was a

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 ...

''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, suc ...

located in what is now part of the city of

Hamamatsu, Shizuoka is a city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. the city had an estimated population of 791,707 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, and a population density of . The total area of the site was . Overview H ...

in the

Tōkai region The is a subregion of the Chūbu region and Kansai region in Japan that runs along the Pacific Ocean. The name comes from the Tōkaidō, one of the Edo Five Routes. Because Tōkai is a sub-region and is not officially classified, there i ...

of Japan. It was a fortress of the local

Ii clan is a Japanese clan which originates in Tōtōmi Province. It was a retainer clan of the Imagawa family, and then switched sides to the Matsudaira clan of Mikawa Province at the reign of Ii Naotora. A famed 16th-century clan member, Ii Naomas ...

, which later rose to prominence 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 ...

. The ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1944.

Background

Mitake Castle is located at the top of a 400-meter hill northeast of the Iinoya valley in former

Tōtōmi Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today western Shizuoka Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tōtōmi''" in . Tōtōmi bordered on Mikawa, Suruga and Shinano Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . The or ...

, overlooking

Lake Hamana is a brackish lagoon in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Formerly a true lake, it is now connected to the Pacific Ocean by a channel. As an internal body of water, it is considered Japan's tenth-largest lake (by area). It spans the boundaries of t ...

to the south and the modern city of Hamamatsu in the distance. In Iinoya valley was an important communications route between eastern and western Japan, and was thus involved in many conflicts throughout history. 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 ...

of the castle is a round area approximately 50 meters in diameter, which is divided into several ''

kuruwa is a Japanese term for the walls of a Japanese castle, and the regions bounded by the arrangement of those walls. The term may also be written as 郭, and the term is also used for castles built after the Edo period. The kuruwa serves as a defe ...

'' enclosures. The western slope is protected by an earthen

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...

150 meters in length, which is reinforced in places by rock. There is a secondary enclosure on the eastern ridge of the mountain, measuring 200 meters, which may have been used as an encampment, although it has no clear defenses, other than a dry moat at one end. A third enclosure is located halfway up the mountain, and has a well. The presence of a

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more '' kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, mean ...

also commemorates that this was the location of the palace of

Prince Muneyoshi , an imperial prince (the eighth son of Emperor Godaigo) and a poet of the Nijō poetic school of Nanboku-chō period, mostly known for his compilation of the '' Shin'yō Wakashū''.Earl Roy Miner, Hiroko Odagiri, and Robert E. Morrell (1985: 2 ...

during his brief stay at the castle during the

Nanboku-chō period The Nanboku-chō period (南北朝時代, ''Nanboku-chō jidai'', "North and South court period", also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period), spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the formative years of the Mur ...

History

It is not certain when Mitake Castle was constructed, but per local legend it began as a fortified Buddhist temple around 1336 AD. The Ii clan lived at Iinoya Castle in the valley, and used Mitake Castle on the mountain as a final

redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect sold ...

in time of war. The origins of the Ii clan are also uncertain, but they were already in control of this area since the late

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 Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...

and were in the service of

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent ('' shikken'') after h ...

during the

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first '' shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...

. Following the establishment of the

Muromachi shogunate The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669. The Ashikaga shogunate was establi ...

, the Ii clan sided with the Southern Court under

Emperor Go-Daigo Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐天皇 ''Go-Daigo-tennō'') (26 November 1288 – 19 September 1339) was the 96th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')後醍醐天皇 (96) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order ...

against

Ashikaga Takauji was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromac ...

, the son of Emperor Go-Daigo, initially rallied his forces from Iinoya valley, around which time Mitake Castle was built. However, after he was driven into

Shinano Province or is an old province of Japan that is now Nagano Prefecture. Shinano bordered on Echigo Province, Echigo, Etchū Province, Etchū, Hida Province, Hida, Kai Province, Kai, Kōzuke Province, Kōzuke, Mikawa Province, Mikawa, Mino Province, Mi ...

by the Ashikaga and Mitake Castle was captured in 1339, the Ii clan switched allegiance to the

Northern Court The , also known as the Ashikaga Pretenders or Northern Pretenders, were a set of six pretenders to the throne of Japan during the Nanboku-chō period from 1336 through 1392. The present Imperial House of Japan is descended from the Northern Cour ...

and the

Ashikaga shogunate The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669. The Ashikaga shogunate was establis ...

. Later, the castle was used by

Shiba Yoshitatsu Shiba may refer to: * Shiba Inu, a breed of dog * Shiba clan, Japanese clan originating in the Sengoku period * Shiba Inu (cryptocurrency), a decentralized cryptocurrency Geography * Shiba, Tokyo, a former ward of Tokyo, Japan *Shiba Park in Tokyo ...

to defeat

Asahina Yasutomo Asahina (written: or ) is a Japanese surname, which means "sunny place". Notable people with the surname include: People *, a Japanese clan during the Sengoku period *, Japanese voice actress *, Japanese long-distance runner *, 20th century Rinzai ...

, a vassal of 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 ...

in 1514. This was the last record it was used as a fortress. During the many wars of

Imagawa Yoshimoto was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) in the Sengoku period Japan. Based in Suruga Province, he was known as . he was one of the three ''daimyōs'' that dominated the Tōkaidō region. He died in 1560 while marching to Kyoto to become S ...

, the Ii clan fought in the vanguard of the Imagawa army and suffered many casualties, including its clan leadership. Mitake Castle itself was seized from the Ii clan after the start of the rebellion of

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 ...

for independence from the Imagawa, and the Imagawa rebuilt its fortifications. However, under

Ii Naotora Ii Naotora (井伊直虎, d. 12 September 1582) was a daimyō of the Sengoku period. She was the daughter and only child of Ii Naomori, the eighteenth head of their clan. She was primarily the head of Ii clan and retainer of the Imagawa clan, becau ...

and

Ii Naomasa was a general under the Sengoku period ''daimyō'', and later ''shōgun'', Tokugawa Ieyasu. In 1590, when

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 ...

transferred Tokugawa Ieyasu to the Kantō region, the Ii clan accompanied him to his new domains, and Mitake Castle was abandoned around this time. Today, no structures remain of the castle, but the outlines of then enclosures can still be discerned on the mountain.

References

*{{cite book , title=Japanese Castles , last=Motoo , first=Hinago , date=1986 , publisher=Kodansha , location=Tokyo , isbn=0-87011-766-1 , page=200 pages

External links

Hamamatsu Tourist information
Castles in Shizuoka Prefecture Ruined castles in Japan History of Shizuoka Prefecture 1330s establishments in Japan Buildings and structures in Hamamatsu Historic Sites of Japan Tōtōmi Province Ii clan

Background

History

See also

References

External links