was 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 ...

located in the city of Tsu,

Mie Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefectur ...

, Japan. 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 characte ...

, Tsu Castle was home to the Sudo clan, ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominal ...

'' of

Tsu Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Ise Province and in Iga Province in what is part of now modern-day Tsu, Mie. It was centered around Tsu Castle. Tsu Domain was controlled the '' tozama'' Tōdō ...

, who dominated the provinces of Ise and Iga under the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

. The castle was also known as after the ancient name for Tsu. The castle ruins are a Prefectural Historic Site.

Overview

During 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 ...

, in 1558, Hosono Fujiatsu built a castle at the conjunction of the Ano and Iwata rivers, using the rivers as natural moats. The port of Anotsu had been an important port for the coastal trade along the eastern coast of Japan; however, after its destruction by an earthquake at the end of the 15th century, it was gradually eclipsed by the ports of Kuwana and Matsusaka instead. Oda Nobunaga took control of the castle in 1568 and ordered his younger brother

Oda Nobukane was a Japanese samurai, the younger brother of the warlord, Oda Nobunaga following the Sengoku period of the 16th century. Following the year of 1568, Nobukane was destined to be adopted into the Nagano clan. Nobukane afterwards shaved his ...

to reside there in 1577 to consolidate Oda control over the Ise region. Under Oda Nobukane, the castle was greatly expanded in size, with the completion of the primary, secondary and third baileys, a five-story ''

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 ...

'' and secondary ''tenshu''. Under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Nobukane was transferred to

Tanba Province was a province of Japan in the area of central Kyoto and east-central Hyōgo Prefectures. Tanba bordered on Harima, Ōmi, Settsu, Tajima, Wakasa, and Yamashiro Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō sys ...

, and the castle was given to Hideyoshi’s retainer, Tomita Nobuhiro in 1595 along with a 50,000 '' koku'' domain. Tomita Nobutaka and his wife Yuki no Kata defend Tsu Castle by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi 1885

Tomita Nobutaka and his wife Yuki no Kata defend Tsu Castle by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi 1885

However, during the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, the Tomita clan sided with the eastern forces under

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 fello ...

and Tsu Castle was attacked by the western armies under Mōri Terumoto and Chōsokabe Morichika. Although the 1300 defenders put up a stiff defense, the 30,000 attackers largely burned the castle down around them. Tomita Nobutaka and his wife, Yuki no Kata, successfully defended the castle. The Tomita were rewarded for their loyalty by the

and were given an increase in '' kokudaka'' and rebuilt parts of the castle by the time they were transferred to Uwajima Domain in

Iyo Province was a province of Japan in the area of northwestern Shikoku. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tosa''" in . Iyo bordered on Sanuki Province to the northeast, Awa to the east, and Tosa to the south. Its abbreviated form name was . In te ...

in 1608. The Tomita were replaced by the Tōdō clan, who ruled as ''

'' over the 220,000 '' koku''

until the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

. Tōdō Takatora, who was a noted castle architect, renovated Tsu Castle with a three-story and a two-story ''

'', rejuvenated the

castle town A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, a ...

, and increased the clan’s revenues to 323,000 ''koku''.Tōdō Takatora had worked on numerous castles previous to this one, including Edo Castle, Nagoya Castle, Zeze Castle and others. After the ''tenshu'' was destroyed in a fire in 1662, the Tokugawa shogunate did not grant permission for it to be rebuilt, and it was replaced by a two-story '' yagura.'' With the start of the Boshin War, Tsu Domain initially attempted to remain neutral; however, after the

Battle of Toba Fushimi A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, the domain defected to the Satchō Alliance and attacking the retreating shogunate forces. This contributed greatly to the imperial victory, and greatly demoralized the Tokugawa forces who were shocked at Tsu Domain's sudden defection. The forces of Tsu Domain served in the vanguard of the imperial advance down the Tōkaidō. After the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

as per decrees by the new Meiji government, the remaining structures of Tsu Castle were dismantled in 1873. The outer moats were filled, and only a portion of the inner moat remains. The site of the Honmaru (Inner Bailey) and Ni-no-Maru (Second Bailey) of the castle came under the control of the Imperial Japanese Army, but it was demilitarized and sold back to former lord Tōdō Takakiyo in 1889. The castle site subsequently became a city park. Some of the original stone walls have survived. One corner ''yagura'' was reconstructed in 1958. However, it is not a historically accurate reconstruction, and contains various features copied from other structures to make it more visually appealing. The gate to the Japanese garden now located within the Inner Bailey is a survival from the Edo period

han school The was an educational institution in the Edo period of Japan, originally established to educate children of '' daimyō'' (feudal lords) and their retainers in the domains outside of the capital. These institutions were also known as ''hanga ...

of the domain. Tsu Castle was listed as one of the

Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles The is a list of 100 castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it ...

in 2017. The castle is located a 20-minute walk from Tsu-shimmachi Station on the Kintetsu Nagoya Line.

Gallery

140405 Tsu Castle Tsu MIe pref Japan10s3.jpg, Moats 140405 Tsu Castle Tsu MIe pref Japan04s3.jpg, Gate from the former Han school 140405 Tsu Castle Tsu MIe pref Japan03s3.jpg, Japanese gardens in the former inner bailey

Literature

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References

External links

Tsu Castle Jcastle Profile

Tsu City tourist information
{{Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles Castles in Mie Prefecture Rebuilt buildings and structures in Japan Tsu, Mie Ise Province