Komine Castle (小峰城, Komine-jō) is a Japanese castle located in what is now the city of Shirakawa, southern Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Throughout the middle to later Edo period, Komine Castle was home to the Abe clan, daimyō of Shirakawa Domain. It was also referred to as Shirakawa-Komine Castle (白河小峰城, Shirakawa Komine-jō) or simply Shirakawa Castle (白河城, Shirakawa-jō). The castle is one of the 100 Fine Castles of Japan, and in 2007 was designated a National Historic Site.[1] It should not be confused with the older Shirakawa Castle also located in Shirakawa, Fukushima, also known as Karame-jō (搦目城) or Yūki-Shirakawa-jō (結城白川城). The castle grounds are also a noted venue for viewing sakura in spring.
Komine Castle is located on a long and narrow hill extending 500 meters from east to west, located on a bend of the Abukuma River, which forms part of the natural defenses of the site. The Shirakawa area and the Abukuma River is the on the main route between the Kantō region and northern Japan, the Ōshū Kaidō, and control of this area was of great strategic importance. The ancient Shirakawa Barrier was once located nearby.
The inner bailey is at end of this hill separated into two layers of enclosures, protected by tall stone walls. At the northeastern corner, was a three-story yagura which substituted for a true tenshu. Along the north and west lines were huge earthen ramparts using portions of the original terrain. South of the inner bailey, protected by a wide water moat, was a secondary enclosure approximately 200 x 100 meters which contained the residence of the lord. There were a number of enclosures outside this core area, forming secondary fortifications. The east side of the castle was further protected by outer barrier.
Historyedit
Early historyedit
The construction of Komine Castle began in 1340 by Yūki Chikatomo, is a small hilltop fortification with earthen palisades. After the fall of the Satake clan in 1589, the Yūki allied with the Date clan to the north, but were dispossessed in 1590 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The Yūki survived as retainers to the Date, and their territory became part of the holdings of Aizu Domain under the Gamō clan. Under the Gamō, Shirakawa Castle was modernized with stone walls. The castle was held by the Gamo until 1627.
Edo periodedit
After the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, Niwa Nagashige was transferred from Tanagura Domain to become daimyō of the newly created 100,000 kokuShirakawa Domain in 1627 and completely rebuilt and expanded Komine Castle between 1628 and 1632. During the remainder of the Edo period, the castle passed through the hands of seven daimyō clans with a total of 21 daimyō (the Niwa, Sakaibara, Honda, three branches of the Matsudaira clan and finally the Abe clan) before reverting to direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1866, on the eve of the Boshin War.
During this period the most famous ruler of Shirakawa was Matsudaira Sadanobu (1759-1829).
Bakumatsu to modern eraedit
During the Boshin War, Shirakawa was a stronghold of the pro-Tokugawa Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei and came under attack during the Battle of Aizu by the pro-imperial army of the Satchō Alliance. Although the invading army was outnumbered, it had superior artillery, and Komine Castle had been designed primarily to defend against attacks from the north, so its southern approached were more lightly fortified. The castle fell to the Meiji government on May 1, 1868.
Many of the structures of the castle were destroyed during the battle, and much of what remained, including a large section of its stone walls, were later pulled down following the abolition of the han system. The site was transformed into a public park.
In 1991, a three-story tenshu was reconstructed on the foundations of the original tenshu, and in 1994 one of the gates was restored. These structures (along with some of the stonework and the moats) suffered significant damage during the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake.
An earth wall with uneven stones made up the original base of Komine Castle before it collapsed in the 1970s due to rain. The Japanese local government repaired it with concrete and the entire section of the repaired wall was destroyed by the earthquake in 2011 due to using concrete. The Japanese government then begged for photographs of the original wall from local citizens as they had no idea what it looked like to repair it to its original state.[2]
^"小峰城跡". Cultural Heritage Online (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
^Sotaro, Iwata; Keisuke, Mino (June 20, 2019). "Crumbling castle walls cause concern". NHK World Japan.
October 27, 2023
komine, castle, 小峰城, komine, japanese, castle, located, what, city, shirakawa, southern, fukushima, prefecture, japan, throughout, middle, later, period, home, clan, daimyō, shirakawa, domain, also, referred, shirakawa, 白河小峰城, shirakawa, komine, simply, shirak. Komine Castle 小峰城 Komine jō is a Japanese castle located in what is now the city of Shirakawa southern Fukushima Prefecture Japan Throughout the middle to later Edo period Komine Castle was home to the Abe clan daimyō of Shirakawa Domain It was also referred to as Shirakawa Komine Castle 白河小峰城 Shirakawa Komine jō or simply Shirakawa Castle 白河城 Shirakawa jō The castle is one of the 100 Fine Castles of Japan and in 2007 was designated a National Historic Site 1 It should not be confused with the older Shirakawa Castle also located in Shirakawa Fukushima also known as Karame jō 搦目城 or Yuki Shirakawa jō 結城白川城 The castle grounds are also a noted venue for viewing sakura in spring Komine Castle小峰城Shirakawa Fukushima Prefecture JapanReconstructed tenshu of Komine CastleRuined Komine Castle after the Battle of AizuKomine CastleShow map of Fukushima PrefectureKomine CastleShow map of JapanCoordinates37 07 57 N 140 12 49 E 37 132624 N 140 213583 E 37 132624 140 213583Typehilltop style Japanese castleSite informationOwnerpartially reconstructed 1991Open tothe publicyesSite historyBuilt1340 rebuilt 1632Built byYuki Chikatomo Niwa NagashigeIn useMuromachi period 1893National Historic Site of Japan Contents 1 Layout 2 History 2 1 Early history 2 2 Edo period 2 3 Bakumatsu to modern era 3 See also 4 Literature 5 External links 6 ReferencesLayout editKomine Castle is located on a long and narrow hill extending 500 meters from east to west located on a bend of the Abukuma River which forms part of the natural defenses of the site The Shirakawa area and the Abukuma River is the on the main route between the Kantō region and northern Japan the Ōshu Kaidō and control of this area was of great strategic importance The ancient Shirakawa Barrier was once located nearby The inner bailey is at end of this hill separated into two layers of enclosures protected by tall stone walls At the northeastern corner was a three story yagura which substituted for a true tenshu Along the north and west lines were huge earthen ramparts using portions of the original terrain South of the inner bailey protected by a wide water moat was a secondary enclosure approximately 200 x 100 meters which contained the residence of the lord There were a number of enclosures outside this core area forming secondary fortifications The east side of the castle was further protected by outer barrier History editEarly history edit The construction of Komine Castle began in 1340 by Yuki Chikatomo is a small hilltop fortification with earthen palisades After the fall of the Satake clan in 1589 the Yuki allied with the Date clan to the north but were dispossessed in 1590 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi The Yuki survived as retainers to the Date and their territory became part of the holdings of Aizu Domain under the Gamō clan Under the Gamō Shirakawa Castle was modernized with stone walls The castle was held by the Gamo until 1627 Edo period edit After the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate Niwa Nagashige was transferred from Tanagura Domain to become daimyō of the newly created 100 000 koku Shirakawa Domain in 1627 and completely rebuilt and expanded Komine Castle between 1628 and 1632 During the remainder of the Edo period the castle passed through the hands of seven daimyō clans with a total of 21 daimyō the Niwa Sakaibara Honda three branches of the Matsudaira clan and finally the Abe clan before reverting to direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1866 on the eve of the Boshin War During this period the most famous ruler of Shirakawa was Matsudaira Sadanobu 1759 1829 Bakumatsu to modern era edit During the Boshin War Shirakawa was a stronghold of the pro Tokugawa Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei and came under attack during the Battle of Aizu by the pro imperial army of the Satchō Alliance Although the invading army was outnumbered it had superior artillery and Komine Castle had been designed primarily to defend against attacks from the north so its southern approached were more lightly fortified The castle fell to the Meiji government on May 1 1868 Many of the structures of the castle were destroyed during the battle and much of what remained including a large section of its stone walls were later pulled down following the abolition of the han system The site was transformed into a public park In 1991 a three story tenshu was reconstructed on the foundations of the original tenshu and in 1994 one of the gates was restored These structures along with some of the stonework and the moats suffered significant damage during the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake An earth wall with uneven stones made up the original base of Komine Castle before it collapsed in the 1970s due to rain The Japanese local government repaired it with concrete and the entire section of the repaired wall was destroyed by the earthquake in 2011 due to using concrete The Japanese government then begged for photographs of the original wall from local citizens as they had no idea what it looked like to repair it to its original state 2 See also editList of Historic Sites of Japan Fukushima Literature editSchmorleitz Morton S 1974 Castles in Japan Tokyo Charles E Tuttle Co pp 144 145 ISBN 0 8048 1102 4 De Lange William 2021 An Encyclopedia of Japanese Castles Groningen Toyo Press p 600 ISBN 978 9492722300 Motoo Hinago 1986 Japanese Castles Tokyo Kodansha p 200 pages ISBN 0 87011 766 1 Mitchelhill Jennifer 2004 Castles of the Samurai Power and Beauty Tokyo Kodansha p 112 pages ISBN 4 7700 2954 3 Turnbull Stephen 2003 Japanese Castles 1540 1640 Osprey Publishing p 64 pages ISBN 1 84176 429 9 External links edit nbsp Media related to Komine Castle at Wikimedia Commons Jcastle Profile Archived 2015 09 20 at the Wayback Machine Japanese Castle ExplorerReferences edit 小峰城跡 Cultural Heritage Online in Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs Retrieved 25 December 2016 Sotaro Iwata Keisuke Mino June 20 2019 Crumbling castle walls cause concern NHK World Japan Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Komine Castle amp oldid 1168644233, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
