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was a
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 city of
Kōfu is the capital city of Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 187,985 in 90,924 households, and a population density of 880 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Overview Toponymy Kōfu's name means " ...
,
Yamanashi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Yamanashi Prefecture has a population of 817,192 (1 January 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,465 km2 (1,724 sq mi). Yamanashi Prefecture borders Saitama Prefecture to the ...
, in the Chubu region of Japan. The site has been protected as a National Historic Site since 2019. The castle is also known as Maizuru Castle, and the present-day surroundings are called .


Background

Kōfu Castle is located in the physical center of the city of Kōfu on a small hill. The city itself is located at the confluence of the Kamanashi River and the Fuefuki River. 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 ...
after the local warlord (
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 ...
) seized control of the province from his father. He made
Tsutsujigasaki Castle 270px, Model of Tsutsujigasaki Castle 270px, Tsutsujigasaki Castle Aerial Photograph was the fortified residence of the final three generations of the Takeda clan, located in the center of the city of Kōfu, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. It is no ...
his seat. Before this time, the Kōfu area was subject to frequent flooding, and it was only through massive flood control projects which were undertaken by Takeda Shigen over a 20-year period that the area was considered inhabitable. After Takeda Shingen's death, his son
Takeda Katsuyori was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period, who was famed as the head of the Takeda clan and the successor to the legendary warlord Takeda Shingen. He was son in law of Hojo Ujiyasu. Early life He was the son of Shingen by the daughter ...
was defeated by a coalition of the
Oda clan The is a Japanese samurai family who were daimyo and an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they had the climax of their fame under Oda Nobunaga and fell from the spotlight soon after, severa ...
and the
Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this clan r ...
in 1582. Oda Nobunaga placed his general Kawajiri Hidetaka in charge of Kai Province, but Nobunaga was assassinated only three months later and vengeful former
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 ...
retainers assassinated Kawajiri soon afterwards. The vacant province was fought over by
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 fello ...
and 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, ...
, with Ieyasu emerging victorious. However, after the 1590 Siege of Odawara,
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 ...
forced Ieyasu to exchange his holdings for new territories in the Kantō region and gave Kai Province to his Kato Mitsuyasu (1537-1593). Kato originally governed from the old Tsutsujigasaki palace, but as that site had minimal defenses and had little room for expansion, he began work on a new castle at Ichijyomodoriyama, a small hill a short distance away, which had a small fort guarding the valley. This was later called "Kōfu Castle". He died before the completion of the new castle, and was succeeded by
Asano Nagamasa was the brother-in-law of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and one of his chief advisors. Asano also fought for Oda Nobunaga and Hideyoshi in a number of campaigns during the Sengoku period of the 16th century of Japan. He was sent to Korea as one of the Thre ...
(1547-1611), Hideyoshi's step-brother-in-law. Asano completed the castle in 1593.


Layout

Kōfu Castle was originally "T"-shaped, with the main body spreading on the ridge of the hill from east-to-west, separated into three or four layers of terraces over a 200 by 100 meters area. The front of the castle protruded north-to-south and had the main gate. The
inner bailey The inner bailey or inner ward of a castle is the strongly fortified enclosure at the heart of a medieval castle.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 22. It is protected by the outer w ...
was at the top of the hill measuring 100 by 50 meters, with a four-story ''
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 ...
'' painted black with gold-colored
roof tile A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of temper ...
s. Below the inner bailey were several
enclosures 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 ...
with a complex system of stone walls, in some places up to 15 meters in height.


Later history

After the Battle of Sekigahara, Kōfu Castle came into the hands of the Tokugawa clan with whom it remained until the end of the
Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...
. The Tokugawa shogunate initially used Kōfu Castle as a stronghold that the
shōgun , 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 Kamak ...
could retreat to, should any enemies take Edo Castle. Although the ''tenshu'' constructed by Asano Nagamasa had fallen into ruin and was not replaced, the castle itself was kept in good repair and was ruled by a cadet branch of the clan. Tokugawa Tsunatoyo, the ''
daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominal ...
'' of Kōfu, became the heir of the fifth Shōgun
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi was the fifth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, as well as the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.Nussbaum, Louis-Fr ...
and moved to Edo Castle. He was replaced in 1704 by
Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu was a Japanese samurai of the Edo period. He was an official in the Tokugawa shogunate and a favourite of the fifth shōgun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. His second concubine was Ogimachi Machiko, a writer and scholar from the noble court who wrot ...
, one of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi's closest retainers. Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu was also a descendant of the Takeda clan, and made strong efforts for restoring the prosperity of the region. However, his son
Yanagisawa Yoshisato Yanagisawa (written: or ) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the name include: *Atsushi Yanagisawa (born 1977), Japanese footballer * Hakuo Yanagisawa (born 1935), a Japanese politician *, Japanese sprint canoeist *, Japanese footballer *K ...
was transferred to Yamato Kōriyama Domain, and Kai province became ''
tenryō The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia' ...
'' territory ruled directly by the shogunate though an appointed ''
hatamoto A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as '' gokenin.'' Howev ...
'' administrator. During this period, the ''honmaru'' of the palace and the Akagenenmon gate were destroyed by a large fire in 1727. During the Boshin War of 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 ...
,
Katsu Kaishū Count , best known by his nickname , was a Japanese statesman and naval engineer during the late Tokugawa shogunate and early Meiji period. Kaishū was a nickname which he took from a piece of calligraphy (Kaishū Shooku ) by Sakuma Shōzan. He ...
dispatched the
Shinsengumi The was a special police force organized by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was active until 1869. It was founded to protect the shogunate representatives in Kyoto at a time wh ...
under Kondo Isami to seize Kōfu Castle before it could fall into the hands of the advancing Imperial army. However, the Imperial army led by
Itagaki Taisuke Count was a Japanese politician. He was a leader of the "Freedom and People's Rights Movement" and founded Japan's first political party, the Liberal Party. Biography Early life Itagaki Taisuke was born into a middle-ranking ''samurai'' ...
reached Kōfu first and took the castle without a fight. The Imperial Army then defeated the Shinsengumi at the
Battle of Katsunuma A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
to keep the castle. At the start of the
Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
, the castle was abandoned, and in 1877 in accordance with government orders that all old fortifications were to be destroyed, all of the remaining castle structures were pulled down. The outer areas of the castle became the location of
Kōfu Station is the main railway station in the city of Kōfu, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. It is managed by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Kōfu Station is served by the JR East Chūō Main Line and is 134.1 kilometers from the starting poi ...
, and other areas were occupied by government offices. In 1904 the area around the inner bailey was opened to the public as Maizuru Castle Park. Since the 1990s, archaeological excavations and
reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...
of the important castle features have been ongoing, and reconstructions of the gate and a ''yagura'' tower were completed in 2004. The tower functions as a museum that features many artifacts from the castle's original buildings. The castle is a ten-minute walk from
Kōfu Station is the main railway station in the city of Kōfu, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. It is managed by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Kōfu Station is served by the JR East Chūō Main Line and is 134.1 kilometers from the starting poi ...
on the JR East Chūō Main Line.


Gallery

Kofujyo-inari.JPG, Inari yagura (reconstruction)  Kajikuruwa Gate Kofu Castle.JPG, Kajikuruwa Gate (reconstruction) Uchimatsukage Gate Kofu Castle.JPG, Uchimatsukage Gate (reconstruction) Kofujyo-yamanote.JPG, Yamanote Gate((reconstruction) Kurogane Gate Kofu Castle.JPG, Kurogane Gate (reconstruction) Kofu Castle3.jpg, Base of the Tenshu


See also

*
List of Historic Sites of Japan (Yamanashi) This list is of the Monuments of Japan, Historic Sites of Japan located within the Prefectures of Japan, Prefecture of Yamanashi Prefecture, Yamanashi. National Historic Sites As of 1 June 2022, sixteen Sites have been Cultural Properties of Jap ...


References


Kofu Castle - Information from Japan Visitor


Literature

* * * * * * {{Authority control Former castles in Japan Parks in Japan Castles in Yamanashi Prefecture Museums in Yamanashi Prefecture Parks and gardens in Yamanashi Prefecture Historic Sites of Japan Kōfu, Yamanashi Kai Province