Hachigata Castle
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was a
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 ...
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 town of Yorii,
Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture ...
, in the
Kantō region The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa. Slight ...
of
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. Its ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1932.


Overview

Hachigata Castle was located on a peninsula surrounded by the
Arakawa River or Ara River may refer to: * Arakawa River (Kanto) or Ara River may refer to: * Arakawa River (Kanto), which flows from Saitama Prefecture and through Tokyo to Tokyo Bay * Arakawa River (Uetsu), which flows from Yamagata Prefecture and throu ...
and the Fukasawagawa River, which contributed to its defenses. Due to its location at western edge of then
Kantō Plain The is the largest plain in Japan, and is located in the Kantō region of central Honshū. The total area of 17,000 km2 covers more than half of the region extending over Tokyo, Saitama Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, ...
, Hachigata Castle was regarded as a key to the control of
Musashi Province was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo Metropolis, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki and Yokohama. Musashi bordered on Kai, Kōzuke, Sagami, S ...
and was a major stronghold for the
Later Hōjō clan The was one of the most powerful samurai families in Japan in the Sengoku period and held domains primarily in the Kantō region. Their last name was simply Hōjō (北条) but in order to differentiate between the earlier Hōjō clan with the ...
during 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 ...
.


History

Hachigata Castle was built in approximately 1476 by Nagao Kageharu (1443-1514). The Nagao clan was a cadet house of the Yamanouchi
Uesugi clan The is a Japanese samurai clan which was at its peak one of the most powerful during the Muromachi and Sengoku periods (14th to 17th centuries). Appert, Georges. (1888) ''Ancien Japon,'' p. 79./ref> At its height, the clan had three main branch ...
who held the hereditary title of ''Kantō Kanrei''. However, Nagao Kageharu had a falling out with his overlord and fought against the Uesugi intermittently over a 20-year period using this castle as his stronghold. Later, the Nagao were forced from the area and the Uesugi appointed their vassals, the Fujita clan, as castellans. When the
Later Hōjō clan The was one of the most powerful samurai families in Japan in the Sengoku period and held domains primarily in the Kantō region. Their last name was simply Hōjō (北条) but in order to differentiate between the earlier Hōjō clan with the ...
under
Hōjō Soun Hojo or Hōjō may refer to: Hojo or HoJo: *Howard Johnson's, a U.S. chain of restaurants and hotels *A nickname for Howard Johnson *A nickname for Howard Jones *A nickname for Howard Jones *MGR-1 Honest John, the first nuclear-capable missile ...
expanded into Musashi Province, the Fujita resisted until the defeat of the Uesugi at the
Siege of Kawagoe Castle The 1545–1546 was part of a failed attempt by the Uesugi clan to regain Kawagoe Castle from the Later Hōjō clan in the Sengoku period of Japan. Uesugi Tomosada of the Ogigayatsu branch of the Uesugi clan attacking Kawagoe castle, he was ...
in 1546, at which time they were forced to submit.
Hōjō Ujikuni was a samurai of the Sengoku period, and the third son of Hōjō Ujiyasu. Ujikuni was a high-ranking commander in the invasion of Kozuke Province, Kōzuke was contested between the later Hōjō clan, the Takeda and the Uesugi clans. He was al ...
was assigned rule over the northern Hōjō holdings in 1564, and improved the defences of the castle due to its proximity to the aggressive
Takeda clan The was a Japanese samurai clan active from the late Heian period until the late 16th century. The clan was historically based in Kai Province in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture. The clan reached its greatest influence under the rule of Taked ...
to the west and the resurgent Uesugi clan to the north. He built a large barricade complex of wide dry moats and clay ramparts at the root of the hill, and extended the outer defensive line. Unlike many other castles of the Hōjō clan, he made use of stone walls in vital areas, including the main gate, which were also to emphasize his power and authority. The castle grew to stretch for nearly a kilometer east to west along the ridge, and 500 meters from north-to-south.
Takeda Shingen , of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' in feudal Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period. Shingen was a warlord of great ...
attempted to seize the castle in 1568 during the Siege of Hachigata, but failed due to its extensive fortifications. After the death of Takeda Shigen, Hōjō Ujikuni counterattacked and seized large portions of
Kōzuke Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Gunma Prefecture. Kōzuke bordered by Echigo, Shinano, Musashi and Shimotsuke Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, Kōzuke was ran ...
. This brought him into conflict with the
Sanada clan The is a Japanese clan. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003).html" ;"title="DF 56 of 80">("Sanada," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 52 DF_56_of_80">("Sa_...
_and_by_extension,_with_the_Toyotomi_clan.html" ;"title="DF 56 of 80/nowiki>">DF 56 of 80">("Sa ...
and by extension, with the Toyotomi clan">DF 56 of 80/nowiki>">DF 56 of 80">("Sa ...
and by extension, with the Toyotomi clan. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi decided to destroy the Hōjō, Ujikuni pushed for a strategy to ambush the Toyotomi armies en route; however, he was overruled by Hōjō Ujimasa, so he withdrew his armies to Hachigata. For a month in March 1590, Hachigata Castle held off the 30,000 strong forces of both
Maeda Toshiie was one of the leading generals of Oda Nobunaga following the Sengoku period of the 16th century extending to the Azuchi–Momoyama period. His preferred weapon was a yari and he was known as "Yari no Mataza" (槍の又左), Matazaemon (又左 ...
and
Uesugi Kagekatsu was a Japanese samurai ''daimyō'' during the Sengoku and Edo periods. He was the adopted son of Uesugi Kenshin and Uesugi Kagetora’s brother in law. Early life and rise Kagekatsu was the son of Nagao Masakage, the head of the Ueda Nagao c ...
with a mere 3,000 defenders during the Second Siege of Hachigata. Ujikuni finally surrendered the castle under the condition that the lives of his men would be spared. During 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 ...
, the castle was demolished.


Current situation

Along with a large amount of ruins that remain largely undisturbed by development, a small part of the castle has been reconstructed, including some walls, a gate, and a building. The site is about a 20 minute walk from the
Tōbu Tōjō Line The is a 75.0 km suburban railway line in Japan which runs from Ikebukuro Station in Toshima, Tokyo to Yorii Station in Yorii, Saitama, operated by the private railway operator Tobu Railway. Its official name is the , but it is referred to ...
Yorii Station is a joint-use passenger railway station in the town of Yorii, Saitama, Japan, jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the private railway operators Tōbu Railway and Chichibu Railway. The station premises are managed by ...
. A museum, the dedicated to the castle's history has also been erected. The castle was listed as one of
Japan's Top 100 Castles The castles in were chosen based on their significance in culture, history, and in their regions by the in 2006. In 2017, Japanese Castle Association created an additional finest 100 castles list as Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles. Hokkaidō ...
by the Japan Castle Foundation in 2006.Japan Castle Foundation
/ref>


Gallery

File:Hatigatajou Honmaru.JPG, Honmaru compound of Hachigata castle File:Reconstructed pond and small house of Hachigata.jpg, Reconstructed pond and small building of Hachigata castle File:Water moat of Hachigata.jpg, Water moat of Hachigata castle File:Eathen wall of Hachigata.jpg, Eathen wall of Hachigata castle File:Moat and Umadashi compound of Hachigata.jpg, Moat and Umadashi compound of Hachigata castle File:Stone wal of Hachigata.jpg, Stone wal of Hachigata　castle File:Hachigata castle historical Museum.jpg, Hachigata castle historical Museum


See also

* List of Historic Sites of Japan (Saitama)


External links


Saitama Prefecture home page

Yorii Town home page


Literature

*


References

{{Authority control Castles in Saitama Prefecture Museums in Saitama Prefecture Uesugi clan Go-Hōjō clan 100 Fine Castles of Japan Historic Sites of Japan Ruined castles in Japan 1470s establishments in Japan