was a castle in the city of Hikone,

Shiga Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,398,972 as of 1 February 2025 and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to th ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. This castle was an important military stronghold of

Ōmi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō Circuit (subnational entity), circuit. Its nickname is . Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, ...

. The Azai clan held this castle in the

Sengoku Period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

. Niwa Nagahide held it after the ruin of the Azai clan and later,

Ishida Mitsunari was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the Azuchi–Momoyama period of the 16th century. He ...

in the end of the 16th century. This castle was attacked by Kobayakawa Hideaki after the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, ...

. The castle surrendered at half a day though the brother of Mitsunari, Ishida Masazumi and his father

Ishida Masatsugu was a Japanese samurai of the late Sengoku period who served the Azai clan and held Ishida castle in Omi province. He was the son of Ishida Seishin. He was the father of Ishida Mitsunari. After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, he and his other ...

, defended it. Afterwards, Ii Naomasa occupied Sawayama Castle. However, he destroyed it, and moved to Hikone Castle. Much of Sawayama Castle's stone walls and buildings were carried away for use in Hikone Castle. At present, the only indication of this old history is a sign reading "The Site of Sawayama Castle."Former Site of Sawayama Castle HIKONE TRAVEL GUIDE
/ref> There is also a hiking course that leads to the summit of Mount Sawayama, from which hikers see a panoramic view that includes Hikone Castle and

Lake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan. It is located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Lake Biwa is an ancient lake, over 4 million years old. It is estimated to be the 13 ...

Notable people

* Isono Tamba-no-kami, an officer of Azai Nagamasa

Gallery

File:The Mt Sawa is looked at from Hikone Castle Shiga.jpg, Mt Sawa seen from Hikone Castle File:佐和山城.jpg, Stone wall File:Sawayama-jo ruin.JPG, Honmaru Base File:Ryutan-ji sawayama.JPG, In front of Ryutan-ji Temple, which is the entrance to the mountain trail to the castle File:Sawayama_Castle_Site.jpg, Sawayama Castle Ruins File:View_of_hikone-jo_from_sawayama-jo_ruins.JPG, Hikone Castle overlooking Sawayama Castle Honmaruto

References

{{Coord, 35, 16, 46.2, N, 136, 16, 8.13, E, region:JP_scale:60000_source:jawiki, display=title Castles in Shiga Prefecture Azai clan

Notable people

Gallery

Further reading

References