Tsuwano Castle was a mid-size castle, now ruins, in

Tsuwano is a town located in Kanoashi District, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. As of March 2017, the town has an estimated population of 7,478 and a density of 25.0 persons per km². The total area is 307.09 km². Description Tsuwano is remotely locate ...

, Shimane Prefecture, Japan.

History

The castle was established by Yoshimi Yoriyuki, and it was initially called Sanbonmatsu-jo. Its first purpose was to watch over the province of Iwami. The Yoriyuki family ruled there for 14 generations. The 14th generation lord of the castle, Yoshimi Hironaga, supported the Mouri clan in the Battle of Sekigahara (1600) and was moved to Hagi with them after they lost to the Tokugawa forces. Following the Battle of Sekigahara, Sakazaki Naomori was awarded this domain for his support of the Tokugawa in the battle. He vastly expanded the castle. The stone walls at the top of the

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

date from this period. Naomori died in 1616, leaving no descendants.

Kamei Masanori was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. He was the head of the Tsuwano Domain. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003).html" ;"title="DF 23 of 80">"Kamei" at '' ...

was moved here in his place, and his family ruled as lords of the castle for 11 generations. The

tenshu is an architectural typology found in Japanese castle complexes. They are easily identifiable as the highest tower within the castle. Common translations of ''tenshu'' include keep, main keep, or ''donjon''. ''Tenshu'' are characterized as ty ...

burned down in a fire caused by lightning in 1686. With the coming of the

Meiji Period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, like many castles in Japan, it was dismantled in 1873.

Current site

The Tsuwano Castle site now largely has only

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

walls left, though they are extensive. The site has horikiri trenches and some small baileys. Bears are known to live in the ruins, and visitors carry bear bells to scare them off. There are a few buildings left over, including the Babasaki

Yagura Yagura may refer to: * Yagura castle * Yagura opening * Yagura (tombs) * Yagura (tower) is the Japanese word for "tower", "turret", "keep", or "scaffold". The word is most often seen in reference to structures in Japanese castle compounds bu ...

and the Monomi

."Tsuwano-Castle" jcastle http://www.jcastle.info/photos/view/4002-Tsuwano-Castle

References

{{coord, 34.460, 131.764, type:landmark_region:JP, display=title Former castles in Japan Castles in Shimane Prefecture Ōuchi clan

History

Current site

Further reading

References