Site of Takayama Ukon's Church
This marks the site of Takayama Ukon's Catholic Church that he built in 1574.
Takayama Ukon (1552-1615) is one of the least understood yet one of the most controversial daimyō of the later part of Japan’s Sengoku (warring states) period. A devout Christian, Ukon was a darling of the Jesuits, and as a result, his overlord, the Toyotomi Hideyoshi, eyed his loyalties suspiciously, even though he had fought well on some his military campaigns. Ukon’s original fief was in Takatsuki, located in present day Osaka, where he also had a castle. Ukon was a great propagator of his faith, converting his subjects to Catholicism—although some contest that many of these conversions were forced. The Samurai Archives Wiki states that 18,000 out of Takatsuki’s 25,000 inhabitants had been converted, and when Ukon was transferred from Takatsuki to his new fief of Akashi near Kobe in 1585. However, during Hideyoshi’s conquest of Kyushu, Hideyoshi’s suspicions of Ukon’s loyalties mounted and he was dispossessed of his fief. After taking refuge with another Christian daimyō, Konshi Yukinaga, Ukon eventually became a retainer of the powerful and influential Maeda Toshiie in 1588. Apparently, Toshiie trusted him. Persecution against Christianity only got worse, and in 1614, the Tokugawa banned the religion. Rather than give up his beliefs or fight for them, Ukon decided to go into exile in the Philippines in November of that year. A mere 40 days later, he died in Manila. It’s hard for me to make any judge Takayama Ukon. Was he a good daimyō? A brave general and not a coward as some have alleged? Did he actually force his citizens to convert to Christianity and persecute Buddhists? I honestly don’t know enough about him. All I can say is that he was a firm believer in his religious faith, and for this reason, he was lionized by his foreign Jesuit contemporaries and looked to as a historical hero by today’s Catholic community in Japan.
Now about the castle, Takatsuki-jō and its fief was ruled by the Nagai family during the Edo period. If you are a fan of the Bakumatsu period and know the history of Chōshū and the role that this domain played in overthrowing the Tokugawa Bakufu, then you may be familiar with the family name of “Nagai”. And if you look at the family crest of the Nagai of Takatsuki, you’d probably say it was identical to the crest of the Mōri, the ruling daimyō family of Chōshū. That’s because it is identical and the Nagai of Takatsuki are a branch of the Nagai of Chōshū, who were asked by the Tokugawa in 1649 to take over the reins of power in Takatsuki. The Nagai, starting with the first d daimyō, Nagamasa, ruled the area until 1869.
Takatsuki was an important commercial and transportation hub because it was between Osaka and Kyoto. The Saigoku road, which connected Nishinomiya (in Kobe) with Kyoto, went through the town as well as did the Yodo River. As a result, the castle was the largest in the Hokusetsu region of what now comprises the northern parts of the Osaka municipality. The Nagai gradually increased the size of the castle and expanded its moats outward from when it was a Sengoku period castle. The castle was about 630 meters long and 510 meters wide after the last round of expansion. Unfortunately, it was destroyed after the Meiji Restoration and the castle’s stone walls were smashed into rocks to be used for the rail bed that was built to connect Osaka with Kyoto.
Sources: Samurai Archives Samurai Wiki and the Takatsuki City’s Shiroato History Museum
Site of Takayama Ukon's Church
This marks the site of Takayama Ukon's Catholic Church that he built in 1574.
Takayama Ukon (1552-1615) is one of the least understood yet one of the most controversial daimyō of the later part of Japan’s Sengoku (warring states) period. A devout Christian, Ukon was a darling of the Jesuits, and as a result, his overlord, the Toyotomi Hideyoshi, eyed his loyalties suspiciously, even though he had fought well on some his military campaigns. Ukon’s original fief was in Takatsuki, located in present day Osaka, where he also had a castle. Ukon was a great propagator of his faith, converting his subjects to Catholicism—although some contest that many of these conversions were forced. The Samurai Archives Wiki states that 18,000 out of Takatsuki’s 25,000 inhabitants had been converted, and when Ukon was transferred from Takatsuki to his new fief of Akashi near Kobe in 1585. However, during Hideyoshi’s conquest of Kyushu, Hideyoshi’s suspicions of Ukon’s loyalties mounted and he was dispossessed of his fief. After taking refuge with another Christian daimyō, Konshi Yukinaga, Ukon eventually became a retainer of the powerful and influential Maeda Toshiie in 1588. Apparently, Toshiie trusted him. Persecution against Christianity only got worse, and in 1614, the Tokugawa banned the religion. Rather than give up his beliefs or fight for them, Ukon decided to go into exile in the Philippines in November of that year. A mere 40 days later, he died in Manila. It’s hard for me to make any judge Takayama Ukon. Was he a good daimyō? A brave general and not a coward as some have alleged? Did he actually force his citizens to convert to Christianity and persecute Buddhists? I honestly don’t know enough about him. All I can say is that he was a firm believer in his religious faith, and for this reason, he was lionized by his foreign Jesuit contemporaries and looked to as a historical hero by today’s Catholic community in Japan.
Now about the castle, Takatsuki-jō and its fief was ruled by the Nagai family during the Edo period. If you are a fan of the Bakumatsu period and know the history of Chōshū and the role that this domain played in overthrowing the Tokugawa Bakufu, then you may be familiar with the family name of “Nagai”. And if you look at the family crest of the Nagai of Takatsuki, you’d probably say it was identical to the crest of the Mōri, the ruling daimyō family of Chōshū. That’s because it is identical and the Nagai of Takatsuki are a branch of the Nagai of Chōshū, who were asked by the Tokugawa in 1649 to take over the reins of power in Takatsuki. The Nagai, starting with the first d daimyō, Nagamasa, ruled the area until 1869.
Takatsuki was an important commercial and transportation hub because it was between Osaka and Kyoto. The Saigoku road, which connected Nishinomiya (in Kobe) with Kyoto, went through the town as well as did the Yodo River. As a result, the castle was the largest in the Hokusetsu region of what now comprises the northern parts of the Osaka municipality. The Nagai gradually increased the size of the castle and expanded its moats outward from when it was a Sengoku period castle. The castle was about 630 meters long and 510 meters wide after the last round of expansion. Unfortunately, it was destroyed after the Meiji Restoration and the castle’s stone walls were smashed into rocks to be used for the rail bed that was built to connect Osaka with Kyoto.
Sources: Samurai Archives Samurai Wiki and the Takatsuki City’s Shiroato History Museum