was a Sengoku period Japanese castle located in what is now the city of Kōka, Shiga Prefecture, in the Kansai region of Japan. Its ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 2017.

History

During the Muromachi and Sengoku period, the area of Kōka was ruled by many autonomous petty lords. After Toyotomi Hideyoshi consolidated his rule over the area from 1583, he assigned the area to Nakamura Kazuuji, one of his most trusted generals and senior administrators. Nakamura chose a location on the 100-meter Mount Daiko in the eastern part of Minakami to be his stronghold. This point controlled the where the Tōkaidō enters into Ōmi Province via the Suzuka Pass, and thus controlled access to Kyoto and Osaka from central and eastern Japan. It is also located on the junction of the Tōkaidō with a road to Shigaraki, and onwards to Nara. Nakamura ruled over a domain with a ''

kokudaka refers to a system for determining land value for taxation purposes under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo-period Japan, and expressing this value in terms of ''koku'' of rice. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Koku"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 54 ...

'' of 60,000 ''

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied ...

''. Following the Siege of Odawara (1590), he was awarded with Sunpu Castle, which had been vacated by Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had been ordered by Hideyoshi to transfer to the

Kantō region The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa. Slight ...

. As was typical of Japanese castles of this time, Minakuchi Okayama Castle consisted of a group of enclosures, protected by stone walls and dry moats, on the slopes of the hill, with the inner bailey at the summit, with a ''Yagura'' watchtower. The main gate was in the center of the southern slope, facing the Tōkaidō.

Archaeological excavation In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

s have found the foundations of the gate and remnants of its stone walls. Nakamura was replaced by

Mashita Nagamori was a ''daimyō'' in Azuchi–Momoyama period, and one of the '' Go-Bugyō'' appointed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Also called Niemon (仁右衛門) or by his court title, Uemon-no-jō (右衛門尉). He was sent to Korea as one of the Three Burea ...

(1545-1615) in 1590, followed by

Natsuka Masaie was a daimyō in the Azuchi-Momoyama period. He was served Niwa Nagahide and later Hideyoshi. He was one of the ''Go-Bugyō'', or ''five commissioners'', appointed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Biography He was born in Owari Province. Masaie served ...

(1562-1600) in 1595. Both of these generals were very important officials within the Toyotomi administration, and this is an indication of the importance that Hideyoshi placed on this castle. During 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 ...

, Natsuka was loyal to the Western Army under

Ishida Mitsunari Ishida Mitsunari (, 1559 – November 6, 1600) 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 A ...

, but was unable to participate in any combat. After the battle, he returned to Minakuchi Okayama Castle, which came under attack by the forces of Ikeda Nagayoshi and Kamei Korenori. Natsuka surrendered the castle and was forced to commit ''

seppuku , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

''. After the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, the surrounding area was awarded as

Minakuchi Domain was a '' Fudai'' feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It was located in southeastern Ōmi Province, in the Kansai region of central Honshu. The domain was centered at Minakuchi Castle, located in what is now the city ...

, a '' fudai'' domain ruled by the Katō clan. Minakuchi Okayama Castle was ordered to be dismantled, and many of its stones were reused in the construction of the much smaller

Minakuchi Castle thumbnail, 260px, layout of Minakuchi Castle thumbnail, 260px, Another view of the ''yagura'' , is a ''hirashiro''-style Japanese castle located in the former town of Minakuchi, in the city of Kōka, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. The castle is al ...

. The castle ruins are a 15-minute walk from Minakuchi Station on the Ohmi Railway.

References

External links

*
Shiga Prefecture official site

Shiga-Biwako Visitor Information

{{in lang, ja Castles in Shiga Prefecture Kōka, Shiga Historic Sites of Japan Ōmi Province Ruined castles in Japan

History

See also

References

External links