was a

Kamakura , officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...

to Nanboku-cho period ''yamashiro''-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 what is now part of the city of

Tsuruga is a city located in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 66,123 in 28,604 households and the population density of 260 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Geography Tsuruga is located in central ...

Fukui Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 737,229 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,190 Square kilometre, km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture border ...

in the Hokuriku region of

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

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 ...

. It was also known as Tsuruga Castle. The ruins have been protected by the central government as a National Historic Site since 1934.

Background

Kanegasaki Castle is located on a small hill with an elevation of 86 meters above sea level in the northeastern part of the city of Tsuruga. A fortification was first constructed here by Taira no Michimori (1153-1184) while fighting against

Kiso Yoshinaka , also known as , was a Japanese samurai lord mentioned in the epic poem ''The Tale of the Heike.'' A member of the Minamoto clan, he was a cousin and later rival of ''shogun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo during the Genpei War between the Minamoto and th ...

in the

Genpei War The was a national civil war between the Taira clan, Taira and Minamoto clan, Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yori ...

. All that remains at present are the remnants of stone and earthen

enclosures Enclosure or inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land", enclosing it, and by doing so depriving commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. Agreements to enc ...

, dry moats and the foundations of the central building and gate. 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 Kanegasaki-gu was built near the base of the hill during the

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

History

During the Siege of Kanegasaki, forces loyal to

Nitta Yoshisada also known as Minamoto no Yoshisada was a samurai lord of the Nanboku-chō period Japan. He was the head of the Nitta clan in the early fourteenth century, and supported the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in the Nanboku-chō period. He famo ...

was trapped for three months at Kanegasaki Castle by

Ashikaga Takauji also known as Minamoto no Takauji was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. ...

. Nitta's ally

Uryū Tamotsu Uryū may refer to: Places *Uryū District, Hokkaidō Uryū may refer to: Places *Uryū District, Hokkaidō, a district in Hokkaidō, Japan **Uryū, Hokkaidō, a town *, an admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy People with the given name *, a so ...

was forced back to the Somayama Castle in March 1337, and Nitta Yoshisada joined him soon afterwards. A failed counter-attack from Somayama Castle failed to lift the siege against Kanegasaki, whose defenders were reduced to eating horseflesh to survive, and almost resorted to cannibalism before surrendering.

Nitta Yoshiaki (died 1337), son of Nitta Yoshisada, fought for Emperor Go-Daigo, against the Ashikaga at the end of the Kamakura period. He was one of the chief generals at the fortress of Kanagasaki, which fell to the Ashikaga; Yoshiaki was killed, and Princ ...

, (the son of Nitta Yoshisada)

Prince Takanaga was the second son of Emperor Go-Daigo of Japan. His mother was the poet Tameko. He fought for his father in the Nanboku-chō Wars. Since the characters used to write "Takanaga" can also be read as "Takayoshi", the prince is sometimes known by ...

, and some 300 partisans of the Southern Court were killed or committed suicide when the castle fell. Another battle was the

Siege of Kanegasaki (1570) The 1570 took place during Oda Nobunaga's conflict with the Asakura clan in Echizen Province, which was allied with Azai Nagamasa. Background Asakura Yoshikage, the head of the Asakura clan and regent to Ashikaga Yoshiaki, refused Nobunaga ...

when the

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 ...

led a failed attack against the forces of the

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

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: ...

, then known as “Kinoshita Hideyoshi” fought a celebrated rear-guard action by which Nobunaga was able to escape the defeat. The castle ruins are about seven minutes by car from

Tsuruga Station is a joint-use railway station in the city of Tsuruga, Fukui, Japan, jointly operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and Hapi-Line Fukui. The station premises are managed by JR West. It is served by the Hokuriku Shinkansen, the Hokuri ...

on the

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, ...

Hokuriku Main Line The Hokuriku Main Line () is a railway line owned by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting Maibara Station in Maibara, Shiga, with Tsuruga Station in Tsuruga, Fukui. The line formerly extended as far as Naoetsu Station in ...

Gallery

Kanegasaki Castle Site View from Tezutsu-yama.jpg, Kanegasaki Castle Site View from Mount Tezutsu Deathplace of Prince Takayoshi.jpg, Memorial to Prince Takayoshi

References

External links

JCastle site
{{in lang, ja Castles in Fukui Prefecture Ruined castles in Japan History of Fukui Prefecture 12th-century establishments in Japan Tsuruga, Fukui Archaeological sites in Japan Historic Sites of Japan Echizen Province

Background

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links