was a late

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 ...

Odawara is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,482 and a population density of 1,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Odawara lies in the Ashigara Plains, in the far western por ...

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...

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 ...

. It was one of the most famous among the castles built by

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

, and was the site of his first meeting with

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 ...

. Its ruins were designated a National Historic Site in 1959.

History

During the siege of Odawara in 1590, Toyotomi Hideyoshi built the castle to show his power and put pressure on the

Late Hōjō clan Late may refer to: * LATE, an acronym which could stand for: ** Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, a proposed form of dementia ** Local-authority trading enterprise, a New Zealand business law ** Local average treatment effect, ...

. The castle is located on a hill named Kasagakeyama three kilometers west from

Odawara Castle is a landmark in the city of Odawara in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. History Odawara was a stronghold of the Doi clan during the Kamakura period, and a fortified residence built by their collateral branch, the Kobayakawa clan, stood on the ...

, which overlooked all of the Odawara's defenses. Although intended from the start as a temporary fortification, it was built with massive stone walls and a ''

tenshu is an architectural typology found in 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 characterized as ty ...

'' central keep. Hideyoshi was noted as both a master castle builder and a master of

psychological warfare Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and Mi ...

. It was constructed in secret in a wooded area over an 80 day period, so that when the trees were cut one night, the castle suddenly appeared. To the Hōjō defenders, it looked like the castle was built in just one night, which resulted in demoralization and a loss in the will to continue resistance against the Toyotomi army. As a result, only nine days later Hōjō clan formally surrendered. Afterwards, the castle was abandoned, and soon fell into ruins. The castle site is now Odawara City's municipal park. The site 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.

Access

About 50 minutes by walk from Hayakawa Station.

Gallery

Ishigakiyama Castle Minamikuruwa Ishigaki.jpg, Stone wall of Minamikuruwa compound Ishigakiyama Castle Honmaru Koguchi.jpg, Stone wall and gate of Honmaru compound Ishigakiyama Castle Park 06.JPG, Ninomaru compound Ishigakiyama Castle Park 05.JPG, Honmaru compound of Ishigakiyama Ichiya Castle Odawara Castle and Odawara City 01.JPG, View from the castle

References

External links

Official site
{{Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles Castles in Kanagawa Prefecture Historic Sites of Japan Odawara Ruined castles in Japan Toyotomi clan

History

Access

Gallery

See also

References

External links