is a ''yamajiro''-style

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 Inuyama,

Aichi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the ...

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 overlooks the Kiso River, which serves as the border between Aichi and

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 ...

s. The ''

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 ...

'' of Inuyama Castle, one of only 12 pre-modern ''tenshu'' remaining in existence, has been determined to be the oldest remaining ''tenshu'', dating from the late 1580s. The castle has been a National Historic Site since 2018.

Background

Inuyama Castle is located on a hill overlooking the Kiso River in what is now the city of Inuyama. Inuyama Castle is the oldest of 12 castles to have retained its '' Tenshukaku'' architecture intact. This main tower is small but due to its complex form, it shows different silhouettes depending on the angle. Among the 12 remaining main towers, the ''tenshu'' at Inuyama Castle is designated as a

National Treasure of Japan Some of the National Treasures of Japan A is " Tangible Cultural Properties designated by law in modern Japan as having extremely high value." Specifically, it refers to buildings, arts, and crafts designated as especially valuable from ...

, as are

Matsumoto Castle , originally known as Fukashi Castle, is one of Japan's premier historic castles, along with Himeji and Kumamoto. It was the seat of Matsumoto Domain under the Edo Period Tokugawa shogunate. It is located in the city of Matsumoto, in Nagano Pref ...

Hikone Castle is an Edo-period Japanese castle located in the city of Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. It is considered the most significant historical site in Shiga. The site has been protected as a National Historic Site since 1951. Hikone is one of only ...

and Himeji Castle.

History

According to the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

Engishiki The is a Japanese book of laws and customs. The major part of the writing was completed in 927. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Engi-shiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 178. History Emperor Daigo ordered the compilation of the ''Engishi ...

'' a

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 ...

, the Haritsuna Shrine was moved to make way for the castle. The structure was rebuilt several times in the

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

and the current configuration was largely the work of

Oda Nobukatsu also known as Kitabatake Tomotoyo was a Japanese samurai of the Azuchi–Momoyama period. He was the second son of Oda Nobunaga. He was adopted as the head of the Kitabatake clan from Ise Province. He survived the decline of the Oda clan ...

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 ...

's son. The antiquated architectural style of the watchtower atop the ''

'' has in the past led many historians to believe this to be the oldest extant ''tenshu'' in Japan, which was confirmed through tree rings in the construction materials dating the structure to the 1580s. Construction and renovations continued through 1620. Inuyama Castle was the final obstacle against Oda Nobunaga's unification of

Owari Province was a province of Japan in the area that today forms the western half of Aichi Prefecture, including the modern city of Nagoya. The province was created in 646. Owari bordered on Mikawa, Mino, and Ise Provinces. Owari and Mino provinces w ...

. After Nobunaga had defeated the

Imagawa clan was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Seiwa Genji by way of the Kawachi Genji. It was a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Ashikaga clan. Origins Ashikaga Kuniuji, grandson of Ashikaga Yoshiuji, established himself in ...

at the Battle of Okehazama in 1560, his cousin, Oda Nobukiyo, seized Inuyama Castle with the support of Saito Yoshitatsu on

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, Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbreviated fo ...

. Nobunaga recaptured the castle in 1564. After Nobunaga's death,

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: ...

appointed Ishikawa Sadakiyo as castellan of Inuyama. Ishikawa rebuilt the defenses of the castle in line with contemporary designs and the current shape of the donjon is a result of this reconstruction. After 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 victorious

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 ...

expelled the Ishikawa clan and turned the castle over to

Owari Domain The Owari-Han, also known as the Owari Domain, was a significant feudal domain in Tokugawa shogunate, Japan during the Edo period. Situated in the western region of what is now Aichi Prefecture, it covered portions of Owari Province, Owari, Mino ...

. Under 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 ...

, the castle was governed by the Naruse clan, who 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

Inuyama Domain 270px, Ogasawara Yoshitsugu, founder of Inuyama Domain 270px, Naruse Masamitsu, final daimyo of Inuyama Domain The was a feudal domain in Owari Province, Japan. It was not officially designated as a domain by the Tokugawa Shogunate, when ma ...

as vassals of the Owari Tokugawa clan 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

. The new

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...

seized Inuyama Castle in 1871 and destroyed all of its auxiliary buildings except for the ''tenshu''; however, after the castle was damaged in the Great Nōbi earthquake, and it was returned to the Naruse family in 1895, on the condition that they repair and maintain it. The castle was thus unique in Japan in that it was privately owned. In 2004, ownership of the castle was turned over to a non-profit foundation set up by the Aichi Prefecture's Board of Education. It was long believed that the ''tenshu'' of Inuyama Castle was moved to the castle from Kanayama Castle in 1599, until such theory was disproved as a result of examination through a large scale restoration work, involving the dismantling of the ''tenshu'', carried out between 1961 and 1965. Inuyama CastleKeep Tower in 1937.jpg, A view of the castle, taken in 1937 Inuyama Castle and Kiso River.JPG, Inuyama Castle and Kiso River Inuyamajouka1.jpg, Castle Town Inuyamajo2.JPG, Inuyama Festival Inuyamamatsuri1.jpg, Inuyama Castle and karakuri float Inuyamamatsuri.JPG, Karakuri float Inuyama castle front gate.jpg, Tenshu front entrance

Castle Rulers

The castellans of Inuyama Castle are listed below in order with their dates of reign in parentheses. There were no castellans from 1612–1617 and 1869–1895. *Pre-Naruse Clan # Oda Nobuyasu (1537–1547) # Oda Nobukiyo (1547–1564) #

Ikeda Tsuneoki , also known as Ikeda Nobuteru (池田信輝), was an Ikeda clan ''daimyō'' and military commander under Oda Nobunaga during the Sengoku period and Azuchi–Momoyama periods of 16th-century Japan. He was a retainer of the famous warlords Oda No ...

(1570–1581) # Oda Nobufusa (1581–1582) # Nakagawa Sadanari (1582–1584) #

(1584) # Katō Yasukage (1584, proxy ruler) # Takeda Kiyotoshi (1584–1587, proxy ruler) # Hijikata Katsuyoshi (1587–1590, proxy ruler) # Nagao Yoshifusa (1590–1592, proxy ruler) # Miwa Gorōemon (1592–1595) # Ishikawa Mitsuyoshi (1595–1600) #

Ogasawara Yoshitsugu Ogasawara (written: 小笠原) is a Japanese surname. It may also refer to: Locations * Ogasawara Islands, also known as the Bonin Islands, an archipelago of over 30 islands about 1000 km south of Tokyo, Japan * Ogasawara National Park, an is ...

(1601–1607) #

Hiraiwa Chikayoshi was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. He ruled the Inuyama Domain. According to legend, he was involved in a 1611 plot by Tokugawa Ieyasu to assassinate Toyotomi Hideyori, son and intended successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, through u ...

(1607–1612) *Naruse Clan #

Naruse Masanari Naruse (written: 成瀬 or 鳴瀬) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese idol and voice actress *, Japanese test driver and engineer *, Japanese professional wrestler *, Japanese voice actress *, Japanese film ...

(1617–1625) # Naruse Masatora (1625–1659) # Naruse Masachika (1659–1703) # Naruse Masayuki (1703–1732) # Naruse Masamoto (1732–1768) # Naruse Masanori (1768–1809) # Naruse Masanaga (1809–1838) # Naruse Masazumi (1838–1857) # Naruse Masamitsu (1857–1869, 1895–1903) # Naruse Masao (1903–1949) # Naruse Masakatsu (1949–1973) # Naruse Masatoshi (1973–2004)

Literature

References

* * * *

External links