was a

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

Japanese castle located in what is now the ward of Miyagino-ku, in the city of

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...

Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,305,596 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the nort ...

, in the

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (''ken''): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains a ...

of northern

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 ...

. The site has been protected as a National Historic Site since 1982. It was also referred to as The castle was home castle of Rusu clan.

History

The actual date of Iwakiri Castle’s foundation is unknown; however, it is said to have been founded by the Isawa clan in the 14th century. The Isawa claimed descent from the

Fujiwara clan was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since the ancient times and dominated the imperial court until th ...

and served as retainers of Minamoto no Yoritomo in the region after the destruction of the

Northern Fujiwara The Northern Fujiwara (奥州藤原氏 ''Ōshū Fujiwara-shi'') were a Japanese noble family that ruled the Tōhoku region (the northeast of Honshū) of Japan during the 12th century as their own realm.

Hiraizumi is a town located in Nishiiwai District, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 7,408 and a population density of in 2,616 households. The total area of the town was . It is noted for the Historic Monuments and Site ...

. The Isawa clan later changed their surname to the

Rusu clan Rusu or RUSU may refer to: People *Rusu clan in Japan *Rusu Masakage, Japanese samurai *Rusu (surname) Places *Rusu River, tributary of Valea lui Manole River in Romania *Pârâul Stâna lui Rusu, tributary of the Pârâul Bradului in Romania ...

and ruled the area for 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 Y ...

from Taga Castle. During the Nanboku-cho period, the Rusu sided with 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 pledged fealty to the '' Chinjufu shōgun''

Kitabatake Akiie was a Japanese court noble, and an important supporter of the Southern Court during the Nanboku-chō Wars. He also held the posts of Commander-in-Chief of the Defense of the North, and Governor of Mutsu Province. His father was Imperial advi ...

. However, after the establishment of the Muromachi shogunate and the retreat of the Southern Court to

Yoshino Yoshino may refer to: * Yoshino cherry, another name for ''Prunus × yedoensis'', a flowering cherry tree * Japanese cruiser Yoshino, Japanese cruiser ''Yoshino'', a protected cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy Places * Yoshino, Nara, a town ...

, the Rusu but later switched sides to support the

Northern Court The , also known as the Ashikaga Pretenders or Northern Pretenders, were a set of six pretenders to the throne of Japan during the Nanboku-chō period from 1336 through 1392. The present Imperial House of Japan is descended from the Northern Cour ...

and became retainers of Hatakeyama Tadakuni. The castle was attacked by Kira Sadaie during the

Kannō disturbance The , also called ''Kannō no juran'', was a civil war which developed from antagonisms between ''shōgun'' Ashikaga Takauji and his brother, Ashikaga Tadayoshi, thus dividing and weakening the early Ashikaga shogunate.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric ''e ...

and the Rusu clan was defeated. After the defeat of

Ashikaga Tadayoshi "Ashikaga Tadayoshi" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 624. was a general of the Northern and Southern Courts period (1337–92) of Japanese history and a close associate ...

, the clan’s fortunes were revived, but this time as retainers of the Osaki clan. Into 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 ...

, the Osaki clan was gradually eclipsed by the Date clan. By the year 1500, the Rusu clan became retainers of the Date, and a Masakage, a son of

Date Harumune was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period.Date Masamune was a regional ruler of Japan's Azuchi–Momoyama period through early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful ''daimyō'' in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he was made all ...

’s senior generals, and was eventually given a fief at Mizusawa Castle, where the clan remained until the end of 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 ...

. However, after the move from Iwakiri to Rifu, Iwakiri Castle was abandoned and fell slowly into ruin.

Description

The castle was located one ''ri'' west of Taga Castle, the provincial capital of

Mutsu Province was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori Prefectures and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture. Mutsu Province is also known as or . The term is often used to refer to the comb ...

. Located near the Ōshū Kaidō and the junction of the Nanakita River with the Sunaoishi River, it was well sited to control communications between Taga Castle and its hinterland. Iwakiri Castle was a

mountain castle A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...

, with a total area approximately 600 meters long and 400 meters wide, but divided into several oblong-shaped enclosures along an "M" shaped ridge on the slopes of the 106 meter tall Mount Takamori. The Inner bailey is roughly 20 meters by 80 meters in size, with secondary enclosures both above and below with dry moats. All of these

enclosure Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or " common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...

s have earthen ramparts. The eastern bailey is the larger enclosure, measuring approximately 80 meters in diameter, and housed the main residential area of the castle. It was also surrounded by ramparts and dry moats. Along the western line is a gentle slope up the hillside, with many small enclosures separated by dry moats and clay walls to prevent intrusion by an enemy. Today, the site is named Takamoriyama Park, and only a few fragments of the ramparts remain. It is located within a prefectural forest and is famous for its cherry blossoms. The site of the castle is about two kilometers northwest of

Iwakiri Station is a junction railway station in Miyagino-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The station also has a freight depot for the Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight). Lines Iwakiri station is served by ...

on the

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

Tōhoku Main Line The Tōhoku Main Line ( ja, 東北本線, ) is a long railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and passes through such cities as Saitama, Utsunomiya, Fukush ...

References

External links

Sendai City official home page
{{in lang, ja Castles in Miyagi Prefecture Ruined castles in Japan Buildings and structures in Sendai Mutsu Province Historic Sites of Japan Date clan

History

Description

See also

References

External links