was the fortified residence of the

Ōuchi clan was one of the most powerful and important families in Western Japan during the reign of the Ashikaga shogunate in the 14th to 16th centuries. Their domains, ruled from the castle town of Yamaguchi in the western tip of Honshu island, compris ...

in Yamaguchi,

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 ...

. Ōuchi-shi Yakata has been designated as a National Historic Sites along with Ryōun-ji temple. It was a base of the

who were feudal lords and thrived during the

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

. Its ruins have been protected as a nationally designated historic site. In 1556, Ōuchi Yoshinaga built Kōnomine Castle as a supporting castle of Ōuchi-shi Yakata because Ōuchi-shi Yakata was considered unsuitable for withstanding a siege. but

Mōri Motonari was a prominent ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) in the western Chūgoku region of Japan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century. The Mōri clan claimed descent from Ōe no Hiromoto (大江広元), an adviser to Minamoto no Yoritomo. Motonari w ...

`s army advanced to

Suō Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of ancient Japan in the area that is today the eastern part of Yamaguchi Prefecture. Suō bordered on Aki Province, Aki, Iwami Province, Iwami, and Nagato Province, Nagato Provinces. Its abbreviated form na ...

, Ōuchi Yoshinaga left Ōuchi-shi Yakata and Kōnomine Castle without resistance. 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.

Gallery

Image:Garden of Ouchi's mansion.JPG, Reconstructed Garden Image:Ditch of Ouchi's mansion.JPG, Restored moat and earthwork

References

{{Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles Castles in Yamaguchi Prefecture Historic Sites of Japan Former castles in Japan Ruined castles in Japan 14th-century establishments in Japan Ōuchi clan