was a

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 ...

''yamashiro''-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 the Torigoe area of what is now part of the city of Hakusan,

Ishikawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,140,573 (31 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,186 km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to ...

in the

Hokuriku region The was located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lay along the Sea of Japan within the Chūbu region, which it is currently a part of. It is almost equivalent to Koshi Province and Hokurikudō area in pre-modern ...

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

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 ...

. Its ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1985. The National Historic Site consists of the ruins of two castles, Torigoe Castle and Futoge Castle. The two castles were built on two mountaintops with the Dainichi River between them in 1573 as the final bastions for the Kaga Ikkō-Ikki movement.

Background

Following the

Onin War Onin may refer to: * Ōnin, a Japanese era ** Ōnin War * Onin peninsula, on the Bomberai Peninsula Bomberai Peninsula ( id, Semenanjung Bomberai), otherwise known as the Bird's Beak Peninsula ( id, Semenanjung Paruh Burung), is located in the Wes ...

, the weakened

Muromachi shogunate The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669. The Ashikaga shogunate was establis ...

was unable to exert control over the

, much of which came under the control of the

Jōdo Shinshū , also known as Shin Buddhism or True Pure Land Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism. It was founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran. Shin Buddhism is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan. History Shinran ( ...

-led ''Ikkō-ikki'' movement led by the priest

Rennyo Rennyo (, 1415–1499) was the 8th Monshu (head priest) of the Hongan-ji Temple of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism, and descendant of founder Shinran. Jodo Shinshu Buddhists often referred to as the restorer of the sect ( in Japanese). He w ...

, who abolished the local feudal rulers and social structure to create a semi-theocratic "peasant's republic".

Kaga Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the south and western portion of Ishikawa Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Kaga bordered on Echizen, Etchū, Hida, and Noto Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abbr ...

fell to the movement in 1488. However, the movement was strongly opposed by

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

, who invaded Kaga after successfully seizing neighbouring

Echizen Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga, Wakasa, Hida, and Ōmi Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abbreviated form ...

in 1573. The ''Ikkō-ikki'' leadership at

Hongan-ji , also archaically romanized as Hongwanji, is the collective name of the largest school of Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism (which further sub-divides into the Nishi and Higashi branches). 'Hongan-ji' may also refer to any one of several actual temple bui ...

responded by sending a commander named Suzuki Dewa-no-kami (about whom little is known) to organise the resistance to Nobunaga in around 1580. He chose a remote valley whose entrance was protected by Funaoka Castle as his stronghold. This valley already had a small castle called ; however, Suzuki chose to build a second, and larger castle immediately across the Dainichi River, and named it Torigoe Castle.

Structure

Torigoe Castle is located on a 312-meter high, long and narrow ridge between the main stream of the

Tedori River The is a river in southern Ishikawa Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. The river originates on Hakusan, the highest peak in the Hakusan National Park on the border between Ishikawa and Gifu Prefecture, and flows in a generally north ...

its tributary Dainichi River. 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 ...

is located on the highest part of the ridge, and is a rectangular area with dimensions of 50 x 20 meters with a fortified two-story gate and ''yagura'' turrets. Parts of the ramparts are reinforced with stone. To the south of the inner bailey is a secondary ''

kuruwa is a Japanese term for the walls of a Japanese castle, and the regions bounded by the arrangement of those walls. The term may also be written as 郭, and the term is also used for castles built after the Edo period. The kuruwa serves as a def ...

'' enclosure. There is also a third ''kuruwa'' behind the main bailey, and all of these enclosures were protected by dry moats. The total size of the castle was approximately 300 x 50 meters. Neighbouring Futoge Castle was much smaller, but was likewise built on a ridge with several small enclosures.

History

Oda forces captured Ōyama-gōbō, the headquarters of the Kaga ''Ikkō-ikki'' in 1580, and the Oda army led by

Sakuma Morimasa was the son of Sakuma Moritsugu, cousin of Sakuma Nobumori, a prominent Oda retainer to Oda Nobuhide and Oda Nobunaga. After several campaigns in which he had fought, he was given the nickname ''oni-genba'' which literally means "Demon Genba", G ...

moved swiftly to crush remaining resistance at Torigoe Castle. However, Suzuki used his force of

matchlock A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of rope that is touched to the gunpowder by a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or trigger with his finger. Before ...

gunners with great effect, and the Oda army was unable to take Torigoe on its first attempt. Meanwhile, word reached the defenders that the head of the

movement had reached an accommodation with Nobunaga at

Ishiyama Hongan-ji The was the primary fortress of the Ikkō-ikki, leagues of warrior priests and commoners who opposed samurai rule during the Sengoku period. It was established in 1496, at the mouth of the Yodo River, on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea. At the t ...

. This meant that they were now isolated, and thus when the Oda general

Shibata Katsuie or was a Japanese samurai and military commander during the Sengoku period. He served Oda Nobunaga as one of his trusted generals, was severely wounded in the 1571 first siege of Nagashima, but then fought in the 1575 Battle of Nagashino an ...

invited a parley, Suzuki Dewa-No-Mami accepted his offer and went to his castle for negotiations. The parley was a ruse, and Suzuki and his generals were murdered. Now leaderless, Torigoe Castle quickly fell to the Oda. The following year, Shibata moved his army to

Kanazawa is the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Overview Cityscape File:もてな ...

, and the local ''Ikkō-ikki'' partisans of the Hakusan area seized the opportunity to retake Torigoe and Futoge Castles, killing the Shibata-appointed commanders. Shibata responded by recovering the castles and slaughtering all 300 of the defenders. Torigoe Castle was abandoned some time after the 1583

Battle of Shizugatake The was a battle of the Sengoku period of Japan fought between Toyotomi Hideyoshi (then Hashiba Hideyoshi) and Shibata Katsuie in Shizugatake, Ōmi Province in May 1583. Katsuie supported Oda Nobutaka's claim as successor of Oda Nobunaga in a ...

. Kaga Province came under the rule of the

Maeda clan was a Japanese samurai clan who occupied most of the Hokuriku region of central Honshū from the end of the Sengoku period through the Meiji restoration of 1868. The Maeda claimed descent from the Sugawara clan of Sugawara no Kiyotomo and Suga ...

Maeda Toshiie was one of the leading generals of Oda Nobunaga following the Sengoku period of the 16th century extending to the Azuchi–Momoyama period. His preferred weapon was a yari and he was known as "Yari no Mataza" (槍の又左), Matazaemon (又左 ...

was still wary of a revival of the Kaga ''Ikkō-ikki'' movement and refortified nearby Funaoka Castle; however, Torigoe and Futoge castles were abolished and the sites were lost.

Archaeological excavation In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

s have revealed the outlines of the fortifications and foundations of the structures, some of which have been restored as a tourist attraction. The castle was listed as one of the

Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles The is a list of 100 Japanese castle, castles, intended as a sequel of 100 Fine Castles of Japan. The castles were chosen for their significance in culture, history, and in their regions by the in 2017. Hokkaidō region Tōhoku region Kant ...

in 2017.

Gallery

鳥越城中の丸門.JPG, Naka-no-maru Gate 鳥越城枡形門.JPG, Masugata Gate 鳥越城本丸門.JPG, Honmaru Gate 鳥越城本丸.JPG, Honmaru 鳥越城堀切.JPG, Moat

References

External links