was a Japanese castle located in what is now the Oazaka neighborhood of the city of Matsusaka, Mie in the Kansai region of Japan. Its ruins were designated a National Historic Site in 1982, collectively with the ruins of Taka Castle and Karatachi Castle. All of these fortifications were important citadels of the

Kitabatake clan The Kitabatake clan was a clan that ruled south Ise Province in Japan and had strong ties to the eastern provinces through Pacific sea routes. Among its leaders included Kitabatake Tomonori. Clan heads # Kitabatake Masaie (1215–1274, founder) ...

who controlled northern Ise Province in the Nanboku-chō period.

Overview

Azaka Castle is located on a 312-meter mountain overlooking Ise Bay with the mountains of Mikawa Province in the distance, and is within the borders of the Ise-Shima National Park. The ruins are spread over a range of 180 meters east-to-west by 330 meters north-to-south. The name “Azaka Castle” is actually a misnomer, as the castle consists of a pair of fortifications separated by 250 meters. The southern portion is also known independently as and the northern portion as . The Taka Castle and Karatachi Castle mentioned in the National Historic Site designation were smaller detached fortifications built by the Omiya clan, vassals of the Kitabatake, in the early Sengoku period.

Structure

Shiinogi Castle is the larger and newer of the two portions of Azaka Castle and is considered the main fortification due to its complicated array of earthworks and dry moats. It is centered on two narrow plateaus, with a moat in between at both ends. There are also two vertical moats on the lower west slope on the north side. The Hakumai Castle portion of the fortification is higher in elevation and can be seen from the city of Matsusaka. The base enclosure is a 45m x 60m trapezoid, and the upper enclosure is a 20m x 35m flat oval with small trapezoids at the four corners.

History

The castle was constructed shortly after Kitabatake Chikafusa entered Ise Province in 1335 with his three sons, Akiie, Akinobu and Akiyoshi. The Kitabatake were strong supporters of the

Southern Court The were a set of four emperors (Emperor Go-Daigo and his line) whose claims to sovereignty during the Nanboku-chō period spanning from 1336 through 1392 were usurped by the Northern Court. This period ended with the Southern Court definitively ...

and had been ordered by Emperor Go-Daigo to wrest Ise Province from the Toki clan, who supported the rival Northern Court. In 1415, Kitabatake Mitsumasa raised an army at this location composed of loyalists from Kii,

Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial House of Japan. Japanese his ...

and

Kawachi Province was a province of Japan in the eastern part of modern Osaka Prefecture. It originally held the southwestern area that was split off into Izumi Province. It was also known as . Geography The area was radically different in the past, with Kawachi ...

s when the coronation of Emperor Shōkō was opposed by the Ashikaga shogunate and withstood a siege by an army led by the

Isshiki Yoshitsura Isshiki (written: 一色) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese actress *, Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' *, Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' Fictional characters: *Akane Isshiki, pr ...

. The castle briefly disappears from history, and resurfaces again in 1567, when its castellan, Oyama Yoshiyuki repelled repeated attacks by Oda Nobunaga's general Takigawa Kazumasu. The castle finally fell due to ruse by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1567; however, Hideyoshi was wounded in the thigh by an arrow fired by Omiya Yoshiyuki, which is said to have been the only combat wound which he received in his long military career.

Current situation

There are very few physical remnants of the castle remaining today, aside from fragments of earthenworks and dry moats. A monument is located on the southern end of the castle enclosure. The castle ruins can be reached by a one-hour hike from the Iwakuraguchi bus stop on Mie Kotsu Bus No. 48 from

Matsusaka Station is a union passenger railway station in the city of Matsusaka, Mie Prefecture, operated jointly by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and Kintetsu. Lines Matsusaka Station is served by the JR Kisei Main Line and is 34.6 rail kilometers ...

on the JR West Kisei Main Line.

External links

Mie Prefecture home page

Matsusaka tourism home page

References

{{Reflist Castles in Mie Prefecture Matsusaka, Mie Historic Sites of Japan Ruined castles in Japan