was a lakeside castle in 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 ...

, located in

Ōtsu 270px, Ōtsu City Hall is the capital city of Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 343,991 in 153458 households and a population density of 740 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Ōtsu is ...

Shiga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the north ...

, Japan.

Akechi Mitsuhide , first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period best known as the assassin of Oda Nobunaga. Mitsuhide was a bodyguard of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later a successful general under ...

was the commander of the castle.

History

After the

Siege of Mount Hiei The siege of Mount Hiei was a battle of the Sengoku period of Japan fought between Oda Nobunaga and the ''sōhei'' ( warrior monks) of the monasteries of Mount Hiei near Kyoto on September 30, 1571. It is said that Oda Nobunaga killed all the m ...

, Sakamoto was given to Akechi Mitsuhide who built Sakamoto Castle under orders from the warlord Oda Nobunaga because Sakamoto was a strategically important place to rule.

Luís Fróis Luís Fróis (1532 – 8 July 1597) was a Portuguese missionary who worked in Asia during the second half of the 16th century. While in Japan in 1582, he witnessed the attack on Honnō-ji, a Buddhist temple that ended in the death of Oda Nobuna ...

described the castle as the second best castle in Japan at the time. After the loss of Battle of Yamazaki, Mitsuhide tried to return to the castle but he was killed on the way. Surrounded by Toyotomi's army, Mitsuhide's adopted son Akechi Hidemitsu set fire to the castle and killed himself. In 1583, Sakamoto castle was given to

Niwa Nagahide , also known as Gorōzaemon (五郎左衛門), his other legal alias was Hashiba Echizen no Kami (羽柴越前守), was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku through Azuchi-Momoyama periods of the 16th century. He served as senior retainer to the O ...

and he rebuilt the castle. In 1586,

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 ...

abandoned the castle and moved to

Ōtsu Castle 270px, Ōtsu City Hall is the capital city of Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 343,991 in 153458 households and a population density of 740 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Ōtsu is ...

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 ...

's order. (Stones and materials were transferred to

.) Nowadays nothing remains of the original castle, and a statue of Akechi Mitsuhide stands in Sakamoto Castle's park. (Low stone wall remains in the

Lake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan, located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Lake Biwa is an ancient lake, over 4 million years old. It is estimated to be the 13th ol ...

and can be seen when the water level drops.) A gate from Sakamoto Castle was relocated to Saikyō-ji Temple near the castle. ( Akechi clan's tombs are also at Saikyō-ji Temple.)

Gallery

Sakamotojo01.jpg, Monument of Sakamoto Castle Sakamotojo05.jpg, Monument of Sakamoto Castle Honmaru base Sakamotojo06.jpg, Monument of Sakamoto Castle Ninomaru base Saikyoji02.jpg, Former Sakamoto Castle's gate (Gate of Saikyo-ji Temple) Sakamotojo08.jpg, View from Sakamoto Castle park

References

{{reflist

External links

Sakamoto Castle by Otsu city official
Castles in Shiga Prefecture Former castles in Japan Ruined castles in Japan Oda clan Water castles Akechi clan 1570s establishments in Japan Buildings and structures completed in 1571