is a Sengoku period Japanese castle located in Oga,

Akita Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is approximately 966,000 (as of 1 October 2019) and its ge ...

, in the Tōhoku region of

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 ...

. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1979.

Background

The precise date of the construction of Wakimoto Castle is not known, but it is presumed to be sometime during the 15th century. The castle was the stronghold of the Andō clan, whose origins are also shrouded in mystery. The Andō were possibly descendants of the indigenous

Emishi The (also called Ebisu and Ezo), written with Chinese characters that literally mean "shrimp barbarians," constituted an ancient ethnic group of people who lived in parts of Honshū, especially in the Tōhoku region, referred to as in contemp ...

people who populated the Tōhoku region prior to the arrival of the Yamato Japanese in the late Nara period. The Andō were a maritime clan who controlled the northern Sea of Japan coastline of Japan, including southern Ezo (Hokkaido), and who engaged in trade and fishing. Under the Kamakura shogunate and into the Nanbokuchō period, the clan enjoyed virtual autonomy in their domains, trading with mainland Asia through the Tosaminato port in what is now Aomori Prefecture and from the 14th century at Tsuchizaki Port in what is now the city of Akita. However, in the 15th century, the Andō came under attack by the Nanbu clan based at Sannohe Castle and was forced to retreat from Tosaminoto Port to Hokkaido. Despite numerous counterattacks, the Andō were unable to recover Tosaminato, but a branch of the clan called the "Minato Andō" held out at

Tsuchizaki is a neighbourhood located in Akita City, Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the neighbourhood had an estimated population of 21,310 and a population density of 3,400 persons per km². The total area of the neibourhood is . Annexed by the city in 1941 ...

. In the middle of the 15th century, the Minato Andō asked the main branch of the clan to relocate from Hokkaido to Dewa Province, and under

Andō Masasue Andō, Ando, Andou or Andoh (written: 安藤 or 安東) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese gravure idol and professional wrestler *, Japanese footballer * Albert Ando (1929–2002), Japanese-born American e ...

(d.1488), they built Hiyama Castle near

Noshiro 270px, Rice fields in the Noshiro Plain 270px, Yoneshiro River is a city located in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 49,935 in 24,200 households. Geography Noshiro is located in the flat coastal plains north ...

, becoming the "Hiyama Andō". The two branches of the clan co-existed for a century. The two branches of the clan united under

Andō Chikasue was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period, who was a powerful figure in the north half of Dewa Province. Chikasue was the son of Andō Kiyosue. Chikasue united Hiyama Ando and Minato Ando family who had been divided. And he obtained som ...

(1539-1587). Andō Chikasue rebuilt a pre-existing fortification at Wakimoto from 1577, and used this as his seat.

Structure

Wakimoto Castle is located on a flat-topped hill with a height of 100 meters at the base of Oga Peninsula near the edge of the Akita Plain and near the mouth of

Lake Hachirogata A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

(which has now disappeared due to

land reclamation Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...

). It was protected by the lake to its front, and by the Sea of Japan to its rear. At the peak of the hill there is a group of square-shaped enclosures which contained the residence, surrounded by '' kuruwa'' terraces, which might be a remnant of the original castle. In the 1577 reconstruction, an adjacent peak facing the sea was incorporated into the castle area, separated by ridges to the east and south, with a new Inner bailey at the tip of the eastern ridge. This enclosure had a square profile, 100 meters on each side, protected by a five-meter high clay rampart and several smaller surrounding enclosures. The southern ridge has two layers of enclosures for senior retainers; however, a large portion of the southern ridge has now collapsed into the ocean due to erosion and after earthquakes. Between the new and the old castle enclosures was a road protected by a clay wall with a length of 300 meters. The total castle area spreads over a 1000 meter wide x 1500 meter long area. On the eastern hillside was the '' jōkamachi'', which extended down the coast for a kilometer, and which was also protected by an outer barrier. These fortifications made Wakimoto Castle one of the largest in eastern Japan at the time.

Subsequent history

Andō Chikasue pledged fealty to

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 to Toyotomi Hideyoshi and was confirmed in his holdings which extended over two-thirds of Dewa Province. He also changed his surname from Andō to "Akita". After his death, the clan fell into civil war between followers of his son, Akita Sanesue (1576-1660) and loyalists of the former Minato Andō. Sanesue moved his seat to Minato Castle in

and Wakimoto Castle fell into ruins. After many vicissitudes, the Akita clan continued to the end of the Tokugawa shogunate as '' daimyō'' of Miharu Domain in what is now

Fukushima Prefecture Fukushima Prefecture (; ja, 福島県, Fukushima-ken, ) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,810,286 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miya ...

. No buildings or structures remain of Wakimoto Castle today, however, the terraces with clay ramparts and dry moats remain. The castle was listed as one of the Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles in 2017. The site is located approximately 25 minutes on foot from

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

Oga Line Wakimoto Station.

Literature

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References

External links