was a

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 ...

''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 what is now the city of Uozu,

Toyama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Toyama Prefecture has a population of 993,848 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km2 (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the ...

, in the

Hokuriku region The is located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lies along the Sea of Japan and is part of the larger Chūbu region. It is almost equivalent to the former Koshi Province (Japan), Koshi Province and Hokurikudō are ...

of Japan. It was one of the three major mountain-castles in

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 ...

, along with Matsuyama Castle in central Etchū and Moriyama Castle in western Etchū.

Background

Matsukura Castle is located on Mount Matsumura, a peak on a ridge which a continuation of the Tateyama Mountain Range. The Uozu area is at the base of this ridge facing Toyama Bay, and was noted for its fishing industry. In addition, a gold mine also existed at Mount Mataukura, so the area was both strategically and economically important.

Structure

Matsukura Castle occupies an L-shaped ridge running north and east. 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 ...

was a rectangular area approximately about 100 meter long by 40 meter wide, and contained a building which had a foundation 40 meter square, and was surrounded by a deep dry moat, which may have been a

donjon A keep 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 castles that were fortified residenc ...

. The inner bailey is protected by a second, third and fourth enclosure in line along the ridge, each separated by a dry moat. On the western ridge is a large flat area, which may have contained the residence of the castellan, and it is surrounded by smaller flat areas, which may have continued residences for major retainers, barracks and storehouses.

History

Matsukura Castle was built around the year 1335 by the Bōmon clan, and later came under the control of the Momonoi clan. However, when the Momonoi suffered a crushing defeat at the in

1370 Year 1370 ( MCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * February 18 – The Battle of Rudau is fought between the Teutonic Knights and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania near Rud ...

, the Momonoi clan lost control of Matsukura Castle. By the

Nanboku-chō period The , also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period, was a period in Japanese history between 1336-1392 CE, during the formative years of the Ashikaga shogunate, Muromachi (Ashikaga) shogunate. Ideologically, the two courts fought for 50 ...

, it became the main base of Shiina clan. The Shiina served as retainers of the

Hatakeyama clan The was a Japanese samurai clan. Originally a branch of the Taira clan and descended from Taira no Takamochi, they fell victim to political intrigue in 1205, when Hatakeyama Shigeyasu, first, and his father Shigetada later were killed in batt ...

, and were appointed ''

shugodai were officials during feudal Japan. Shugodai were representatives of provincial shugo when the shugo could not virtually exercise his power, being often away from his province. Unlike shugo, who were appointed from the central power of the sa ...

'' of Niikawa District of Etchū Province. Their main rivals were the Jinbō clan based at

Toyama Castle Toyama Castle moat is a flatland-style Japanese castle located in the city of Toyama, Toyama Prefecture, in the Hokuriku region of Japan. It is also called Azumi Castle (安住城 ''Azumi-jō''). Built in 1543, the castle and its surrounding ...

. In the 1550s, the Jinbō clan gained ascendant over the Shiina; however, the Shiina made an alliance with

Uesugi Kenshin , later known as , was a Japanese ''daimyō'' (magnate). He was born in Nagao clan, and after adoption into the Uesugi clan, ruled Echigo Province in the Sengoku period of Japan. He was one of the most powerful ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period ...

, who captured Toyama Castle in 1570 after a fierce back-and-forth struggle. The leader of the Jinbō clan fled to

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 the Toyama area was awarded to one of Kenshin's retainers. Furious that they had been denied the Toyama are, the Shiina turned to Kenshin's rival,

Takeda Shingen was daimyō, daimyo of Kai Province during the Sengoku period of Japan. Known as "the Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyo of the late Sengoku period, and credited with exceptional military prestige. Shingen was based in a p ...

, for assistance in 1568. Kenshin then laid siege to Matsukura Castle, which held out for two years until 1571. Shine Yasutane escaped, and continued to fight the Uesugi until his death in 1576. Uesugi Kenshin rebuilt Matsukura Castle as a base of operations in Etchū Province and expanded his territory westward, coming into conflict with Oda Nobunaga. However, he fell ill and died in 1578, and the Oda army led by

Shibata Katsuie or was a Japanese samurai and military commander during the Sengoku period. He was retainer of Oda Nobuhide. He served Oda Nobunaga as one of his trusted generals, was severely wounded in the 1571 first siege of Nagashima, but then fought ...

overran Kaga and Noto Provinces by the end of 1580, and all of Etchū Province with the exception of the Uozu area by 1581. The Uesugi strengthened Matsukura Castle as part for their final defensive line. During the

Siege of Uozu The 1582 was part of a border dispute between two ''daimyō'' of Japan's Sengoku period. The territories of Oda Nobunaga and the Uesugi clan, led by Uesugi Kagekatsu, met in Etchu Province; both were under threat from the Ikkō-ikki of Etchu, a ...

in March 1582, Shibata Katsuie seized Uozu Castle after a three-month battle; however, the same day as his victory, Oda Nobunaga was assassinated in the

Honnō-ji Incident The was the assassination of Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga at Honnō-ji, a temple in Kyoto, on 21 June 1582 (2nd day of the sixth month, Tenshō 10). Nobunaga was on the verge of unifying the country, but died in the unexpected rebellion of ...

and he was forced to withdraw before taking Matsukura Castle. In 1583,

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 ...

returned as the head of a new army and Matsukura Castle was reduced. The site of castle was abandoned sometime during the Keichō Era after the region became part of the holdings of

Kaga Domain The , also known as the , was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1583 to 1871.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 ...

in 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 ...

Current

The castle is now only ruins, with some stone ramparts, dry moats and baileys. The castle has several hundred cherry trees growing around its grounds and plays host to local visitors during the Spring blossom season. During late May, the Sengoku Noroshi Festival is held on the grounds.

External links

Toyama Prefecture tourism information, Sengoku Noroshi Festival

Literature

* * * * *{{cite book , title=Japanese Castles 1540-1640 , last=Turnbull, first=Stephen, year=2003, publisher=Osprey Publishing, isbn=1-84176-429-9 , page= 64 pages Castles in Toyama Prefecture Etchū Province Ruined castles in Japan Uozu, Toyama 1330s establishments in Japan Nanboku-chō period Designated historic sites of Toyama Prefecture