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 Nanao,

Ishikawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,096,721 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,186 Square kilometre, km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Pr ...

, 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. Its ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1934.

Background

Nanao Castle is located on the southeastern side of

Noto Peninsula The Noto Peninsula (, ''Noto-hantō'') is a peninsula that projects north into the Sea of Japan from the coast of Ishikawa Prefecture in central Honshū, the main island of Japan. Before the Meiji era, the peninsula belonged to Noto Province. Th ...

facing the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

. The area was important from the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

due to its good port and connections with neighbouring

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

. In 1408, Hatakeyama Mitsunori, from a branch line 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 ...

, was appointed governor (''

shugo , commonly translated as ' ilitarygovernor', 'protector', or 'constable', was a title given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the shogun to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan. The position gave way to th ...

'') of

Noto Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area that is today the northern part of Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan, including the Noto Peninsula (''Noto-hantō'') which is surrounded by the Sea of Japan. Noto bordered on Etchū Province, E ...

and first constructed a castle at this location around the year 1408. Although the main Hatakeyama clan diminished in power and influence with the growing strength of the

Ashikaga clan The was a Japanese samurai Japanese clans, clan and dynasty which established the Ashikaga shogunate and ruled History of Japan, Japan from roughly 1333 to 1573. The Ashikaga were descended from a branch of the Minamoto clan, deriving originall ...

under the Muromachi shogunate, the Hatakeyama in Noto ruled their area as a semi-independent fief. Hatakeyama Yoshifusa (1491-1545) expanded Nanao Castle into a huge fortress. However, after his death, the Hatakeyama suffered from internal conflicts with the clan and with increasing restive powerful retainers, and problems with the ''

Ikkō-ikki were armed military leagues that formed in several regions of Japan in the 15th-16th centuries, composed entirely of members of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism. In the early phases, these ''ikki'' leagues opposed the rule of local Shugo, go ...

'' movement.

Situation

Nanao Castle is regarded as one of the five largest medieval mountain castles in Japan along with

Kasugayama Castle is a Sengoku period ''yamashiro''-style Japanese castle located in the Nakayashiki neighborhood of the city of Jōetsu, Niigata prefecture. It was the primary fortress of the warlord Uesugi Kenshin, and was originally built and ruled by the Nag ...

(

Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,131,009 (1 July 2023) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...

Odani Castle 280px, Map of Odani Castle was a Sengoku period mountain-top Japanese castle located in the former town of Kohoku, now part of Nagahama city, in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Only the ruins remain today. It was the home castle of the Azai clan and t ...

and

Kannonji Castle was a Sengoku period ''yamashiro''-style Japanese castle located in what is now the Azuchi neighborhood of the city of Ōmihachiman, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. The ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1982, with the area ...

(

Shiga Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,398,972 as of 1 February 2025 and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to th ...

), and

Gassantoda Castle was a Sengoku period ''yamajiro''-style Japanese castle located in Izumo Province, in what is now part of the city of Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture in the San'in region of far western Japan. Its ruins have been protected by the central government a ...

(

Shimane Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Shimane Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-least populous prefecture of Japan at 665,205 (February 1, 2021) and has a ge ...

). It is located along the upper slopes of Shiroyama mountain, a 300 meter height south edge of modern city center of Nanao and consisted of several

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 ...

, each with stone ramparts and dry moats. The central enclosure was at the top of the hill, and could only be reached by passing through the enclosures assigned to important vassals and retainers of the Hatakeyama, which completely surrounded the central enclosure on several concentric levels on the lower slopes. The total size of the fortifications exceeded one square kilometer.

History

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 ...

invaded Noto Province in 1576 just after conquering neighbouring

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 ...

. Kenshin first reduced the branch castles surrounding Nanao Castle in order to isolate the main castle and to protect his lines of communication; however, Nanao Castle proved to be too difficult to capture, and he was forced to retreat. He returned the following year, and laid siege to the castle again.

Hatakeyama Yoshitaka Hatakeyama Yoshitaka (畠山義隆 died 1576) was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period, who was head of the Hatakeyama of Noto Province. Some sources state that he lived up until 1577, committing suicide after Uesugi Kenshin had besieg ...

appealed 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 ...

for assistance, but before Nobunaga could respond, Yoshitaka died under mysterious circumstances, possibly to an epidemic or assassination by poison. The defenders were demoralised, however one of Hatakeyama's chief retainers, Cho Tsunatsura resisted intensely. To counter such resistance, Kenshin succeeded in subverting another chief vassal, Yusa Tsugumitsu, who betrayed the Hatakeyama and opened the gates to Kenshin's forces. Having accepted Yusa's submission, Kenshin left Noto in his control but encountered and subsequently defeated the Oda relief force 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 ...

at the

Battle of Tedorigawa The took place near the Tedori River in Japan's Kaga Province in 1577, between the forces of Oda Nobunaga against Uesugi Kenshin. This was destined to be Kenshin's last great battle. Kenshin tricked Nobunaga into launching a frontal attac ...

in 1577. After Kenshin died in 1578, Yusa surrendered to Nobunaga's forces when they conquered Noto Province in 1581. Having incurred Nobunaga's displeasure somehow, Yusa was murdered and

Maeda Toshiie was one of the leading generals of Oda Nobunaga following the Sengoku period of the 16th century extending to the Azuchi–Momoyama period. His preferred weapon was a yari and he was known as "Yari no Mataza" (槍の又左), Matazaemon (又左 ...

was appointed Lord of Noto in his stead. He built a new castle at Komaruyama (小丸山) and Nanao Castle was abandoned in 1589.

Current

The castle is now only ruins, with some stone ramparts and baileys. A museum is on site.

References

Literature