is an early

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 ...

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 the city of Tamba-Sasayama, Hyōgo,

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 ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1956.

History

Sasayama Castle is located at the center of Tamba-Sasayama city. The Sasayama area is a strategic junction of highways from

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

to both the

San'in region The is an area in the southwest of Honshū, the main island of Japan. It consists of the northern part of the Chūgoku region, facing the Sea of Japan. Specifically, it is the two prefectures of Shimane Prefecture, Shimane and Tottori Prefecture ...

, and the San'yo regions of western Japan. Recognizing the importance of this location, after the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, ...

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

ordered the construction of Sasayama Castle to isolate Toyotomi Hideyori at

Osaka Castle is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi–Momoyama period. Layout Th ...

from the powerful feudal lords of western Japan, many of whom still had pro-Toyotomi loyalties. As the location was only three kilometers from a large mountain castle, Yakami Castle ruled by Matsudaira Yasushige (who may have been Tokugawa Ieyasu's illegitimate son), Yakami Castle was abolished and Matsudaira Yasushige relocated to Sasayama, where he became ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

'' of Sasayama Domain. The design of the castle was done by Tōdō Takatora, construction overseen by Ikeda Terumasa and the materials and labor provided by 20 ''daimyō'', including the Fukushima, Kato clan, Hachisuka clan and Asano clan. By this style of construction, the fledgling Tokugawa Shogunate bled the powerful western ''daimyō'' of wealth and tested their loyalty to the new regime. To hasten completion of the castle, neither ''

tenshu is an architectural typology found in Japanese castle, Japanese castle complexes. They are easily identifiable as the highest tower within the castle. Common translations of ''tenshu'' include keep, main keep, or ''donjon''. ''Tenshu'' are cha ...

'' nor corner ''yagura'' watchtowers were constructed, and the castle consisted a central area surrounded by stone walls and a moat. It was intended more as an administrative center rather than an actual castle for use in war. The second bailey contained the large ''daimyō'' residence, and the residences for samurai retainers and the

castle town A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, ...

was laid out to the southwest and southeast of the castle. Sasayama Castle was held by the Aoyama clan for 123 years during 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 ...

, from 1748 and until the castle was torn down in 1871. Almost all of the buildings in the castle were destroyed after the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, except for the Ōshoin (Grand Hall). However, the Ōshoin was destroyed during a firebombing air raid by American forces in 1944. It was reconstructed in 2000. The castle is 15-minutes by bus from Sasayamaguchi Station 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, ...

. Sasayama Castle was listed as one of Japan's Top 100 Castles by the Japan Castle Foundation in 2006.Japan Castle Foundation
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Gallery

Sasayama_Castle_20130507-01.jpg, Uchi Gate Sasayama_Castle_20130507-02.jpg, Kurogane Gate Sasayama_Castle_20130507-03.jpg, Sasaymajyo25.JPG, Interior of the Osho-in Sasayama_Castle_20130507-08.jpg, Aoyama Jinja Sasayama_Castle_20130507-09.jpg, foundation for the ''tenshu'' Sasayama_Castle_20130507-10.jpg, Uzumi Gate Image:Sasayama_Castle_20130507-11.jpg, Inner moat

Literature

External links

Tanba-Sasayama Tourist Bureau

References

{{Authority control Castles in Hyōgo Prefecture Ruined castles in Japan 100 Fine Castles of Japan Historic Sites of Japan Tanba Province Tamba-Sasayama

History

Gallery

See also

Literature

External links

References