Ōno Castle (Echizen Province)
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was a
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 ...
located in the city of
Ōno ONO, Ono or Ōno may refer to: Places Fiji * Ono Island (Fiji) Israel * Kiryat Ono * Ono, Benjamin, ancient site Italy * Ono San Pietro Ivory Coast * Ono, Ivory Coast, a village in Comoé District Japan * Ōno Castle, Fukuoka * ...
Fukui Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 778,943 (1 June 2017) and has a geographic area of 4,190 km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the north, Gi ...
, in the
Hokuriku region The was located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lay along the Sea of Japan within the Chūbu region, which it is currently a part of. It is almost equivalent to Koshi Province and Hokurikudō area in pre-modern ...
of Japan. Built in the
Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...
, it was occupied by a succession of ''
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 n ...
'' of
Ōno Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan.Edmond Papinot, Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003). It was based at Ōno Castle (Echiz ...
under the
Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
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 ...
.


Background

Ōno Castle is located in northeastern
Echizen Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga, Wakasa, Hida, and Ōmi Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abbreviated form ...
on the main highway connecting Echizen with
Mino Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today southern Gifu Prefecture. Mino was bordered by Ōmi to the west, Echizen and Hida to the north, and Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbreviat ...
. The castle is sited on the ridgeline of Kameyama Hill, extending east-to-west for approximately 300 meters. The
inner bailey The inner bailey or inner ward of a castle is the strongly fortified enclosure at the heart of a medieval castle.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 22. It is protected by the outer w ...
is located at the peak of the hill and is reinforced by stone ramparts made of mostly unmodified natural boulders. Secondary enclosures were located at lower levels and were also protected by water moats.


History

During the early Sengoku period, the area around Ōno was under the control of the
Asakura clan The is a Japanese kin group. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003).html" ;"title="DF 7 of 80">"Asakura", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 3 DF_7_of_80">"Asa_...
;_however_Ōno_was_also_a_major_stronghold_of_the_''Ikkō-ikki.html" ;"title="DF 7 of 80/nowiki>">DF 7 of 80">"Asa ...
; however Ōno was also a major stronghold of the ''Ikkō-ikki">DF 7 of 80/nowiki>">DF 7 of 80">"Asa ...
; however Ōno was also a major stronghold of the ''Ikkō-ikki
'' movement. After both the Asakura and the ''Ikkō-ikki'' were destroyed by Oda Nobunaga in 1575, he assigned the area to his general Kanamori Nagachika under the regional control of Shibata Katsuie. Kanamori began the construction of Ōno Castle using the latest contemporary designs, and the castle was completed by 1580. Kanamori was subsequently promoted to governor of
Hida Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Gifu Prefecture in the Chūbu region of Japan. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Wakasa''" in . Hida bordered on Echizen, Mino, Shinano, Etchū, and Kaga Provinc ...
in 1586, and the area was assigned to
Aoki Kazunori was a Japanese samurai of the Azuchi-Momoyama period who served the Toyotomi clan The was a Japanese clan that ruled over the Japanese before the Edo period. Unity and conflict The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyo ...
followed by
Oda Hidekatsu Hall, John Whitney ''et al.'' (1991). ''The Cambridge History of Japan'', volume 4, p. 115 was a Japanese samurai, and the fourth son of the famed feudal warlord Oda Nobunaga and was adopted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at a young age. At the time of N ...
by
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 Cour ...
. After the
Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...
, the entire province of Echizen was assigned by
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 ...
to his second son,
Yūki Hideyasu was a Japanese samurai who lived during the Azuchi–Momoyama and early Edo periods. He was the ''daimyō'' of Fukui Domain in Echizen. Early life Hideyasu was born as in 1574, the second son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, by Lady Oman (also known as L ...
in 1601 as Fukui Domain. In 1624, Fukui Domain was divided, with Yūki Hideyasu's third son,
Matsudaira Naomasa The was a Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). During the Sengoku period, the chieftain of the main line of t ...
being awarded a 55,000 ''
koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied ...
'' fief centered at Ōno. This became Ōno Domain. Naomasa was transferred to
Matsumoto Domain 250px, Matsumoto Castle, administrative headquarters of Matsumoto Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in Shinano Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Matsumoto Castle, located in ...
in 1633 and was replaced by his younger brother
Matsudaira Naomoto The was a Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). During the Sengoku period, the chieftain of the main line of t ...
in 1635. Naomoto was then transferred to
Yamagata Domain was a feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Yamagata Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Yamagata Castle in what is now the city of Yamagata. Unlike some ''han'' whose control was relatively stable throughout ...
in 1644, and was replaced by his younger brother,
Matsudaira Naoyoshi was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in Echigo Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Itoigawa Jin'ya, located in what is now part of the city of Itoigawa in Niigata Prefecture. History It ...
. Naoyoshi's son
Matsudaira Naoakira The was a Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). During the Sengoku period, the chieftain of the main line of t ...
was in turn transferred to
Himeji Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Harima Province in what is now the southern portion of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered around Himeji Castle, which is located in what is now the ...
in 1682. The domain was then assigned to a cadet branch of the Doi clan under Doi Toshifusa. The Doi clan would rule Ōno for the next eight generations until 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 practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
. The castle burned down in 1775, but with the exception of the ''
donjon A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...
'' was reconstructed by 1795. Throughout its history, Ōno suffered from severe financial problems; however, Doi Toshitada (1811–1869) implemented substantial reforms and introduced ''
rangaku ''Rangaku'' (Kyūjitai: /Shinjitai: , literally "Dutch learning", and by extension "Western learning") is a body of knowledge developed by Japan through its contacts with the Dutch enclave of Dejima, which allowed Japan to keep abreast of Wester ...
'' and western technology. Although a small domain, Ōno was noted in the
Bakumatsu period was the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji govern ...
for its westernised army and its
han school The was an educational institution in the Edo period of Japan, originally established to educate children of ''daimyō'' (feudal lords) and their retainers in the domains outside of the capital. These institutions were also known as ''hangaku' ...
. Following 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 practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
, the castle was pulled down, with the exception of a couple of gates which were given to nearby Buddhist temples, and the area was used for government buildings.


Current situation

Some remnants of the original stone ramparts remain, and parts of the old ''
jōkamachi The term refers to a type of urban structures in Japan in which the city surrounds a feudal lord's castle. These cities did not necessarily form around castles after the Edo period; some are known as Jin'yamachi, cities that have evolved around J ...
'' with traditional samurai houses and merchant houses remain. In 1968, a faux-donjon was built for use as a local history museum. The castle was listed as one of the
Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles The is a list of 100 Japanese castle, castles, intended as a sequel of 100 Fine Castles of Japan. The castles were chosen for their significance in culture, history, and in their regions by the in 2017. Hokkaidō region Tōhoku region Kant ...
in 2017.


See also

*
Ōno Castle (Chikuzen Province) Ōno Castle (大野城跡 Ōnojō-ato) is a ruined castle located on Mount Shioji (formerly called Mount Ōno) in the northern part of Dazaifu city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. History Construction began in 665 AD, after the defeat of the co ...
*
Ōno Castle (Chita District, Owari Province) is a Japanese castle located in Ōno, Chita District, Aichi, former Owari Province. It is also known as Miyayama Castle (宮山城). The area is since 1954 a part of the town of Tokoname in Aichi Prefecture. External links * http://www.asah ...


Literature

* * * * *


References


External links

*
JNTO
{{DEFAULTSORT:Echizen Ono Castle Castles in Fukui Prefecture Museums in Fukui Prefecture History museums in Japan Ōno, Fukui Echizen Province Akashi-Matsudaira clan Maebashi-Matsudaira clan Matsue-Matsudaira clan