270px, Model of Tsutsujigasaki Castle 270px, Tsutsujigasaki Castle Aerial Photograph was the fortified residence of the final three generations of the

Takeda clan The was a Japanese samurai clan active from the late Heian period until the late 16th century. The clan was historically based in Kai Province in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture. The clan reached its greatest influence under the rule of Taked ...

, located in the center of the city of

Kōfu is the capital city of Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 187,985 in 90,924 households, and a population density of 880 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Overview Toponymy Kōfu's name means "c ...

Yamanashi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Yamanashi Prefecture has a population of 817,192 (1 January 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,465 km2 (1,724 sq mi). Yamanashi Prefecture borders Saitama Prefecture to the no ...

, Japan. It is not a

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 ...

in the proper sense of the word, and is not referred to as a "castle" in Japanese, as it was famously the policy of the Takeda clan to "make men your castle, men your walls, men your moats". Nevertheless, it is 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 ...

. The ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1938. The site is open to the public and now contains the

Takeda Shrine Main gate to Takeda Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in the city of Kōfu, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, dedicated to the ''kami'' of Takeda Shingen. The shrine's annual celebration is on April 12, Shingen's death anniversary. History Following ...

, a

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 ...

dedicated to the deified spirits of the Takeda clan.

Background

The Takeda clan was a cadet branch of the

Minamoto clan was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility from 1192 to 1333. The practice was most prevalent during the ...

, and gradually gained control over Kai Province from the late

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

from their bases at

Hakusan Castle was a Heian period ''yamashiro''-style Japanese castle located in the Kamiyamamachi neighborhood of the city of Nirasaki, Yamanashi prefecture. It was the primary fortress of the warlord Takeda Nobuyoshi, the ancestor of the Takeda clan. The rui ...

and Yato Castle. By 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 ...

, the clan held the position of ''

shugo , commonly translated as “(military) governor,” “protector,” or “constable,” was a title given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the ''shōgun'' to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan. The pos ...

'' of Kai Province, and

Takeda Nobutora was a Japanese ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) who controlled the Province of Kai, and fought in a number of battles of the Sengoku period. He was the father of the famous Takeda Shingen. Biography Nobutora’s son was Harunobu, later known as Take ...

selected a location near the center of the province to build this fortified residence and ''

jōkamachi The term refers to a type of urban structures in Japan in which the city surrounds a feudal lord's castle. These cities did not necessarily form around castles after the Edo period; some are known as Jin'yamachi, cities that have evolved around J ...

'' in 1519. The location was on a gentle slope in the flatlands of the Kōfu Basin, and was considered indefensible by contemporary standards, which dictated that fortifications be built on mountains. Nobutora also built a mountain fortification (

Yōgaiyama Castle was a Sengoku period '' yamajiro'' located in Kai Province (present day Yamanashi Prefecture), constructed in the 1520s by the Takeda clan. Since 1991, the ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1938. The castle is also know ...

) nearby as a supporting castle and final redoubt.

Description

Tsutsujigasaki consisted of two main enclosures surrounded by a triple series of two flooded moats and one dry moat. The central enclosure was 200 meters square and contained the private residence of the Takeda ruler. The western enclosure is 100 by 200 meters, and was a public area for the administration of the domain, with "umadashi"-style two-story fortified gates to the north and south. Flanking both enclosures, outside the main gates, and also surrounded by water moats, were two ''

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 ...

'' secondary enclosures; the Miso-guruwa and Baio-guruwa. This was the largest residential complex in eastern Japan during the

. The only remains today are some of the surviving water-filled moats and some minor stonework. The Takeda Shrine, built in 1919 is in the centre of the site. To the right of the shrine is a museum, guarded by a stone

Hello Kitty , also known by her full name , is a fictional Character (arts), character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphi ...

. "Tsutsujigasaki Palace" J Castle http://www.jcastle.info/castle/profile/28-Tsutsujigasaki-Palace

History

Tsutsujigasaki continued to serve as the principal residence of

Takeda Shingen , of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' in feudal Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period. Shingen was a warlord of great ...

after he deposed his father in 1540. However, his son

Takeda Katsuyori was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period, who was famed as the head of the Takeda clan and the successor to the legendary warlord Takeda Shingen. He was son in law of Hojo Ujiyasu. Early life He was the son of Shingen by the daughter ...

built

Shinpu Castle was a Sengoku period ''hirayama''-style Japanese castle located in what is now part of the city of Nirasaki, Yamanashi prefecture. It was the primary fortress of the warlord Takeda Katsuyori. The ruins have been protected as a National Historic ...

, a new and larger castle at Nirasaki and transferred his residence there in 1581. The Takeda clan was extinguished by the coalition forces of

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 ...

and

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

in February 1582. Afterwards, Nobunaga's general,

Kawajiri Hidetaka was a Japanese samurai warrior during the Sengoku period , and was one of the vassals of Oda Nobunaga . He was the first samurai in the "Kuro-horo-shu" (bodyguard unit in black) elite troops selected from Nobunaga's aides, and later served ...

ruled Kai Province from Tsutsujigasaki until Nobunaga's assassination. The Kai Province then came under the direct control of the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this clan r ...

and with the completion of the nearby

Kōfu Castle was a Japanese castle located in the city of Kōfu, Yamanashi Prefecture, in the Chubu region of Japan. The site has been protected as a National Historic Site since 2019. The castle is also known as Maizuru Castle, and the present-day surroundi ...

in 1594, the site was abandoned.

References

External links

JCastle Info site
{{100 Fine Castles of Japan Castles in Yamanashi Prefecture Ruined castles in Japan History of Yamanashi Prefecture 1510s establishments in Japan Kōfu, Yamanashi Historic Sites of Japan Kai Province Takeda clan 100 Fine Castles of Japan

Background

Description

History

See also

References

External links