Shirakawa Castle
is a Japanese castle located in what is now the city of Shirakawa, southern Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Throughout the middle to later Edo period, Komine Castle was home to the Abe clan, ''daimyō'' of Shirakawa Domain. It was also referred to as or simply . The castle is one of the 100 Fine Castles of Japan, and in 2007 was designated a National Historic Site. It should not be confused with the older Shirakawa Castle also located in Shirakawa, Fukushima, also known as or . The castle grounds are also a noted venue for viewing sakura in spring. Layout Komine Castle is located on a long and narrow hill extending 500 meters from east to west, located on a bend of the Abukuma River, which forms part of the natural defenses of the site. The Shirakawa area and the Abukuma River is the on the main route between the Kantō region and northern Japan, the Ōshū Kaidō, and control of this area was of great strategic importance. The ancient Shirakawa Barrier was once located nearb ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shirakawa, Fukushima
270px, Nanko Park in Shirakawa is a city located in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 59,393 in 23,546 households and a population density of 190 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Geography Shirakawa is located in south-central Fukushima prefecture facing the Nasu plateau, and extending to the lowland Shirakawa Basin. *Rivers: Abukuma River Neighboring municipalities * Fukushima Prefecture ** Nishigō ** Izumizaki ** Nakajima ** Yabuki ** Tanagura ** Ishikawa ** Asakawa ** Ten'ei *Tochigi Prefecture ** Nasu Climate Shirakawa has a humid continental climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by mild summers and cold winters. The average annual temperature in Shirakawa is 11.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1377 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 0.3 °C. Demographics History The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ōshū Kaidō
The was one of the five routes of the Edo period. It was built to connect Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with Mutsu Province and the present-day city of Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. It was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu for government officials traveling through the area. Subroutes In addition to the established use of traveling from Edo to Mutsu Province, there were also many roads that connected from the Ōshū Kaidō. One such sub-route was the Sendaidō (仙台道), which connected Mutsu Province with Sendai. The terminus for the Sendaidō is in Aoba-ku in modern Sendai. From there, the Matsumaedō (松前道) connected Sendai with Hakodate, Hokkaidō. Though the Ōshū Kaidō has only 27 post stations,Ōshū Kaidō Map Yumekaidō. Accessed September 4, 2007. there were over 100 designated post stations when the subrout ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tanagura Domain
was a '' fudai'' feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in southern Mutsu Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Tanagura Castle, located in what is now part of the town of Tanagura in Fukushima Prefecture. History During the Sengoku period, Tanagura was an outpost of the Satake clan, who built the mountain-top Akadake Castle near what would later become Tanagura Castle. After the Satake were defeated and transferred to Dewa Province by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the area was awarded to Tachibana Muneshige. Following the Siege of Osaka, the domain was awarded to Niwa Nagashige, who was ordered to build a completely new castle by Shōgun Tokugawa Hidetada. The Niwa were followed by the Naitō clan, who continued to develop the castle and its surrounding castle town; however, under the Tokugawa shogunate the domain saw frequent changes of ''daimyō''. During the Bakumatsu period, Matsudaira Yasuhide was transferred to Kawagoe Domain, and Abe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tokugawa Shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 978.Nussbaum"''Edo-jidai''"at p. 167. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars of the Sengoku period following the collapse of the Ashikaga shogunate. Ieyasu became the ''shōgun,'' and the Tokugawa clan governed Japan from Edo Castle in the eastern city of Edo (Tokyo) along with the ''daimyō'' lords of the ''samurai'' class.Nussbaum"Tokugawa"at p. 976. The Tokugawa shogunate organized Japanese society under the strict Tokugawa class system and banned most foreigners under the isolationist policies of ''Sakoku'' to promote political stability. The Tokugawa shoguns governed Japan in a feudal system, with each ''daimyō'' administering a ''han'' (f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gamō Clan
The was a Japanese clan prominent during the Sengoku Period which claimed descent from the Fujiwara clan. Gamō clan heads (before taking Gamō name) # Fujiwara no Hidesato # Fujiwara Chitsuji # Fujiwara Senkiyo # Fujiwara Yorikiyo # Fujiwara Yoritoshi # Fujiwara Suetoshi Gamō clan heads (after taking Gamō name) # Satoshi # Korekata # Toshitsuna # Toshimune # Shigetoshi # Ujitoshi # Toshitsuna # Hideyori # Takahide # Hidetane # Hidekane # Hidesada # Hidetsuna # Sadahide (1444-1514) # Hideyuki (d.1513) # Hidenori (d.1525) # Sadahide (1508-1579) # Gamō Katahide # Gamō Ujisato # Gamō Hideyuki # Tadasato (1602-1627) # Tadatomo (1604-1634) Gamō Katahide Gamō Katahide (蒲生 賢秀, 1534 – May 26, 1584) was a Japanese daimyō of the Sengoku period through Azuchi-Momoyama Period. Katahide, the eldest son of Gamō Sadahide, was a retainer of the Oda clan. Gamō Ujisato Gamō Ujisato (蒲生 氏郷, 1556 – March 17, 1595) was the heir and son of Gamō Katahide, lord ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Aizu Domain
was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871.Ravina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 The Aizu Domain was based at Tsuruga Castle in Mutsu Province, the core of the modern city of Aizuwakamatsu, located in the Tōhoku region of the island of Honshu. The Aizu Domain was ruled for most of its existence by the '' shinpan'' ''daimyō'' of the Aizu-Matsudaira clan, a local cadet branch of the ruling Tokugawa clan, but was briefly ruled by the '' tozama'' ''daimyō'' of the Gamō and Katō clans. The Aizu Domain was assessed under the '' Kokudaka'' system with a peak value of 919,000 '' koku'', but this was reduced to 230,000 ''koku''. The Aizu Domain was dissolved in the abolition of the ''han'' system in 1871 by the Meiji government and its territory was absorbed into Fukushima Prefecture, covering much of the traditional region of Aizu. History Pre-Edo period The area of Kurokawa, later called "Waka ... [...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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Date Clan
The is a Japanese samurai kin group. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Date", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 5 retrieved 2013-5-5. History The Date family was founded in the early Kamakura period (1185–1333) by Isa Tomomune who originally came from the Isa district of Hitachi Province (now Ibaraki Prefecture), and was a descendant of Fujiwara no Uona (721–783) in the sixteenth generation. The family took its name from the Date district (now Date City in Fukushima Prefecture) of Mutsu Province which had been awarded in 1189 to Isa Tomomune by Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first Kamakura shōgun, for his assistance in the Genpei War and in Minamoto no Yoritomo's struggle for power with his brother, Minamoto no Yoshitsune. During the Nanboku-chō Wars in the 1330s, the Date supported the Imperial Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo through Kitabatake Akiie, who had been appointed Commander in Chief ( ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Satake Clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Minamoto clan. Its first power base was in Hitachi Province. The clan was subdued by Minamoto no Yoritomo in the late 12th century, but later entered Yoritomo's service as vassals. In the Muromachi period, the Satake served as Governor (''shugo'') of Hitachi Province (today Ibaraki Prefecture), under the aegis of the Ashikaga shogunate. The clan sided with the Western Army during the Battle of Sekigahara, and was punished by Tokugawa Ieyasu, who moved it to a smaller territory in northern Dewa Province (northern Honshū) at the start of the Edo period. The Satake survived as lords (daimyō) of the Kubota Domain (also known as the Akita Domain). Over the course of the Edo period, two major branches of the Satake clan were established, one ruled the fief of Iwasaki, the other one the fief of Kubota-Shinden. During the Boshin War of 1868–69, the Satake were signatories to the pact that formed the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōm ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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Rampart (fortification)
In fortification architecture, a bank or rampart is a length of embankment or wall forming part of the defensive boundary of a castle, hillfort, settlement or other fortified site. It is usually broad-topped and made of excavated earth and/or masonry.Darvill, Timothy (2008). ''Oxford Concise Dictionary of Archaeology'', 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, p. 376. . Early fortifications Many types of early fortification, from prehistory through to the Early Middle Ages, employed earth ramparts usually in combination with external ditches to defend the outer perimeter of a fortified site or settlement. Hillforts, ringforts or "raths" and ringworks all made use of ditch and rampart defences, and they are the characteristic feature of circular ramparts. The ramparts could be reinforced and raised in height by the use of palisades. This type of arrangement was a feature of the motte and bailey castle of northern Europe in the early medieval period. Types of ram ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tenshu
is an architectural typology found in 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 characterized as typically timber-framed, having multiple stories, being seated on ''ishigaki'' (dry stone) foundations, and having individual floors delineated by surrounding tiled eaves. Further, ''tenshu'' are typically decorated with varying patterns of dormer gables (''chidori-hafu''), and are capped with hip-and-gabled roofs (''irimoya-hafu'') with ''shachihoko'' finials. Not all Japanese castles originally possessed ''tenshu'' (e.g. Sendai)'','' many well-known castles have lost their ''tenshu'' (e.g. Nijō, Edo), many have had the ''tenshu'' rebuilt on multiple occasions (e.g. Nagoya, Osaka). While both the term, ''tenshu'' and the emergence of ''tenshu'' as a distinct architectural typology occurred in the 1560s and 1570s, the early relationship ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |