is a '' yamashiro'', or "mountain castle", located on Hachiman Mountain in the city of Gujō,

Gifu Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,910,511 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture ...

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 ...

. Its ruins were designated a Gifu Prefecture Historic Site in 1955.

Background

Gujo Hachiman Castle is located at the top of the 350 meter Mount Hachiman, close to the confluence of the Yoshida and Kodaraga Rivers and the main stream of the

Nagara River The has its source in the city of Gujō, Gifu Prefecture, and its mouth in the city of Kuwana, Mie Prefecture, Japan. Along with the Kiso River and Ibi River, the Nagara River is one of the Kiso Three Rivers of the Nōbi Plain. Previously, t ...

. These two rivers and the mountain form a natural defense for the castle, which also commands a north–south road connecting central

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, Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbreviated fo ...

with

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

and

Gifu is a Cities of Japan, city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. Durin ...

to the south and the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

to the north, and an east–west road leading to

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 Provin ...

in the east and

Echizen Province was a Provinces of Japan, 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 Province, Kaga, Wakasa Province, Wakasa, Hida Province, Hida, and Ōmi Provin ...

in the west.

History

In the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

, this area was controlled by a cadet branch of the

Chiba clan The Chiba Clan (千葉氏 ''Chiba-shi'') was a Japanese '' gōzoku'' and samurai family descending from the Taira clan. The clan was founded by Chiba Tsuneshige, originally Taira Tsuneshige. The Chiba governed in Shimōsa Province, and the cla ...

, who were rewarded by the

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Yori ...

for their role in the

Jōkyū War , also known as the Jōkyū Disturbance or the Jōkyū Rebellion, was fought in Japan between the forces of Retired Emperor Go-Toba and those of the Hōjō clan, regents of the Kamakura shogunate, whom the retired emperor was trying to overthro ...

. This cadet branch was named the and due to their skill at ''waka'' poetry, became close retainers of the Ashikaga shogunate in 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 ...

. They constructed a castle called "Shinowaki Castle". The 8th

Shogun , officially , was the title of the military aristocracy, rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor of Japan, Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, exc ...

Ashikaga Yoshimasa "Ashikaga Yoshimasa" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. was the eighth ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1449 to 1473 du ...

ordered Tō Tsuneyori to lead an expedition to the

Kantō region The is a geography, geographical region of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures of Japan, prefectures: Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, Gunma Prefe ...

to restore the authority of the shogunate. In his absence, his castle was seized by the deputy ''

shugo , commonly translated as ' ilitarygovernor', 'protector', or 'constable', was a title given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the shogun to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan. The position gave way to th ...

'' of Mino, Saitō Myōchin. However, Tō Tsuneyori's skill at poetry was such that he was able to persuade Saitō to restore the castle to him with a poem. However, conditions became increasing difficult in the

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 ...

, and the Tō were barely able to repulse an invasion by the

Asakura clan The is a Japanese samurai kin group.Edmond Papinot, Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Asakura", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 3 DF 7 of 80/nowiki> retrieved 2013-5-4. ...

from the north. To strengthen their defenses, the Tō constructed Tōdonomayama Castle on the Yoshida River. In 1559, Endō Morikazu, from a cadet branch of the Tō, overthrew the Tō clan, destroying Tōdonomayama Castle and building a new one on Mount Hachiman on the opposite side of the river. Morikazu had barely finished the castle when he died, leaving it to his son Endō Yoshitaka. Yoshitaka later became a retainer to

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

. After the assassination of Nobunaga in 1582, Yoshitaka pledged fealty to Nobunaga's third son,

Oda Nobutaka was a samurai and member of the Oda clan. He was adopted as the head of the Kanbe clan, which ruled the middle region of Ise Province and so he was also called Kanbe Nobutaka (神戸信孝). Biography Nobutaka was born as the third son of Oda ...

and fought against

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

. However, after the Toyotomi forces defeated

Shibata Katsuie or was a Japanese samurai and military commander during the Sengoku period. He was retainer of Oda Nobuhide. He served Oda Nobunaga as one of his trusted generals, was severely wounded in the 1571 first siege of Nagashima, but then fought ...

and Oda Nobutaka, Endo Yoshitaka surrendered, and Hideyoshi awarded the castle to his retainer, Inaba Sadamichi. Under Inaba, the castle was completely renovated and modernized with stone walls. Following the death of Hideyoshi in 1598, Inaba initially supported

Ishida Mitsunari was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the Azuchi–Momoyama period of the 16th century. He ...

. He came under attack from Endō Yoshitaka who was hoping recover his former territories and was forced to surrender Gujō Hachiman Castle to the Endō. However, by this time, Inaba Sadamichi had already switched his fealty to

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

, and with Tokugawa help, was able to recover the castle from Endō Yoshitaka. Both rivals fought on the same side during the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, ...

in 1600 and Tokugawa Ieyasu resolved the dispute by awarding Inaba Sadamichi with Usuki Domain in

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

and returning Gujō Hachiman Castle to Endō Yoshitaka. The Endō clan ruled for a century, but declined due to internal conflicts and was transferred to a smaller territory in the Kantō region in 1693. The castle then came under the control of various ''

fudai daimyō was a class of ''daimyō'' (大名) in the Tokugawa Shogunate (徳川幕府) of Japan who were hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa before the Battle of Sekigahara. ''Fudai daimyō'' and their descendants filled the ranks of the Tokugawa admin ...

'' clans: The Inoue clan (1693-1697), the

Kanamori clan was a Japanese samurai who lived from the Sengoku period into the early Edo period. He was the first ruler of the Kanamori clan and served as a retainer of the Saito, Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa clans. Later in his life, he also became a '' ...

(1697-1758) and finally the

Aoyama clan The was a Japanese kin group. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)">DF 6 of 80">"Aoyama," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 2 DF 6 of 80/nowiki> retrieved 2013-5-5. Histo ...

, who ruled from 1758 to the Meiji restoration. In accordance with directives issued by the Meiji government, all remaining structures of the castle were demolished in 1870, leaving only the inner moats and some stone walls. Gujō Hachiman Castle
. A Guide to Japanese Castles. Accessed June 30, 2008. In 1933, a faux wooden reconstruction of a ''

tenshu is an architectural typology found in Japanese castle, 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 cha ...

'' was constructed on the ruins of the inner bailey. Although this building is not historically accurate (it was based on the design of the ''tenshu'' of

Ōgaki Castle 270px, Ōgaki Castle in 1933 270px, Edo period layout map of Ōgaki Castle is a flatlands-style Japanese castle located in the city of Ōgaki, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. During the Sengoku period, Ōgaki Castle was home to several of Toyotomi Hide ...

, it contributes to the image of Gujō Hachiman being a

castle town A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, ...

and helps attract tourists. In 1987, this reconstructed building was designated as a Tangible Cultural Property of Gujō city. The building contain a 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.

Gallery

岐阜県郡上市_郡上八幡城01.jpg, Gujo Hachiman Castle Gujo_hachiman_castle_P8117439.jpg, Gujo Hachiman Castle Main Gate Gujo hachiman castle P8117395.jpg, Illuminated Gujo Hachiman castle Gujo_hachiman_castle_P8117454.jpg, Gujo Hachiman Castle seen from the back Gujo hachiman castle P8117429.jpg, Gujō city from the castle Gujo hachiman castle in autumn.jpg, Autumn leaves and Gujo Hachiman Castle The rebuilding of the Gujo Hachiman Castle.jpg, Rebuilding the ''tenshu'' in 1933

References

Literature

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External links