Minowa Castle is located on a 30-meter high hill at the end of long ridge which extends from Mount Haruna southwest towards former Misato town in the northwestern part of Takasaki. This area was located on the Nakasendō highway towards Shinano Province to the west and also on the Mikuni Kaidō towards Echigo Province to the north. The castle, protected on one side by a deep valley created by the Shirakawa River and on its long, narrow hill, commanded both strategic roads.
The castle extends over an area 1200 meters long by 400 meters wide orientated north and southward, having two small ridges at its south end. Roughly the castle consists of three concentric layers of enclosures. The main gate of the castle originally existed at southwestern edge of the hill, but later a huge masugata-style gate was built next to the river.
Historyedit
During the Muromachi period, this area was governed by the Nagano clan, who claimed descent from Ariwara no Narihira, the famed Heian period nobleman and poet. By the Muromachi period, the Nagano clan were minor warlords controlling western Kōzuke Province and built Minowa castle as their residence in 1512. In 1545, Uesugi Norimasa, the Kantō Kanrei and nominal overlord of the Nagano clan, was severely defeated by the forces of Hōjō Ujiyasu at the 1546 Battle of Kawagoe. His forces were also defeated by Takeda Shingen the following year. With the weakening of the Uesugi, Nagano Narimasa (1491-1561) switched allegiance to the Hōjō. In 1560, the Uesugi clan under the leadership of Uesugi Kenshin attempted to re-take Kōzuke and the Nagano clan switched allegiance back to the Uesugi. Takeda Shingen then attacked the Uesugi in support of the Hōjō, and the Nagano at Minowa Castle were their primary targets. When Nagano Narimasa died in 1561, he stated in his will that his son Nagano Narimori should continue the fight against Takeda Shingen to the last man if necessary.[2] Narimori continued to resist the Takeda for the next five years, but gradually lost the support of his surrounding neighbors and allies. Finally, in 1566, during the Siege of Minowa by 20,000 Takeda soldiers[3] a sortie out of the castle was led by Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, this, however, resulted in a successful counter assault by the Shingen forces. The entire castle fell, and after desperate fight Nagano Narimori killed himself in the inner Bailey of Minowa Castle. A small portion was still held by Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, which so impressed by Nobutsuna that he let Nobutsuna leave unharmed, even asking Nobutsuna to join him (Nobutsuna declined).
Takeda Shingen used Minowa Castle has his regional headquarters in Kōzuke, and at various times appointed generals such as Sanada Yukitaka and Naitō Masatoyo as castellans. Under the Takeda, the castle was expanded by the construction of a redoubt called the "Maru Umadashi" (a half rounded buffer area with a crescent shaped dry moat in front of the gate) to protect the castle's vulnerable northeastern edge. After the annihilation of the Takeda clan by Oda Nobunaga in 1582, the castle was awarded to Takigawa Kazumasa. However, only three months later, Nobunaga was assassinated in the Honnō-ji Incident. On hearing of Nobunaga's death, the Hōjō clan immediately seized Minowa Castle, recognizing its strategic importance. The Hōjō also modified the defenses of the castle in line with contemporary fortification technology.
In 1590, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi began his campaign against the Hōjō, he sent a large army along the Nakasendō against Minowa Castle. However, the garrison at the castle surrendered without a fight. Subsequently, the Kantō region was awarded to Tokugawa Ieyasu, who assigned Ii Naomasa as castellan. Ii Naomasa significantly expanded the castle and dug deep and wide dry moats and replaced earthen ramparts with stone walls along the main route into the castle. In 1598, he built Takasaki Castle and relocated his seat there. Minowa Castle was abandoned and allowed to fall into ruin.[4]
Current situationedit
All that remains of Minowa Castle currently are the ruins of the stone walls, earthworks, and moats. The site is unusual due to its large size, as it occupies forty-seven hectares (116 acres), making it one of the largest castle sites in Gunma Prefecture.[4] Minowa Castle was listed as one of Japan's Top 100 Castles by the Japan Castle Foundation in 2006.[5]
See alsoedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Minowa Castle (Kozuke).
minowa, castle, 箕輪城, minowa, hirayama, style, castle, located, misato, neighborhood, city, takasaki, gunma, prefecture, japan, ruins, have, been, protected, central, government, national, historic, site, since, 1987, 箕輪城takasaki, gunma, prefecture, japanshow, . Minowa Castle 箕輪城 Minowa jō was a hirayama style castle located in the Misato neighborhood of the city of Takasaki Gunma Prefecture Japan The ruins have been protected by the central government as a National Historic Site since 1987 1 Minowa Castle箕輪城Takasaki Gunma Prefecture JapanMinowa CastleShow map of Gunma PrefectureMinowa CastleShow map of JapanCoordinates36 24 17 82 N 138 57 3 45 E 36 4049500 N 138 9509583 E 36 4049500 138 9509583TypeHirayama style JapaneseSite informationControlled byNagano clan Takeda clan Ii clan ConditionruinsSite historyBuilt1512Demolished1598Garrison informationPastcommandersNagano Narimasa Nagano Narimori Sanada Yukitaka Takigawa Kazumasu Hōjō Ujikuni Ii NaomasaNational Historic Site of Japan Contents 1 Background 2 History 3 Current situation 4 See also 5 Literature 6 ReferencesBackground editMinowa Castle is located on a 30 meter high hill at the end of long ridge which extends from Mount Haruna southwest towards former Misato town in the northwestern part of Takasaki This area was located on the Nakasendō highway towards Shinano Province to the west and also on the Mikuni Kaidō towards Echigo Province to the north The castle protected on one side by a deep valley created by the Shirakawa River and on its long narrow hill commanded both strategic roads The castle extends over an area 1200 meters long by 400 meters wide orientated north and southward having two small ridges at its south end Roughly the castle consists of three concentric layers of enclosures The main gate of the castle originally existed at southwestern edge of the hill but later a huge masugata style gate was built next to the river History editDuring the Muromachi period this area was governed by the Nagano clan who claimed descent from Ariwara no Narihira the famed Heian period nobleman and poet By the Muromachi period the Nagano clan were minor warlords controlling western Kōzuke Province and built Minowa castle as their residence in 1512 In 1545 Uesugi Norimasa the Kantō Kanrei and nominal overlord of the Nagano clan was severely defeated by the forces of Hōjō Ujiyasu at the 1546 Battle of Kawagoe His forces were also defeated by Takeda Shingen the following year With the weakening of the Uesugi Nagano Narimasa 1491 1561 switched allegiance to the Hōjō In 1560 the Uesugi clan under the leadership of Uesugi Kenshin attempted to re take Kōzuke and the Nagano clan switched allegiance back to the Uesugi Takeda Shingen then attacked the Uesugi in support of the Hōjō and the Nagano at Minowa Castle were their primary targets When Nagano Narimasa died in 1561 he stated in his will that his son Nagano Narimori should continue the fight against Takeda Shingen to the last man if necessary 2 Narimori continued to resist the Takeda for the next five years but gradually lost the support of his surrounding neighbors and allies Finally in 1566 during the Siege of Minowa by 20 000 Takeda soldiers 3 a sortie out of the castle was led by Kamiizumi Nobutsuna this however resulted in a successful counter assault by the Shingen forces The entire castle fell and after desperate fight Nagano Narimori killed himself in the inner Bailey of Minowa Castle A small portion was still held by Kamiizumi Nobutsuna which so impressed by Nobutsuna that he let Nobutsuna leave unharmed even asking Nobutsuna to join him Nobutsuna declined Takeda Shingen used Minowa Castle has his regional headquarters in Kōzuke and at various times appointed generals such as Sanada Yukitaka and Naitō Masatoyo as castellans Under the Takeda the castle was expanded by the construction of a redoubt called the Maru Umadashi a half rounded buffer area with a crescent shaped dry moat in front of the gate to protect the castle s vulnerable northeastern edge After the annihilation of the Takeda clan by Oda Nobunaga in 1582 the castle was awarded to Takigawa Kazumasa However only three months later Nobunaga was assassinated in the Honnō ji Incident On hearing of Nobunaga s death the Hōjō clan immediately seized Minowa Castle recognizing its strategic importance The Hōjō also modified the defenses of the castle in line with contemporary fortification technology In 1590 when Toyotomi Hideyoshi began his campaign against the Hōjō he sent a large army along the Nakasendō against Minowa Castle However the garrison at the castle surrendered without a fight Subsequently the Kantō region was awarded to Tokugawa Ieyasu who assigned Ii Naomasa as castellan Ii Naomasa significantly expanded the castle and dug deep and wide dry moats and replaced earthen ramparts with stone walls along the main route into the castle In 1598 he built Takasaki Castle and relocated his seat there Minowa Castle was abandoned and allowed to fall into ruin 4 Current situation editAll that remains of Minowa Castle currently are the ruins of the stone walls earthworks and moats The site is unusual due to its large size as it occupies forty seven hectares 116 acres making it one of the largest castle sites in Gunma Prefecture 4 Minowa Castle was listed as one of Japan s Top 100 Castles by the Japan Castle Foundation in 2006 5 See also edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Minowa Castle Kozuke List of Historic Sites of Japan Gunma 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 References edit 箕輪城 Cultural Heritage Online in Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs Retrieved 25 December 2016 Nabeshima Numata Archived from the original on 2019 12 28 Retrieved 2008 06 02 Turnbull Stephen 1998 The Samurai Sourcebook Cassell amp Co pp 217 218 ISBN 1854095234 a b 日本吉 Nippon Kichi Japan Castle Foundation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Minowa Castle amp oldid 1214639026, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
