was a
Muromachi period
The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...
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 a ...
located in what is now the town of
Nanbu, in
Sannohe District of
Aomori Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...
, in the
Tōhoku region
The , Northeast region, , or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata.
Tōhoku retains ...
of far northern
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 ...
. It was also known as the (i.e. former Sannohe Castle). It was located at a strategic junction of the
Ōshū Kaidō
The was one of the centrally administered Edo Five Routes, five routes of the Edo period. It was built to connect the ''de facto'' capital of Japan at Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with Mutsu Province and the present-day city of Shirakawa, Fukushima, S ...
with the Kakuno Kaidō and the
Mabechi River
270px, Ogami Rock overlooking the Basenkyō ravine in Iwate
The is a river located in northern Iwate Prefecture and eastern Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Honshū in Japan.
Overview
The Mabechi River is long and has a wat ...
. The site of the castle, as well as the
Buddhist temple
A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...
of Sankō-ji, and the Moto-Sannohe Hachiman-gu
Shinto Shrine
A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion.
The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...
collectively received protection as a
National Historic Site on 30 September 2004. Portions of the site are now on private lands occupied by local farm houses and fruit orchards.
Shōjojidate ruins
The Nanbu clan claimed descent from the
Seiwa Genji
The is a line of the Japanese Minamoto clan that is descended from Emperor Seiwa, which is the most successful and powerful line of the clan. Many of the most famous Minamoto members, including Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Minamoto no Yoritomo, ...
of
Kai Province.
Minamoto no Yoshimitsu
was a Japanese samurai lord during the Heian period. He served as Governor of Kai Province. He is credited as the ancient progenitor of the Japanese martial art, Daitō-ryū aiki-jūjutsu and Takeda-ryū.
Biography
Yoshimitsu was born t ...
was awarded Kai Province following the
Gosannen War
The Gosannen War (後三年合戦, ''gosannen kassen''), also known as the Later Three-Year War, was fought in the late 1080s in Japan's Mutsu Province on the island of Honshū.
History
The Gosannen War was part of a long struggle for power ...
, and his great-grandson Nobuyoshi took the surname