is a ''hirayama''-style

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...

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 Makabe District, Hitachi Province in what is now the city of Chikusei,

Ibaraki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,871,199 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...

, in the northern

Kantō region The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa. Slight ...

of Japan. The ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1934.

Background

Seki Castle is located in the Sekitate neighborhood of the southern end of Chikusei City. The castle site is on a plateau on the western part of the Hitachi Plateau surrounded by

Kinugawa River , is a river on the main island of Honshu in Japan. It flows from the north to the south on the Kantō plain, merging with . At 176.7 km in length, it is the longest tributary of Tone-gawa. From ancient times, it has been known to cause flood ...

and Kokaigawa River. The castle is protected by wetlands to the east, south and west, with earthen ramparts and moats. The exact date of the castle's foundation is uncertain, but it be believed to have been founded by the fourth son of Yūki Tomohiro, Yūki Tomoyasu, who established a cadet branch of the

Yūki clan is a Japanese samurai kin group. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Yūki," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', pp. 71–72 retrieved 2013-5-6. History The Yūki claim descent fr ...

in the early Kamakura period. During the Nanboku-chō period, Seki Munesuke and his son, Seki Munemasa fought for 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 ...

, and provided shelter for Southern Court general

Kitabatake Chikafusa was a Japanese court noble and writer of the 14th century who supported the Southern Court in the Nanboku-cho period, serving as advisor to five Emperors. Some of his greatest and most famous work was performed during the reign of Emperor Go ...

after his defeat at Oda Castle in 1341. This made the castle a target for the

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 ...

armies led by

Kō no Morofuyu Kou may refer to *Kou, Burkina Faso, a village in Burkina Faso * Kou, Laiwu (口镇), town in Laicheng District, Laiwu, Shandong, China *Kou language * Kou (name) includes lists of people with the given name and surname *Kou (surname) (寇), Chin ...

, and after a battle lasting for two years, Seki Castle was overwhelmed and the Seki clan perished. Kitabatake Chikafusa, who wrote an impassioned letter to Yūki Chikatomo based at

Shirakawa Castle is a Japanese castle located in what is now the city of Shirakawa, southern Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Throughout the middle to later Edo period, Komine Castle was home to the Abe clan, ''daimyō'' of Shirakawa Domain. It was also referred to a ...

for assistance, managed to escape the disaster. The castle was abandoned in 1343 along with Daihō Castle. At present, the site of the castle is mostly under private houses and

paddy field A paddy field is a flooded field (agriculture), field of arable land used for growing Aquatic plant, semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in sout ...

s, but fragmentary ruins of earthworks and empty moats remain in various places. The earthworks to the northeast has a height of four meters and a width of five meters at the top, indicating something of the scale of the fortifications. Traces of a pier in the swamp on the lower west side have also been found, indicating that primary access to the castle, for at least part of the year, was by boat. There is also a tunnel dug by sappers during the battle. The site is marked with a number of stone monuments, including a large stone

hōkyōintō A is a Japanese pagoda, so called because it originally contained the .Iwanami Kōjien Japanese dictionary A Chinese variant of the Indian stūpa, it was originally conceived as a cenotaph of the King of Wuyue – Qian Liu. Structure and funct ...

said to mark the grave of Seki Munesuke and Seki Munemasa. The castle site is about a 20-minute walk from Tobanoe Station on the

Kantō Railway is a private railway company, which operates two lines in Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan. The company is a subsidiary of Keisei Electric Railway and other companies. Additionally, the company has a bus department in Ibaraki Prefecture and Chiba ...

Jōsō Line The is a railway line in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Kantō Railway. It is a non-electrified line which connects Toride to Shimodate. The Jōsō Line connects with the Tsukuba Express line, which opened ...

References

External links

Chikusei City

{{in lang, ja Castles in Ibaraki Prefecture Chikusei Historic Sites of Japan Hitachi Province Ruined castles in Japan

Background

See also

References

External links