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, suc ...

located in the city of Ōno

Fukui Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 778,943 (1 June 2017) and has a geographic area of 4,190 km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the north, Gif ...

, in the

Hokuriku region The was located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lay along the Sea of Japan within the Chūbu region, which it is currently a part of. It is almost equivalent to Koshi Province and Hokurikudō area in pre-mod ...

of Japan. Built in the

Sengoku period The was a period in Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga shogunate. Variou ...

, it was occupied by a succession of ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominall ...

'' of Ōno Domain under the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in ...

Background

Ōno Castle is located in northeastern

Echizen Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga, Wakasa, Hida, and Ōmi Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abbreviated for ...

on the main highway connecting Echizen with

Mino Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today southern Gifu Prefecture. Mino was bordered by Ōmi to the west, Echizen and Hida to the north, and Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbrevia ...

. The castle is sited on the ridgeline of Kameyama Hill, extending east-to-west for approximately 300 meters. The

inner bailey The inner bailey or inner ward of a castle is the strongly fortified enclosure at the heart of a medieval castle.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 22. It is protected by the outer w ...

is located at the peak of the hill and is reinforced by stone ramparts made of mostly unmodified natural boulders. Secondary enclosures were located at lower levels and were also protected by water moats.

History

During the early Sengoku period, the area around Ōno was under the control of the

Asakura clan The is a Japanese kin group. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)">DF 7 of 80">"Asakura", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 3 DF 7 of 80/nowiki> retrieved 2013-5-4. History Th ...

; however Ōno was also a major stronghold of the ''Ikkō-ikki'' movement. After both the Asakura and the ''Ikkō-ikki'' were destroyed by Oda Nobunaga in 1575, he assigned the area to his general Kanamori Nagachika under the regional control of Shibata Katsuie. Kanamori began the construction of Ōno Castle using the latest contemporary designs, and the castle was completed by 1580. Kanamori was subsequently promoted to governor of

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 ...

in 1586, and the area was assigned to Aoki Kazunori followed by Oda Hidekatsu by

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

. After the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara ( Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 ( Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

, the entire province of Echizen was assigned by

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fel ...

to his second son, Yūki Hideyasu in 1601 as Fukui Domain. In 1624, Fukui Domain was divided, with Yūki Hideyasu's third son, Matsudaira Naomasa being awarded a 55,000 '' koku'' fief centered at Ōno. This became Ōno Domain. Naomasa was transferred to

Matsumoto Domain 250px, Matsumoto Castle, administrative headquarters of Matsumoto Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in Shinano Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Matsumoto Castle, located i ...

in 1633 and was replaced by his younger brother Matsudaira Naomoto in 1635. Naomoto was then transferred to

Yamagata Domain was a feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Yamagata Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Yamagata Castle in what is now the city of Yamagata. Unlike some ''han'' whose control was relatively stable through ...

in 1644, and was replaced by his younger brother, Matsudaira Naoyoshi. Naoyoshi's son Matsudaira Naoakira was in turn transferred to

Himeji Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Harima Province in what is now the southern portion of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered around Himeji Castle, which is located in what is now the ...

in 1682. The domain was then assigned to a cadet branch of the Doi clan under Doi Toshifusa. The Doi clan would rule Ōno for the next eight generations until 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 practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were r ...

. The castle burned down in 1775, but with the exception of the ''

donjon A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in ...

'' was reconstructed by 1795. Throughout its history, Ōno suffered from severe financial problems; however,

Doi Toshitada was the 7th Doi '' daimyō'' of Ōno Domain in Echizen Province, Honshū, Japan (modern-day Fukui Prefecture). Before the Meiji Restoration, his courtesy title was ''Noto-no-kami'', and his Court rank was Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade. B ...

(1811–1869) implemented substantial reforms and introduced ''

rangaku ''Rangaku'' (Kyūjitai: /Shinjitai: , literally "Dutch learning", and by extension "Western learning") is a body of knowledge developed by Japan through its contacts with the Dutch enclave of Dejima, which allowed Japan to keep abreast of Wes ...

'' and western technology. Although a small domain, Ōno was noted in the

Bakumatsu period was the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji government. ...

for its westernised army and its

han school The was an educational institution in the Edo period of Japan, originally established to educate children of ''daimyō'' (feudal lords) and their retainers in the domains outside of the capital. These institutions were also known as ''hangaku ...

. Following the

, the castle was pulled down, with the exception of a couple of gates which were given to nearby Buddhist temples, and the area was used for government buildings.

Current situation

Some remnants of the original stone ramparts remain, and parts of the old ''

jōkamachi The term refers to a type of urban structures in Japan in which the city surrounds a feudal lord's castle. These cities did not necessarily form around castles after the Edo period; some are known as Jin'yamachi, cities that have evolved around J ...

'' with traditional samurai houses and merchant houses remain. In 1968, a faux-donjon was built for use as a local history museum. The castle was listed as one of the

Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles The is a list of 100 castles, intended as a sequel of 100 Fine Castles of Japan The castles in were chosen based on their significance in culture, history, and in their regions by the in 2006. In 2017, Japanese Castle Association created an ad ...

in 2017.

Literature

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References

External links