was 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 ...

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 town of Nanbu, in Sannohe District of

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 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 ...

. It was also known as the (i.e. former Sannohe Castle). It was located at a strategic junction of the

Ōshū Kaidō The was one of the five routes of the Edo period. It was built to connect Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with Mutsu Province and the present-day city of Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. It was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu for government of ...

with the Kakuno Kaidō and 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 ...

.The site of the castle, as well as the

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 ...

of Sankō-ji, and the Moto-Sannohe Hachiman-gu

Shinto Shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

collectively received protection as a National Historic Site on 30 September 2004. Portions of the site are now on private lands occupied by local farm houses and fruit orchards.

Shōjojidate ruins

The Nanbu clan claimed descent from the

Seiwa Genji The is a line of the Japanese Minamoto clan that is descended from Emperor Seiwa, which is the most successful and powerful line of the clan. Many of the most famous Minamoto warriors, including Minamoto no Yoshiie, Minamoto no Yoritomo, the foun ...

of Kai Province.

Minamoto no Yoshimitsu was a Japanese samurai lord during the Heian period. He served as Governor of Kai Province. He is credited as the ancient progenitor of the Japanese martial art, Daitō-ryū aiki-jūjutsu and Takeda-ryu. Biography Yoshimitsu was born the ...

was awarded Kai Province following the

Gosannen War The Gosannen War (後三年合戦, ''gosannen kassen''), also known as the Later Three-Year War, was fought in the late 1080s in Japan's Mutsu Province on the island of Honshū. History The Gosannen War was part of a long struggle for power wi ...

, and his great-grandson Nobuyoshi took the surname

Takeda is a Japanese family name.1990 Census Name Files< ...

. Another great grandson, Mitsuyuki, took the name "Nanbu", after the location of his estates in Kai Province, which are now part of the town of

Nanbu, Yamanashi 270px, Nanbu town hall is a town located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 7222 in 3149 households, and a population density of 36 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geography Nanbu is the ...

."Nanbu-shi" on Harimaya.com
(accessed 15 August 2008) Nanbu Mitsuyuki joined

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after his ...

at the

Battle of Ishibashiyama The was the first in which Minamoto no Yoritomo, who became ''shōgun'' less than a decade later, was commander of the Minamoto forces. The battle was fought on September 14, 1180, in the southwest of present-day Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, ...

and served in various mid-level positions within the

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Y ...

and is mentioned several times in the ''

Azuma Kagami is a Japanese historical chronicle. The medieval text chronicles events of the Kamakura Shogunate from Minamoto no Yoritomo's rebellion against the Taira clan in Izokuni of 1180 to Munetaka Shinnō (the 6th shōgun) and his return to Kyoto in 12 ...

''. He accompanied Yoritomo in the conquest of the Hiraizumi Fujiwara in 1189, and was awarded with vast estates in Nukanobu District the extreme northeast of Honshū, building Shōjujidate Castle. The fortification was more of a

fortified house A fortified house or fortified mansion is a type of building which developed in Europe during the Middle Ages, generally with significant fortifications added. United States In the United States, historically a fortified house was often calle ...

than a true castle, and is a built on a roughly trapezoidal 20 meter hilltop, partially protected to the north by a 20 meter wide dry moat, and by steep cliffs on other sides. It was also located adjacent to the Nanbu clan temple of Shōjo-ji, from which it takes its name. The castle served as the residence of the Sannohe Nanbu clan for over 200 years, until the time of the 24th hereditary chieftain, Nanbu Harumasa, when it was burned down in a revolt by one of his retainers in June 1539. Shōjujidate Castle is located only 700 meters west of Hiragasaki Castle and four kilometers north of

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 ...

Sanko-ji

The temple of Sanko-ji is a Buddhist temple belonging to the

Rinzai school The Rinzai school ( ja, , Rinzai-shū, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (along with Sōtō and Ōbaku). The Chinese Linji school of Chan was first transmitted to Japan by Myōan E ...

Japanese Zen :''See also Zen for an overview of Zen, Chan Buddhism for the Chinese origins, and Sōtō, Rinzai school, Rinzai and Ōbaku for the three main schools of Zen in Japan'' Japanese Zen refers to the Japanese forms of Zen, Zen Buddhism, an orig ...

and is located just to the north of the ruins of Shōjo-ji. It is one of what were once several temples patronized by the Nanbu clan in the area, but the other temples relocated to

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 . ...

during the

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 ...

when the Nanbu clan made

Morioka Castle 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 . ...

their seat. Sanko-ji remained as it contained the graves of the 26th chieftain, Nanbu Nobunao and his wife (Nanbu Town Historic Site), and the mortuary chapel of the 27th chieftain, Nanbu Toshinao (Aomori Prefectural Historic Site), and the mortuary chapel of Toshinao's son, Nanbu Toshiyasu ( Important Cultural Property). In addition, the temple has a small tumulus which is claimed to be the grave of the 2nd chieftain of the Nanbu clan, Nanbu Sanemitsu.

Moto-Sannohe Hachiman-gu

This

Hachiman shrine A is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the ''kami'' Hachiman. It is the second most numerous type of Shinto shrine after those dedicated to Inari Ōkami (see Inari shrine). There are about 44,000 Hachiman shrines. Originally the name 八幡 was ...

is built on a plateau along the Mabuchi River, south of the main site of the Shōju-ji temple. It is believed to have been the site of a fortification erected by Nambu Nobunao in 1578; however, the shrine itself is said to have been transferred from Kai Province when the Nanbu clan relocated to Nukanobu District. The grave of the 23rd chieftain of the clan, Nanbu Yasunobu (Aomori Prefectural ICP) remains at this shrine; however, other graves which once existed at this location have disappeared due to the erosion by the Mabuchi River.

References

External links

Aomori Prefectural home page

Nanbu town home page

{{in lang, ja Castles in Aomori Prefecture Ruined castles in Japan Historic Sites of Japan Nanbu, Aomori Nanbu clan Mutsu Province