Matsuyama Castle (Ranzan)
, was a Sengoku period Japanese castle located in what is now part of the town of Yoshimi, Hiki District, Saitama, in the Kantō region of Japan. Its ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site, since 2008. It is also referred to as Musashi-Matsuyama Castle, to disambiguate it from the more famous Bitchū Matsuyama Castle or Iyo Matsuyama Castle Overview Matsuyama Castle is located on the western bank of the Arakawa River in the center of Saitama, where the river changes direction from the east to the south. On a hill protected on two sides by the river, this location had natural fortifications and was part of a defensive line (along with Hachigata Castle, Kawagoe Castle and Edo Castle) created by Ōta Dōkan to protect Kamakura from enemies to the north and east. The exact date the castle was founded is uncertain, but it is believed to be from the latter half of the 15th century. The Uesugi clan was in constant struggle against the growing power of the Later Hō ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Yoshimi, Saitama
is a town located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 18,594 in 7800 households and a population density of 480 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geography Located in central Saitama Prefecture on the lowlands of the upper Arakawa River, Yoshimi is noted for its strawberry production. Parts of the town are within the borders of the Saitama Prefectural Hiki Hills Nature Park. Surrounding municipalities Saitama Prefecture * Kumagaya * Kōnosu * Higashimatsuyama * Kitamoto * Kawajima Climate Yoshimi has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Yoshimi is 14.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1448 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.0 °C. Demographics Per Japanese census data, the popul ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Later Hōjō Clan
The was one of the most powerful samurai families in Japan in the Sengoku period and held domains primarily in the Kantō region. Their last name was simply Hōjō (北条) but in order to differentiate between the earlier Hōjō clan with the same name and '' mon'' were called "Later Hōjō", although this was not the official family name. History The history of the family is written in the ''Hōjō Godaiki''. The clan is traditionally reckoned to be started by Ise Shinkurō, who came from a branch of the prestigious Ise clan, descendants of Taira no Toshitsugu, a family in the direct service of the Ashikaga shoguns, as close advisors and ''Shugo'' (Governor) of Yamashiro Province (Ise Sadamichi since 1493). During the Imagawa clan succession crisis in 1476, Shinkurō whose sister was married to Imagawa Yoshitada, Shugo (Governor) of Suruga Province, became associated with the Imagawa clan. At the death of Yoshitada in battle, Shinkurō went down to Suruga Province to suppo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sugaya Yakata
was a Japanese castle located in what is now the town of Ranzan, Hiki District, Saitama, Japan. Its ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site, since 2008. Overview The Sugaya Yakata was built on a river terrace of the Tokigawa river, a large tributary of the Arakawa River in the middle of Saitama prefecture, near the center of Ranzan. The fortification is located near the confluence of the Tokigawa River and with the Tsukikawa River and was on the western route of the Kamakura Kaido highway which connected various parts of the Kantō region with the capital of the Kamakura shogunate at Kamakura. The fortification was thus strategically situated to control both road and river traffic. The inner bailey of the castle is a rectangular area of 200 by 100 meters, surrounded by a five meter high clay rampart. This area is protected by surrounding enclosures, each with ramparts and dry moats. History Details of the origins of the castle are uncertain and tradition holds ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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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]   |
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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]   |
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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]   |
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Sapper
A sapper, also called a pioneer (military), pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses, and road and airfield construction and repair. They are also trained and equipped to serve as provisional infantry, fighting as such as a secondary mission. A sapper's duties facilitate and support movement, defense, and survival of allied forces and impede those of enemies. The term "sapper" is used in the British Army and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations and the U.S. military. The word "sapper" comes from the French word ''sapeur'', itself being derived from the verb ''saper'' (to undermine, to dig under a wall or building to cause its collapse). Historical origin Sapping A sapper, in the sense first used by the French military, was one who dug trenches to allow besieging forces to advance ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Takeda Shingen
, of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' in feudal Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period. Shingen was a warlord of great skill and military leadership. Name Shingen was called "Tarō" (a commonly used pet name for the eldest son of a Japanese family) or Katsuchiyo (勝千代) during his childhood. When he celebrated his coming of age, he was given the formal name Harunobu (晴信), which included a character from the name of Ashikaga Yoshiharu (足利義晴), the 12th Ashikaga ''shōgun''. It was a common practice in feudal Japan for a higher-ranked warrior to bestow a character from his own name to his inferiors as a symbol of recognition. From the local lord's perspective, it was an honour to receive a character from the shogunate, although the authority of the latter had greatly degenerated in the mid-16th century. Both the Ashikaga and the Takeda cl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Echigo Province
was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen, Iwashiro, Kōzuke, Shinano, and Etchū Provinces. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Echigo''" in . It corresponds today to Niigata Prefecture, minus the island of Sado. Its abbreviated form name was , with Echizen and Etchū Provinces. Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, Echigo was ranked as one of the 35 "superior countries" (上国) in terms of importance, and one of the 30 "far countries" (遠国) in terms of distance from the capital. Echigo and Kōzuke Province were known as the Jōetsu region. History In the late 7th century, during the reign of Emperor Monmu, the ancient province of was divided into three separate provinces: Echizen, Etchū, and Echigo. The new Echigo Province consisted of Iwafune and Nutari Districts, and was one of two border provinces of the Yamato state with the Emishi (the other being Mutsu). In 702, Echigo was give ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Odawara Castle
is a landmark in the city of Odawara in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. History Odawara was a stronghold of the Doi clan during the Kamakura period, and a fortified residence built by their collateral branch, the Kobayakawa clan, stood on the approximate site of the present castle. After the Uesugi Zenshū Revolt of 1416, Odawara came under the control of the Omori clan of Suruga. They were in turn defeated by Ise Moritoki of Izu, founder of the Odawara Hōjō clan in 1495. Five generations of the Odawara Hōjō clan improved and expanded on the fortifications of Odawara Castle as the center of their domains, which encompassed most of the Kantō region. During the Sengoku period, Odawara Castle had very strong defenses, as it was situated on a hill, surrounded by moats with water on the low side, and dry ditches on the hill side, with banks, walls and cliffs located all around the castle, enabling the defenders to repel attacks by Uesugi Kenshin in 1561 and Takeda Shingen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |