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Hachiōji Castle
was a Sengoku period Japanese castle, located in what is now the city of Hachiōji, Tokyo, in the Kantō region of Japan Its ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1951, with the area under protection extended in 2005. Overview Hachiōji Castle is located on the top of Mount Fukasawayama, about five kilometers southwest of central of modern center of Hachioji. The castle was situated to control both main route (via the Kobotoke Pass) and sub-route (Ange Pass) of the main road connecting Kai Province (modern Yamanashi prefecture) and Musashi Province (modern Saitama prefecture and Tokyo Metropolis). The castle was built on a hillside and on the top of a mountain. Around the mountain, the outer defense line consisted of clay ramparts and dry moats built to utilize the natural contours of the slope. On the hillside was a large enclosure which housed the residence of the castellan, surrounded by smaller enclosures. The front wall and the route to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 defensive territory, provides space for additional castle facilities, and contains the living quarters for common soldiers, making it an important fixture of all Japanese castles. Most castles built during the middle ages contain many kuruwa of small area, while those built during or after the early modern period often contain a lesser number of kuruwa of larger area. The western equivalent is the motte-and-bailey. Arrangement The shape and structure of a castle were important factors in determining the victor of castle sieges, and the castle layout, or was arranged with the intention of giving the defender an insurmountable advantage. The kuruwa regions were planned for after the basic layout of the castle grounds was decided. The three ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Usui Pass
The is a mountain pass that lies between Nagano and Gunma prefecture in Japan. It has served as one of the major transportation routes in central Japan since at least the eighth century. Road The pass on the ancient Tōsandō highway was described as early as the 8th century, in the '' Nihon Shoki,'' as Yamato Takeru went through the pass during his journey in eastern Japan. Later, the Nakasendō, one of the five routes of the Edo period maintained by the Tokugawa shogunate (and one of the two that connected Edo, modern-day Tokyo, to Kyoto) followed the route through the pass. The modern National Route 18, which goes through the pass, serves as a major link between the popular tourist spot Karuizawa and the Kantō plain (including Tokyo). A bypass and an expressway now make the trip faster and safer. The original road still exists as of 2013. The Usui Pass is the home course of drift racer Keiichi Tsuchiya. It was also featured in the racing manga '' Initial D'' as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uesugi Kagekatsu
was a Japanese samurai ''daimyō'' during the Sengoku and Edo periods. He was the adopted son of Uesugi Kenshin and Uesugi Kagetora’s brother in law. Early life and rise Kagekatsu was the son of Nagao Masakage, the head of the Ueda Nagao clan and husband of Uesugi Kenshin's elder sister, Aya-Gozen. After his father died, he was adopted by Kenshin. His childhood name was Unomatsu. In 1577, He participated in Battle of Tedorigawa. Upon Kenshin's death in 1578, Kagekatsu battled Kenshin's other adopted son Uesugi Kagetora for the inheritance, defeating Kagetora in the 1578 Siege of Otate. In 1579, He forced Kagetora to commit seppuku, and became head of the Uesugi clan. Kagekatsu married Takeda Katsuyori's sister (Takeda Shingen's daughter) after the Siege of Otate. Conflict with Oda By 1579, Kagekatsu had gained the upper hand and forced Kagetora to commit suicide. This bloody division allowed Oda Nobunaga's generals (headed by Shibata Katsuie) to conquer the Uesugi's land ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 (又左衛門) being his common name. He was a member of the so-called Echizen Sanninshu (Echizen Triumvir) along with Sassa Narimasa and Fuwa Mitsuharu. The highest rank from the court that he received is the Great Counselor ''Dainagon'' ( 大納言). Early life His father was Maeda Toshimasa and his wife was Maeda Matsu. His childhood name was "Inuchiyo" (犬千代). Toshiie was born in the village of Arako (present-day Nakagawa-ku, Nagoya), He was the fourth of seven brothers, of Maeda Toshimasa, who held Arako Castle. Toshiie served Oda Nobunaga from childhood (first as a page) and his loyalty was rewarded by being allowed to be the head of the Maeda clan, very unusual for a fourth son with no apparent failures among his elder brothers. Jus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siege Of Odawara (1590)
The third occurred in 1590, and was the primary action in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's campaign to eliminate the Hōjō clan as a threat to his power. The months leading up to it saw hasty but major improvements in the defense of the castle, as Hideyoshi's intentions became clear. Thus, despite the overwhelming force brought to bear by Hideyoshi, the siege saw little actual fighting. Background In 1588, Toyotomi Hideyoshi succeeded the unifying nation from Oda Nobunaga. Hideyoshi asked Hōjō Ujimasa and Ujinao, the father and son, to attend the imperial visit to Jurakudai (Hideyoshi's residence and office in Kyoto), but Ujimasa refused it. However, Ujimasa proposed to reschedule the visit to spring or summer of 1590, but Hideyoshi refused the proposal, which worsened their relationship, and in May, 1590, Hideyoshi launched the Odawara Campaign against Hōjō. The Siege The massive army of Toyotomi Hideyoshi surrounded the castle in what has been called "the most unconventional ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Course of History, Viking Press 1988. p. 68. Hideyoshi rose from a peasant background as a Affinity (medieval), retainer of the prominent lord Oda Nobunaga to become one of the most powerful men in Japan. Hideyoshi succeeded Nobunaga after the Honnō-ji Incident in 1582 and continued Nobunaga's campaign to unite Japan that led to the closing of the Sengoku period. Hideyoshi became the ''de facto'' leader of Japan and acquired the prestigious positions of Daijō-daijin, Chancellor of the Realm and Sesshō and Kampaku, Imperial Regent by the mid-1580s. Hideyoshi launched the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598), Japanese invasions of Korea in 1592 to initial success, but eventual military stalemate damaged his prestige before his death in 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 fellow Oda subordinate Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The son of a minor daimyo, Ieyasu once lived as a hostage under daimyo Imagawa Yoshimoto on behalf of his father. He later succeeded as daimyo after his father's death, serving as a vassal and general of the Oda clan, and building up his strength under Oda Nobunaga. After Oda Nobunaga's death, Ieyasu was briefly a rival of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, before declaring his allegiance and fighting on his behalf. Under Toyotomi, Ieyasu was relocated to the Kanto plains in eastern Japan, away from the Toyotomi power base in Osaka. He built his castle in the fishing village of Edo (now Tokyo). He became the most powerful daimyo and the most senior officer under the Toyotomi regime. Ieyasu preserved his strength i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oda Nobunaga
was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify Japan in the 1560s. Nobunaga emerged as the most powerful ''daimyō'', overthrowing the nominally ruling shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki and dissolving the Ashikaga Shogunate in 1573. He conquered most of Honshu island by 1580, and defeated the ''Ikkō-ikki'' rebels in the 1580s. Nobunaga's rule was noted for innovative military tactics, fostering of free trade, reforms of Japan's civil government, and the start of the Momoyama historical art period, but also for the brutal suppression of those who refused to cooperate or yield to his demands. Nobunaga was killed in the Honnō-ji Incident in 1582, when his retainer Akechi Mitsuhide ambushed him in Kyoto and forced him to commit . Nobunaga was succeeded by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who along with Toku ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Takeda Clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan active from the late Heian period until the late 16th century. The clan was historically based in Kai Province in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture. The clan reached its greatest influence under the rule of Takeda Shingen, one of the most famous rulers of the period. History Origin The Takeda are descendants of the Emperor Seiwa (858–876), the 56th Emperor of Japan, and are a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji), by Minamoto no Yoshimitsu (1056–1127), son of the '' Chinjufu-shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoriyoshi (988-1075), and brother to the famous Minamoto no Yoshiie (1039–1106). Minamoto no Yoshikiyo (1075–1149), son of Yoshimitsu, was the first to take the name of Takeda, which he took when his father granted him Takeda domain in Hitachi Province; thereafter, he was known as Takeda Yoshikiyo. Kamakura to early Azuchi–Momoyama periods In the 12th century, at the end of the Heian period, the Takeda family-controlled Kai Province. Alon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tama River
The is a major river in Yamanashi, Kanagawa and Tokyo Prefectures on Honshū, Japan. It is officially classified as a Class 1 river by the Japanese government. Its total length is , and the total of the river's basin area spans . The river flows through Tokyo, on the dividing line between Tokyo and Kanagawa. In the city, its banks are lined with parks and sports fields, making the river a popular picnic spot. Course The Tama's source is located at Mt. Kasatori in Koshu in Yamanashi Prefecture. From there, it flows eastward into mountainous western Tokyo, where the Ogōchi Dam forms Lake Okutama. Below the dam, it takes the name Tama and flows eastwards through Chichibu Tama Kai National Park towards Ōme, Tokyo. It then flows southeast between Tama Hills and Musashino Terrace. At Hamura is the source of the historic Tamagawa Aqueduct built by the Tamagawa brothers in 1653 to supply water to Edo (present day Tokyo). Further downstream, the river forms the boundary betw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Takiyama Castle (Tokyo)
was a Japanese castle located in what is now the Tani neighborhood of the city of Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan. Its ruins have protected as a National Historic Site since 2007. Situation Takiyama Castle is located on a long ridge south of the Tama River, next to the confluence of the Tama River coming from the Ome area with the Aki River from the Okutama areas of Musashi Province. The castle site and surrounding area are within the borders of the Takiyama Prefectural Natural Park. History During the Muromachi period, this portion of Musashi Province was ruled by the Ōishi clan, vassals of the Ogigayatsu-branch of the Uesugi clan and ''shugodai'' of Musashi Province. They were one of the major military powers in the Kantō region. Ōishi Sadashige constructed Takiyama Castle in 1521 to replace an earlier stronghold at Takatsuki, approximately one kilometer away. However, the Uesugi clan was soon eclipsed by the rising power of the Late Hōjō clan based at Odawara, who had conquered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
