Hachigata Castle was located on a peninsula surrounded by the Arakawa River and the Fukasawagawa River, which contributed to its defenses. Due to its location at western edge of then Kantō Plain, Hachigata Castle was regarded as a key to the control of Musashi Province and was a major stronghold for the Later Hōjō clan during the Sengoku Period.
Historyedit
Hachigata Castle was built in approximately 1476 by Nagao Kageharu (1443-1514). The Nagao clan was a cadet house of the Yamanouchi Uesugi clan who held the hereditary title of Kantō Kanrei. However, Nagao Kageharu had a falling out with his overlord and fought against the Uesugi intermittently over a 20-year period using this castle as his stronghold. Later, the Nagao were forced from the area and the Uesugi appointed their vassals, the Fujita clan, as castellans. When the Later Hōjō clan under Hōjō Soun expanded into Musashi Province, the Fujita resisted until the defeat of the Uesugi at the Siege of Kawagoe Castle in 1546, at which time they were forced to submit.[2]
Hōjō Ujikuni was assigned rule over the northern Hōjō holdings in 1564, and improved the defences of the castle due to its proximity to the aggressive Takeda clan to the west and the resurgent Uesugi clan to the north. He built a large barricade complex of wide dry moats and clay ramparts at the root of the hill, and extended the outer defensive line. Unlike many other castles of the Hōjō clan, he made use of stone walls in vital areas, including the main gate, which were also to emphasize his power and authority. The castle grew to stretch for nearly a kilometer east to west along the ridge, and 500 meters from north-to-south.[2]
Takeda Shingen attempted to seize the castle in 1568 during the Siege of Hachigata,[3] but failed due to its extensive fortifications. After the death of Takeda Shigen, Hōjō Ujikuni counterattacked and seized large portions of Kōzuke Province. This brought him into conflict with the Sanada clan and by extension, with the Toyotomi clan. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi decided to destroy the Hōjō, Ujikuni pushed for a strategy to ambush the Toyotomi armies en route; however, he was overruled by Hōjō Ujimasa, so he withdrew his armies to Hachigata. For a month in March 1590, Hachigata Castle held off the 30,000 strong forces of both Maeda Toshiie and Uesugi Kagekatsu with a mere 3,000 defenders during the Second Siege of Hachigata. Ujikuni finally surrendered the castle under the condition that the lives of his men would be spared. During the Edo period, the castle was demolished.[2]
Current situationedit
Along with a large amount of ruins that remain largely undisturbed by development, a small part of the castle has been reconstructed, including some walls, a gate, and a building. The site is about a 20 minute walk from the Tōbu Tōjō LineYorii Station.[2] A museum, the Hachigata Castle History Museum (鉢形城歴史館, Hachigatajō Rekishikan) dedicated to the castle's history has also been erected.[4]
hachigata, castle, 鉢形城, hachigata, sengoku, period, japanese, castle, located, town, yorii, saitama, prefecture, kantō, region, japan, ruins, have, been, protected, national, historic, site, since, 1932, 鉢形城yorii, saitama, japanreconstructed, gate, wall, hachi. Hachigata Castle 鉢形城 Hachigata jō was a Sengoku period Japanese castle located in the town of Yorii Saitama Prefecture in the Kantō region of Japan Its ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1932 1 Hachigata Castle鉢形城Yorii Saitama JapanReconstructed gate and wall of Hachigata castleHachigata CastleShow map of Saitama PrefectureHachigata CastleShow map of JapanCoordinates36 6 35 04 N 139 11 45 54 E 36 1097333 N 139 1959833 E 36 1097333 139 1959833Typehirayama style Japanese castleSite informationOpen tothe publicYesConditionruinsSite historyBuilt1476Built byNagao KageharuIn useMuromachi through Sengoku periodDemolished1590National Historic Site of Japan Contents 1 Overview 2 History 3 Current situation 4 Gallery 5 See also 6 External links 7 Literature 8 ReferencesOverview editHachigata Castle was located on a peninsula surrounded by the Arakawa River and the Fukasawagawa River which contributed to its defenses Due to its location at western edge of then Kantō Plain Hachigata Castle was regarded as a key to the control of Musashi Province and was a major stronghold for the Later Hōjō clan during the Sengoku Period History editHachigata Castle was built in approximately 1476 by Nagao Kageharu 1443 1514 The Nagao clan was a cadet house of the Yamanouchi Uesugi clan who held the hereditary title of Kantō Kanrei However Nagao Kageharu had a falling out with his overlord and fought against the Uesugi intermittently over a 20 year period using this castle as his stronghold Later the Nagao were forced from the area and the Uesugi appointed their vassals the Fujita clan as castellans When the Later Hōjō clan under Hōjō Soun expanded into Musashi Province the Fujita resisted until the defeat of the Uesugi at the Siege of Kawagoe Castle in 1546 at which time they were forced to submit 2 Hōjō Ujikuni was assigned rule over the northern Hōjō holdings in 1564 and improved the defences of the castle due to its proximity to the aggressive Takeda clan to the west and the resurgent Uesugi clan to the north He built a large barricade complex of wide dry moats and clay ramparts at the root of the hill and extended the outer defensive line Unlike many other castles of the Hōjō clan he made use of stone walls in vital areas including the main gate which were also to emphasize his power and authority The castle grew to stretch for nearly a kilometer east to west along the ridge and 500 meters from north to south 2 Takeda Shingen attempted to seize the castle in 1568 during the Siege of Hachigata 3 but failed due to its extensive fortifications After the death of Takeda Shigen Hōjō Ujikuni counterattacked and seized large portions of Kōzuke Province This brought him into conflict with the Sanada clan and by extension with the Toyotomi clan When Toyotomi Hideyoshi decided to destroy the Hōjō Ujikuni pushed for a strategy to ambush the Toyotomi armies en route however he was overruled by Hōjō Ujimasa so he withdrew his armies to Hachigata For a month in March 1590 Hachigata Castle held off the 30 000 strong forces of both Maeda Toshiie and Uesugi Kagekatsu with a mere 3 000 defenders during the Second Siege of Hachigata Ujikuni finally surrendered the castle under the condition that the lives of his men would be spared During the Edo period the castle was demolished 2 Current situation editAlong with a large amount of ruins that remain largely undisturbed by development a small part of the castle has been reconstructed including some walls a gate and a building The site is about a 20 minute walk from the Tōbu Tōjō Line Yorii Station 2 A museum the Hachigata Castle History Museum 鉢形城歴史館 Hachigatajō Rekishikan dedicated to the castle s history has also been erected 4 The castle was listed as one of Japan s Top 100 Castles by the Japan Castle Foundation in 2006 5 Gallery edit nbsp Honmaru compound of Hachigata castle nbsp Reconstructed pond and small building of Hachigata castle nbsp Water moat of Hachigata castle nbsp Eathen wall of Hachigata castle nbsp Moat and Umadashi compound of Hachigata castle nbsp Stone wal of Hachigata castle nbsp Hachigata castle historical MuseumSee also editList of Historic Sites of Japan Saitama External links editSaitama Prefecture home page in Japanese Yorii Town home page in Japanese Literature editDe Lange William 2021 An Encyclopedia of Japanese Castles Groningen Toyo Press p 600 ISBN 978 9492722300 References edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hachigata Castle 鉢形城 Cultural Heritage Online in Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs Retrieved 25 December 2016 a b c d Isomura Yukio Sakai Hideya 2012 国指定史跡事典 National Historic Site Encyclopedia 学生社 ISBN 978 4311750403 in Japanese Turnbull Stephen 1998 The Samurai Sourcebook Cassell amp Co p 218 ISBN 1854095234 Hachigata Castle Archived 2008 04 22 at the Wayback Machine Japan Castle Foundation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hachigata Castle amp oldid 1084097222, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
