castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

Tsuyama, Okayama is a city in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 102,294 and a population density of 200 persons per km². The total area was 185.73 km². The area increased in 2005 as the result of a merger with adjacent to ...

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 ...

Himeji Castle is a hilltop Japanese castle complex situated in the city of Himeji which is located in the Hyōgo Prefecture of Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of ...

Matsuyama Castle (Iyo) is a "flatland-mountain"-style Japanese castle that was built in 1603 on Mount Katsuyama, in the city of Matsuyama in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. The castle is one of twelve Japanese castles to still have its original ''tenshu''. The castle has be ...

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 ...

Tsuyama Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Mimasaka Province in modern-day Okayama Prefecture.attraction is the garden, also known as Kakuzan Park (鶴山公園 ''Kakuzan Kōen''). The garden has approximately 5,000

cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...

trees, which attracts visitors when their flowers bloom.

History

Muromachi period

1441-44: The ''

shugo , commonly translated as “(military) governor,” “protector,” or “constable,” was a title given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the ''shōgun'' to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan. The pos ...

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

'' (守護大名) of

Mimasaka Province or was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today northeastern Okayama Prefecture. Mimasaka bordered Bitchū, Bizen, Harima, Hōki, and Inaba Provinces. Mimasaka was landlocked, and was often ruled by the ''daimyō'' in Bizen. ...

, Yamana Norikiyo (山名教清), ordered his kin to build a castle in the Tsuru mountains (鶴山). The castle was abandoned when the

Yamana clan The was a Japanese samurai clan which was one of the most powerful of the Muromachi period (1336-1467); at its peak, members of the family held the position of Constable (''shugo'') over eleven provinces. Originally from Kōzuke Province, and late ...

decreased in number after the

Ōnin War The , also known as the Upheaval of Ōnin and Ōnin-Bunmei war, was a civil war that lasted from 1467 to 1477, during the Muromachi period in Japan. ''Ōnin'' refers to the Japanese era during which the war started; the war ended during the Bunmei ...

.

Edo period

In 1603 Mori Tadamasa moved from the Shinano Kawanakajima Domain, marking the foundation for the castle at 186,000

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied ...

. When construction began, Tsuruyama was renamed to Tsuyama. In 1616 the construction of 77 turrets, castle towers and 5 floors was completed. In 1697 the Mori clan became extinct, leaving the castle under the control of feudal Lord

Asano Tsunanaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Edo period, who ruled the Hiroshima Domain. He held the title of '' Aki no kami''. His childhood name was Iwamatsu (岩松). During the 47 ''rōnin'' incident, Tsunanaga sent a messenger to Akō, which was r ...

(浅野綱長) of

Hiroshima Domain The was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871. The Hiroshima Domain was based at Hiroshima Castle in Aki Province, in the modern city of Hiroshima, located in the Chūgoku region of the island of Ho ...

(広島藩). In 1698 the lineage of the eldest son of

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

(徳川家康), Matsudaira Nobutomi (松平宣富) (Echizen) moved 100,000 ''kokus'' from

Echigo was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen, Iwashiro, Kōzuke, Shinano, and Etchū Provinces. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Echigo''" in . It corresponds today to Niigata ...

Takada Domain , was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It was located in Echigo Province, in the Hokuriku region of Honshū. The domain was centered at Takada Castle, located in what is now part of the city of Jōetsu in Niig ...

(越後国高田藩). In 1809 Honmaru Palace (本丸御殿) burned down.

Modern

Under the

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji o ...

, the Tsuyama domain was ended by the abolition of clans and the inauguration of the prefectural system (1871). The castle was sold after coming under the management of the Ministry of Finance (1873). The castle tower and all of its turrets were destroyed. Several gates were reconstructed (1874–1875). The stone walls of Koshimaki turret (腰巻櫓) on the northwest side of the castle collapsed. In the wake of this event, conservation of the castle ensued (1890). The castle ruins became the property of Tsuyama town and were transformed into a park. (Kakuzan park/鶴山公園) Many

cherry blossom A cherry blossom, also known as Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of many trees of genus ''Prunus'' or ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. They are common species in East Asia, including China, Korea and especially in Japan. They generally ...

trees were planted. (1900)

Han school The was an educational institution in the Edo period of Japan, originally established to educate children of ''daimyō'' (feudal lords) and their retainers in the domains outside of the capital. These institutions were also known as ''hangaku' ...

(藩校) Shudokan (修道館) was relocated to Sannomaru and renamed Kakuzankan (鶴山館) (1905). A Regional Exposition was held, during which a mock castle tower was built. It was dismantled during the Pacific War to avoid becoming the target of an air raid (1936). The castle was declared a national historic site (1963). To celebrate the castle's 400-year anniversary, the Bitchū turret (備中櫓) was restored (2004-2005). The Taiko fence (太鼓塀), near the Bicchu turret, was repaired (2006).

Legends

Glaring pine

Before Tadamasa decided where to build his castle, he went to the Mimasaka Province. He built a mansion, Kamae castle (構城), in Innoshō (院庄), the centre of politics in the Mimasaka Province, and lived there with his family. Tadamasa had two servants, Ido Uemon (井戸宇右衛門) and Nagoya Kyuemon (名護屋九右衛門). Ido had served Tadamasa's father before him and excelled in martial arts. Nagoya was a relatively new servant from the Shinano Kawanakajima domain. He was the younger brother of Tadamasa's wife and was informed above Ido. Nagoya and Ido were competing for the castle to be built on their land and soon were on bad terms with each other. Tadamasa did not approve of competition and sought to recruit an assassin to kill Ido. Nagoya volunteered, but Tadamasa denied him. He continued to volunteer, until eventually Tadamasa accepted him, and gave him a

katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...

to kill Ido. Ido arrived later at Innosha with his colleagues. Upon arrival, Nagoya attacked Ido with the

katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...

shouting, "The order of one's lord!". Ido was, however, a battle veteran, and killed Nagoya, suffering only a small wound. When his colleagues heard that Nagoya was attacking on "the order of one's lord", they killed Ido themselves and later killed his two younger brothers. After that incident, castle construction in Innoshō was cancelled and changed to Mount Tsuru. The tomb of Ido and his brothers was built on the south side of the road (Izumo kaidō / 出雲街道). The tomb of Nagoya was built on the north side. On top of their graves, a pine tree was planted. On the road between the graves, bizarre phenomenon began to occur. Therefore, the road was moved in 1655, passing north of both graves. After this, the north and south sides of the pine alternated between lush growth and wilting. People thought that Ido and Nagoya were still fighting after their deaths. The pine was given the name "pine glaring at each other" (睨み合いの松/niramiai no Matsu).

Blueprint

Kokura Castle is a castle in Kitakyushu, Japan. It was built by Hosokawa Tadaoki starting in 1602, with construction completed in 1608. History Construction of Kokura Castle began in 1602 and was completed in 1608. It was the property of the Ogasawara clan ...

(小倉城) was a famous castle in West Japan. Tadamasa sent a spy to Kokura to try to observe the fortification. Spies examined Kokura Castle from the sea. The castle stood by the sea. One night, light leaked out from the spies' ship, revealing their location to the castle. Taken into the castle, lord

Hosokawa Tadaoki was a Japanese samurai warrior of the late Sengoku period and early Edo period. He was the son of Hosokawa Fujitaka with Numata Jakō, and he was the husband of a famous Christian convert (Kirishitan), Hosokawa Gracia. For most of his life, he ...

(細川忠興), heard their story and forgave them and gave them the castle blueprint and released them. Tadamasa constructed Tsuyama Castle by referencing the blueprints. After Tsuyama Castle was completed, Hosokawa Tadaoki sent a bell imported from Southeast Asian countries to Mori Tadamasa. The bell hung in the castle tower until the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

(明治維新).

Fifth floor

When the Edo Period started, towers with five floors or more were banned. At the time, Tsuyama castle had five floors. To officially complete the castle, officials were dispatched from the

shogunate , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

to inspect the property. Castle with violations would be demolished. In an attempt to circumvent the ban, Tadamasa removed the roof of the fourth floor. When the officials came and claimed that the tower had five floors, Tadamasa insisted that since the fourth floor had no roofing, it did not count as a floor. The officials were eventually convinced by the lord and permission was granted. Therefore, the fourth floor had no tiled roof.

Images

File: Tuyama castle tensyudai.JPG, Stone base of the ''

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 ...

'' File: Tsuyama Castle02n3200.jpg, Stone wall and Bitchū-''

yagura Yagura may refer to: * Yagura castle * Yagura opening * Yagura (tombs) * Yagura (tower) is the Japanese word for "tower", "turret", "keep", or "scaffold". The word is most often seen in reference to structures in Japanese castle compounds bu ...

'' File: Tsuyama Castle Bitchuu-yagura.jpg, Bitchū-''yagura'' File: Tuyama castle uratetumon.JPG, Ruins of Uratetu-mon File: Tsuyama Castle.jpg, Tsuyama Castle ruins File:Tsuyama Sta02s3720.jpg, Reconstructed visualisation

External links

Tsuyama Castle official homepage (in Japanese)

Guide to Japanese Castles

Tsuyama Castle revived (reproduction CG edition)
Japanese) {{Authority control Tourist attractions in Okayama Prefecture Buildings and structures demolished in 1875 Castles in Okayama Prefecture 100 Fine Castles of Japan Historic Sites of Japan Tsuyama Tsuyama-Matsudaira clan