueda Sekigahara campaign Sieges of the Sengoku period Attacks on castles in Japan Shinano Province Ueda, Nagano Military history of Nagano Prefecture The siege of Ueda was staged in 1600 by Tokugawa Hidetada, son and heir of the warlord Tokugawa ...

in 1600, a side battle to the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, ...

. The army of

Tokugawa Hidetada was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Early life (1579–1593) Tokugawa Hidetada was born to Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Lady Saigō on May ...

, while on their way to Sekigahara was ordered to reduce Ueda Castle along the away. Again, the greatly outnumbered Sanada forces inflicted severe casualties on the Tokugawa and delayed Hidetada so long that he was forced to break off the siege and his forces thus arrived at Sekigahara too late to make a contribution to the battle. After the Battle of Sekigahara and the establishment 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 ...

, Sanada Masayuki submitted to Tokugawa Ieyasu, but was dispossessed and Ueda Castle was partially demolished. Sanada Nobuyuki was made ''

'' of Ueda Domain, and returned to build a residence in the former ''San-no-maru'' area. He was transferred to nearby

Matsushiro Domain file:松代城(海津城) Matsushiro castle 2011.1.1 - panoramio (2).jpg, 300px, Matsushiro Castle file:Ryukoji05.JPG, Part of the Matsushiro domain's Edo estate, relocated to Kamakura and used as a hall at Ryuko-ji Temple was a Han (Japan), feud ...

in 1622, and replaced by the Sengoku clan, who rebuilt parts of the Main Bailey and Second Bailey from 1628, but the ''tenshu'' was not restored. The Sengoku were in turn replaced by a branch of the Matsudaira clan in 1706, who remained in control of the castle until the end of the

. Following the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

and the

abolition of the han system The in the Empire of Japan and its replacement by a system of prefectures in 1871 was the culmination of the Meiji Restoration begun in 1868, the starting year of the Meiji period. Under the reform, all daimyos (, ''daimyō'', feudal lords) ...

, the castle was largely dismantled, leaving only the stone ramparts and one ''yagura'', with some of the buildings being relocated to outside the castle. The site was made into a public park, with two

Shinto shrine A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion. The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...

s (one dedicated to the Sanada clan, and the other to the war dead), and a local history museum. In 1949, two ''yagura'' that had been relocated were moved back to the castle grounds, and in the 1990s one of the gates was rebuilt. Ueda Castle was listed as one of the 100 Fine Castles of Japan by the Japan Castle Foundation in 2006.Japan Castle Foundation
The castle is a ten-minute walk from Ueda Station on the

Nagano Shinkansen The Hokuriku Shinkansen () is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line connecting Tokyo with Tsuruga in the Hokuriku region of Japan. It is jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The fir ...

Gallery

Entrance to Ueda Castle.JPG, Entrance to Ueda Castle Sanada Shrine Ueda.JPG, Sanada Jinja Ueda Castle South Turret.jpg, South Yagura 上田城 - panoramio (3).jpg, Otemon Gate Ueda Castle.JPG, Ueda Castle

Literature

* * Takada, Toru: Ueda-jo in: Miura, Masayuki (eds): Shiro to Jinya. Tokoku-hen. Gakken, 2006. , S. 100th * Nishigaya, Yasuhiro (eds): Ueda-jo. In: Nihon Meijo Zukan, Rikogaku-sha, 1993. . * * * *

References

External links