is 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 ...
Motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...
-style
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 what is now the city of
Hachinohe
is a city located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 221,459, and a population density of 725 persons per km2 in 96,092 households, making it Aomori Prefecture's second largest city by population. The city h ...
,
Aomori Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, ...
, 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 far northern Japan. It has been protected by the central government as a
National Historic Site since 1941.
It was extensively reconstructed in 1994.
["Ne Castle" J Castle - ]
Situation
Ne Castle consists of five motte-and-bailey
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 ...
on a roughly L-shaped
river terrace
Fluvial terraces are elongated terraces that flank the sides of floodplains and fluvial valleys all over the world. They consist of a relatively level strip of land, called a "tread", separated from either an adjacent floodplain, other fluvial te ...
on the south bank of the
Mabechi River
270px, Ogami Rock overlooking the Basenkyō ravine in Iwate
The is a river located in northern Iwate Prefecture and eastern Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Honshū in Japan.
Overview
The Mabechi River is long and has a wat ...
, approximately 500 meters long by 300 meters wide. As was typical for the time, the fortifications consisted primarily of wooden
palisade
A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade.
Etymology
''Palisade' ...
s and earthen
rampart
Rampart may refer to:
* Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement
Rampart may also refer to:
* "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...
s, guarded by 20-meter wide dry moats. The area was divided into several enclosures, or baileys, with varying elevations. There was no
donjon
A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...
in the
central bailey, which was occupied large building, possibly in the
Shōin style, based on evidence of foundation posts, as the residence of the ruling
Nanbu clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan who ruled most of northeastern Honshū in the Tōhoku region of Japan for over 700 years, from the Kamakura period through the Meiji Restoration of 1868. The Nanbu claimed descent from the Seiwa Genji of Kai Pr ...
. Other enclosures held the residences of important retainers, along with barracks, workshops and storerooms. Some of the buildings were constructed as
pit dwellings indicating the survival of this ancient building style into the Muromachi period. One of the enclosures contained a
Buddhist temple
A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represen ...
, Tōzen-ji, which served as the Nanbu
clan temple.
History
Ne Castle was constructed in 1334, during the early
Nanboku-chō period
The Nanboku-chō period (南北朝時代, ''Nanboku-chō jidai'', "North and South court period", also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period), spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the formative years of the Mur ...
, by
Nanbu Moroyuki, a retainer of
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 ...
, the ''
kokushi'' 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 ...
and was intended to be a center for the imperial government administration in the area. Nanbu Motoyuki was under allegiance to 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 ...
; however, at the same time, another branch of the same Nanbu family ruled the nearby
Sannohe
is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 9,814 in 4260 households, and a population density of 65 persons per km2. The total area of the town is .
Geography
Sannohe occupies an inland area in sout ...
and
Morioka
is the capital city of Iwate Prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. On 1 February 2021, the city had an estimated population of 290,700 in 132,719 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is .
...
areas under allegiance to the rival
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 ...
.
The two branches of the clan made peace with each other in 1393.
In 1590, at the end 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 ...
,
Nanbu Nobunao
was a Sengoku period Japanese samurai, and ''daimyō'' and the 26th hereditary chieftain of the Nanbu clan. His courtesy title was ''Daizen Daibu'', and his Court rank was Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade.
Nobunao was the second son of Nanbu ...
of the Sannohe-Nanbu supported
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 ...
at the
Siege of Odawara and was awarded formal rule of all seven districts of northern Mutsu Province, which were already under the control of the Nanbu clan. The 18th generation castellan of Ne Castle, Nanbu (Hachinohe) Masayuki, became his retainer. The fortifications at Ne Castle were destroyed in 1592 by order of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the clan headquarters was relocated to
Sannohe Castle
was a Muromachi period Japanese castle located in the center of what is now the town of Sannohe, in Sannohe District of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of far northern Japan. It was located on a river terrace of the Mabechi River, whic ...
, although some local administrative functions remained at the site.
In 1627, the 22nd generation castellan, Nanbu Naohide was relocated to
Tōno in what is now
Iwate Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture at , with a population of 1,210,534 (as of October 1, 2020). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefectur ...
and Ne Castle was completely abandoned. The nearby
castle town
A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, ...
of Hachinohe remained a local administrative center under another branch of the Nanbu clan from Sannohe; and a new castle (
Hachinohe Castle
was a Japanese castle that formed the administrative center of Hachinohe Domain, a feudal domain of the Nambu clan, located in the center of what is now the city of Hachinohe
is a city located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city ha ...
) was built further to the east.
On December 13, 1941 the site of Ne Castle was proclaimed a
National Historic Site. From 1983 to 1994, extensive archaeological investigations uncovered the foundations of the original structures and many artifacts from the Namboku-chō period.
Ne 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.
Current situation
The castle was largely
reconstructed in 1994, with some emphasis on the inner
citadel
A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core.
In ...
Japan Castle
/ref> On the current site there are two gates, one for the lord and guests, the other a simpler gate for servants and workers. There are many reconstructed parts of the castle on site. Technically, Ne Castle was constructed before the main era of Japanese castle development, so while there are still gates, baileys, and ''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 ...
'' watchtowers, there is no main keep. There is little stonework, and the walls are just wooden posts palisade
A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade.
Etymology
''Palisade' ...
s on the outside, and simple slat wood walls in the central compound
Compound may refer to:
Architecture and built environments
* Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall
** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struct ...
.
See also
*List of Historic Sites of Japan (Aomori)
This list is of the Historic Sites of Japan located within the Prefecture of Aomori.
National Historic Sites
As of 17 December 2021, twenty-three Sites have been designated as being of national significance (including one * Special Historic S ...
Gallery
File:根城復元中馬屋.JPG, Reconstructed stables
File:根城空堀.JPG, Dry moat
File:Nanbu-moroyuki-kibazou.jpg, Statue of Nanbu Moroyuki
References
Literature
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Zooming Japan:Bringing Japan Cloaser To You tourist site with photos
Kotodama Japan Local Info
{{100 Fine Castles of Japan
Castles in Aomori Prefecture
Hachinohe
Historic Sites of Japan
100 Fine Castles of Japan
1330s establishments in Japan
1334 establishments in Asia
Nanbu clan
Mutsu Province