View allAll Photos Tagged daimyo
You know Japan is truly in the middle of a Sengoku history boom when they start selling bath salts themed (or even scented?) with famous daimyo from the period. The Sengoku boom is being fueled by young women, believe it or not, many of whom have developed "things" for various warlords and other famous samurai from the period based on how they are portrayed in manga, TV dramas and video games. Yes, video games. The game "Sengoku Basara" from a few years back is credited with really helping to turn the growing wave of interest in the Sengoku period, particularly among young women, into a pop culture tsunami.
L to R: Daimyo, old retainer (2nd row), samurai, naginata samurai, archer, and Buddhist warrior monk.
A more traditional army of professional warrior retainers (samurai).
Note shield behind archer, for his use.
Disregard the ninja, you can't see them. They're secret.
Three Warlords of Tohoku region（Date Masamune,Gamou Ujisato,Uesugi Kagekatsu）I was awarded the Excellence Award in the contest（Sen-Baku＊ Festival 2012 Illustration Contest）. This work was renewed the award-winning work.＊Sen-Baku（Sengoku period and late Tokugawa shogunate）
Paris , musée national des arts asiatiques – Guimet
milieu 18 è siecle
Japon , période Edo 1673–1745
armoiries du domaine de Takasu aujourd'hui Kaizu
seigneur Tokugawa Munekatsu
armure à la cuirasse en écailles en fer laqué or
casque réalisé par l'armurier Myochin Muneakira
masque école de Myochin présente une expression féroce style Ressi
mid 18 th century
Japan, Edo period 1673-1745
coat of arms of Takasu Domain today Kaizu
Lord Tokugawa Munekatsu
armor with cuirass in scales in gold lacquered iron
helmet made by the gunsmith Myochin Muneakira
Myochin's school mask presents a ferocious expression Ressi style
Would Hideyoshi Recognize This Castle? I don't think so.
Osaka Castle has a long and storied history. It all began in 1496 when the priest Rennyo built a small temple called the Ishiyama Gobo on the grounds of the present-day castle. In 1533, the Hongan-ji temple moved from Yamashina in Kyoto to Osaka and made the Osaka location its head temple. As Japan plunged deeper into the chaos of civil war, the Ishiyama Hongan-ji grew in spiritual, political, economic and military power, challenging the rule of daimyo and led many popular military revolts. This Buddhist temple had become a center of military might that stood in Oda Nobuanga’s path of unifying Japan and in 1570, full-scale war broke out between him and the warrior monks. After 10 long years of siege and fighting, the temple finally surrendered to the Oda, and Nobunaga ordered that the temple and its remaining fortifications be burnt to the ground in 1580. Three years later, with Nobunaga dead and Hideyoshi starting to consolidate his power, he chose Osaka as his base and began building a castle on the ruins of the Ishiyama Hongan-ji compound. The main keep was completed in 1585 and was considered the largest, most splendid and impregnable fortress of its day. In 1599, a year after the death of Hideyoshi, his son and heir, Hideyori, along with his mother Yodo, permanently moved into Osaka Castle from Fushimi Castle in Kyoto.
By 1614, it was clear that the Tokugawa were spoiling for a fight with the Toyotomi as they wanted to eliminate any threat that Hideyori could mount from this massive castle. Therefore, in the winter of that year, Ieyasu and his son, Hidetada (now Shogun) launched the winter siege of Osaka. It was a fairly inconclusive affair, but as one of the terms of peace and as a goodwill gesture towards the Tokugawa, Hideyori agreed to fill in the outer moat. However, the Tokugawa forces started filling in the inner moat, severely weakening the castle’s defenses. It was only a matter of time before fighting broke out again under these conditions, and in the summer of 1615, the Tokugawa coalition once again laid siege to the castle. After some heavy and dramatic fighting in which western artillery was used against the castle, Hideyori and Yodo committed suicide when it became clear that all was lost and the castle’s main keep erupted in flames and was completely destroyed. After two major sieges and the final fire, the castle grounds were a heap of ruins.
However, Osaka was an important economic and political center and in 1620, the Tokugawa Shogunate decided to rebuild the castle. In 1626, a new white-colored main keep was built, symbolizing a new age for the castle. In the Toyotomi period, the color of the keep had been black. By 1629 the remaining structures were completed. Bad luck continued to dog the castle and in 1665 lightning struck the main keep and it was destroyed. Through the years, lightning would damage other turrets and structures. I868 also proved to be a disastrous year for Osaka Castle as this was the year of the Meiji Restoration. Following the defeat of the Shogunal forces at nearby Toba-Fushimi, the Tokugawa commanders based at the mighty fortress of Osaka decided to make a stand against the forces of Satsuma and Chōshū. During the fighting, much of the castle fell to the torch and the charred scars of this fiery tragedy are still visible on many of the Castle’s stone walls.
In 1931, with civilian donations, Osaka Castle’s main tower was rebuilt for a third time and the castle became home to a regional HQ for Japan’s Imperial Army. This was a bad move, as this made the castle a legitimate military target for US bombers and attack aircraft in the closing months of World War II. Many surviving turrets from the Edo period and other historical were bombed or burned to bits. In the 1950s, Osaka Castle and many of its structures were designated Important Cultural Properties and the entire site was designated an Important Historical Property by the central government.
This Catholic Church is a located near the ruins of Takayama Ukon's original church that was 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
Daimyo-Ren, 大名連, Group Daimyo. Daimyo means a land lord which governs former Han, 藩, as big as contemporary prefecture.
This person is playing the role of Daimyo. The young person at the left is Kosho, 小姓, nearest servant to master. The lady on the left is Jochu, 女中, a woman who serves Daimyo in his castle. Her Kimono's pattern is from the wing of arrow called Yagasuri, 矢絣, common pattern for Jochu.
Tokushima, Tokushima, Japan, Aug 2000
Olympus C2000Z
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Awa-odori, 阿波踊り, Awa-dance, most fabulous summer dance festival in japan.
Awa is the old name of contemporary Tokusima, 徳島, South eastern part of Shikoku Island. It has at lease 400 years' history.
For 4 days in mid summer holiday season, Obon, お盆, Tokushima city are crowded with people, and about 1000 groups are dancing around in the city.
There's various kinds of dancing. The most interesting is the man's dancing which needs big skill and ability. Another is women's mass dancing, chanting cool words in charming voice.
The most famous words is "Odoru Aho ni MIru Aho, onaji Aho nara odranya Son Son", which means "Dancing is stupid, watching is stupid too. If to be stupid, it's losing not to dance!"
There are many videos uploaded to youtube but mostly not so good, these are better ones.
Shunkō-in (春光院, Temple of the Ray of Spring Light) is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan and belongs to the Myōshin-ji (Temple of Excellent Mind) school, which is the largest among 14 Japanese Rinzai Zen Buddhist schools. The temple was established in 1590 by Horio Yoshiharu, who was a feudal lord, or daimyō, of Matsue in present-day Shimane Prefecture. This temple houses important historical objects that reflect the multifaceted religious and artistic atmosphere in Japan from the sixteenth century onward.
The Bell of Nanban-ji is a Jesuit bell made in Portugal in 1577. The bell was used at Nanbanji Church, which was established by Jesuit Father Gnecchi-Soldo Organtino with the support of Oda Nobunaga in 1576. However, the church was destroyed in 1587 because Regent Toyotomi Hideyoshi made the first law against Christians in Japan. The Bell came to Shunkō-in during the Edo period. During World War II, the grandfather of the present vice-abbot buried the bell in the temple gardens to prevent destruction by the state authorities.
The Edo period (between 1603 and 1867) was the dark age of Japanese Christians. Christianity was banned, and Christians were systematically eliminated by the Tokugawa shogunate, or Edo bakufu. However, some Christians kept their faith and hid their religious identity. Those hidden Christians made their crosses and graves to resemble the Buddhist statues, pagodas, and stone lanterns. Shunkō-in’s hidden Christian lantern is one of those religious objects.
Several sliding door panels at Shunkōin were painted by Kanō Eigaku. Some of the paintings have Confucian teachings as their theme. Confucianism was very important to samurai, or warriors, during the Edo period because Confucianism taught samurai about honor, loyalty, and honesty.
Kumamoto castle in Kumamoto City, Kumamoto prefecture. The first feudal load of the castle was Kiyomasa Kato, a Daimyo in Sengoku Era. He had built it in 1607. This is the Great Dangeon of the castle.
"Kakegawa Castle is a hirayama-style Japanese castle. It was the seat of various fudai daimyō who ruled over Kakegawa Domain, Tōtōmi Province, in what is now central Kakegawa, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Kakegawa Castle remained in ruins through the Shōwa period, with the exception of the Ni-no-Maru Goten, built by Ota Sukekatsu after the earthquake, and registered with the government in 1980 as an Important Cultural Property. Other surviving portions of the castle included a portion of the moats and stone walls, and the drum house. A gate from the main bailey of the castle built in 1659 was given to the Buddhist temple of Yusan-ji in Fukuroi, where it now serves as the main gate of that temple. It is also a National ICP.
In April 1994, sections of the innermost bailey (honmaru), including some walls, a yagura, and the keep (tenshukaku), were reconstructed using the original methods. The tenshukaku's reconstruction was done based on a few diagrams of the original tenshukaku that survived, and marked the first time in post-war Japan that a tenshukaku had been reconstructed in wood using the original construction methods. The cost of 1 billion yen for the reconstruction was raised largely through public donation.
In 2006, the site of Kakegawa Castle was listed as No.42 of the 100 Fine Castles of Japan by the Japan Castle Foundation, primarily due to its historical significance."
This seated statue of Toyotomi Hideyoshi placed on the right side of Yōmei-mon. A similar statue of Yoritomo Minamoto is placed on the left side. Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣 秀吉) (1536-1598), was a daimyo (territorial lord) in the Sengoku period who unified the political factions of Japan.
The Yōmei-mon (陽明門), or the Sunset Gate or Sunlight Gate, also known as the Higurashi-mon, or Twilight Gate or From Sunrise to Sunset Gate, as visitors can spend all day looking at it, was constructed in 1636. The 11.1-meter high, 7-meter wide, 4.4-meter wooden gate is more in the Chinese style than the Japanese style, lavishly decorated with glimmering gold leaf and 508 intricate, colored carvings.
The final supporting pillar of the gate is placed upside down--a deliberate error to introduce imperfection and thus avoid arousing envy in the gods.
Nikkō Tōshō-gū (日光東照宮) is a lavishly decorated shrine complex consisting of more than a dozen Shinto and Buddhist buildings set in a beautiful forest. It was initially built during the Edo period in 1617 by Tokugawa Hidetada (徳川 秀忠), the second shogun, as a simple mausoleum for his father, Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川 家康) (1543-1615), the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. Ieyasu was buried on Mount Kunozan on his death in 1616, but according to his testament, his remains were to be moved to their last resting place at Nikko. It was enlarged during the first half of the 187th century by Ieyasu’s grandson, Tokugawa Iemitsu (徳川 家光), the third shogun. Some 15,000 craftsmen were employed on the construction of the Toshogu Shrine, most of them coming from Kyoto and Nara, where there was a great flowering of architecture at that period. The result was a complex of buildings with an over-lavish profusion of decoration, incorporating all the sumptuousness of the preceding Momoyama period.
Today the shrine is dedicated to the spirits of Ieyasu and two other of Japan's most influential historical personalities—Toyotomi Hideyoshi; and Minamoto no Yorimoto (源 頼朝) (1147-1199), the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate, ruling from 1192 until 1199.
Together with Rinnō-ji and Futarasan Shrine, Tōshō-gū forms the Shrines and Temples of Nikkō UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Osaka Castle has a long and storied history. It all began in 1496 when the priest Rennyo built a small temple called the Ishiyama Gobo on the grounds of the present-day castle. In 1533, the Hongan-ji temple moved from Yamashina in Kyoto to Osaka and made the Osaka location its head temple. As Japan plunged deeper into the chaos of civil war, the Ishiyama Hongan-ji grew in spiritual, political, economic and military power, challenging the rule of daimyo and led many popular military revolts. This Buddhist temple had become a center of military might that stood in Oda Nobuanga’s path of unifying Japan and in 1570, full-scale war broke out between him and the warrior monks. After 10 long years of siege and fighting, the temple finally surrendered to the Oda, and Nobunaga ordered that the temple and its remaining fortifications be burnt to the ground in 1580. Three years later, with Nobunaga dead and Hideyoshi starting to consolidate his power, he chose Osaka as his base and began building a castle on the ruins of the Ishiyama Hongan-ji compound. The main keep was completed in 1585 and was considered the largest, most splendid and impregnable fortress of its day. In 1599, a year after the death of Hideyoshi, his son and heir, Hideyori, along with his mother Yodo, permanently moved into Osaka Castle from Fushimi Castle in Kyoto.
By 1614, it was clear that the Tokugawa were spoiling for a fight with the Toyotomi as they wanted to eliminate any threat that Hideyori could mount from this massive castle. Therefore, in the winter of that year, Ieyasu and his son, Hidetada (now Shogun) launched the winter siege of Osaka. It was a fairly inconclusive affair, but as one of the terms of peace and as a goodwill gesture towards the Tokugawa, Hideyori agreed to fill in the outer moat. However, the Tokugawa forces started filling in the inner moat, severely weakening the castle’s defenses. It was only a matter of time before fighting broke out again under these conditions, and in the summer of 1615, the Tokugawa coalition once again laid siege to the castle. After some heavy and dramatic fighting in which western artillery was used against the castle, Hideyori and Yodo committed suicide when it became clear that all was lost and the castle’s main keep erupted in flames and was completely destroyed. After two major sieges and the final fire, the castle grounds were a heap of ruins.
However, Osaka was an important economic and political center and in 1620, the Tokugawa Shogunate decided to rebuild the castle. In 1626, a new white-colored main keep was built, symbolizing a new age for the castle. In the Toyotomi period, the color of the keep had been black. By 1629 the remaining structures were completed. Bad luck continued to dog the castle and in 1665 lightning struck the main keep and it was destroyed. Through the years, lightning would damage other turrets and structures. I868 also proved to be a disastrous year for Osaka Castle as this was the year of the Meiji Restoration. Following the defeat of the Shogunal forces at nearby Toba-Fushimi, the Tokugawa commanders based at the mighty fortress of Osaka decided to make a stand against the forces of Satsuma and Chōshū. During the fighting, much of the castle fell to the torch and the charred scars of this fiery tragedy are still visible on many of the Castle’s stone walls.
In 1931, with civilian donations, Osaka Castle’s main tower was rebuilt for a third time and the castle became home to a regional HQ for Japan’s Imperial Army. This was a bad move, as this made the castle a legitimate military target for US bombers and attack aircraft in the closing months of World War II. Many surviving turrets from the Edo period and other historical were bombed or burned to bits. In the 1950s, Osaka Castle and many of its structures were designated Important Cultural Properties and the entire site was designated an Important Historical Property by the central government.
Showcasing the Nakajima Tea House and the 300 year old Black Pine, well known sites at the Gardens.
The actual gardens were originally constructed over 350 years ago in 1654 during the Edo Era and were used for falconry by members and friends of the Tokugawa Shogunate. It was at that time given to Matsudaira (don't worry, he was part of the Tokugawa Family) Tsunashige by his older brother, The Shogun Tokugawa Ietsuna.
Tsunashige was the Daimyo of Kofu at the time, so the Gardens were then called "Kofu Hama Yashiki," or Kofu Coastal Pavilion. The Nakajima Tea House was raised in 1707 at the middle of the "Shiori no Ike," a Tide Water Pond.
When Tsunashige's son Ienobu was given the gardens, he continued to build and improve the land, planting what was to grow into the 300 year old Pine. Becoming the 6th Shogun in 1709, he also gave it the name "Hama Goten," using it as a kind of resort away from Edo Castle until it was leveled by fire in 1725. It wasn't renovated until nearly the end of that century.
In 1868, at the beginning of the Meiji Era, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were given control of it and it was renamed Hama Rikyu. It was used by Foreign Dignitaries, including the U.S. President Grant in 1879. It was in his honor that a Western Style State Guest House, constructed of stone, was built. In only 10 years, however, it was in such disrepair that it was leveled.
The Gardens were damaged on September 1, 1923 during the Great Kanto Earthquake, but remained generally intact. Unfortunately, they were then bombed by the Americans in WWII during the indiscriminate carpet bombing of November 29, 1944. Surprisingly, the 300 year old Pine survived both the Earthquake and the bombings.
On November 3, 1945, what remained of the Gardens was given to what was left of Tokyo. It was opened to the public in April of 1946 and only 6 years later in November 22, 1952 the Garden was designated as both a "Special Historic Site" as well as a "Special Place of Scenic Beauty." These designations afforded it protection and funds for subsequent renovations.
The Nakajima Tea House, restored in 1983, is open to visitors, with Matcha and Okashi (Japanese Green Tea and Sweet) offered for ￥500. I personally think it's a bit expensive considering the recession began over a decade ago and the ¥300 entrance fee will have already been paid--but as long as there are those that are willing to pay, it'll stay that price.
The whole park is surrounded by high rise buildings and a constant din of traffic, both freeway and waterway--the water ferries and site seeing boats are seemingly always blaring some high pitched tone and any peace that may have been afforded here is lost.
The 5 yen was put there by me, for scale.
Taken with my iPhone
Notes:
• Hama Goten in Kanji is written 浜御殿 and means "Coastal Palace."
• Hama Rikyu in Kanji is written 浜離宮 and means "Detached Coastal Palace" or "Detached Imperial Villa."
• Falconry demonstrations are currently given each New Year.
The garden of the New Otani Hotel in Tokyo stands on the property that was once the primary yashiki (estate) of the great Sengoku period feudal lord, Katō Kiyomasa (1562-1611). Kiyomasa was a trusted retainer and general of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the warlord who unified Japan in the wake of Oda Nobunaga’s assassination in 1582. Kiyomasa rose to fame during the battle of Shizugatake and soon found himself at the vanguard of many of Hideyoshi’s campaigns, including the invasion of Korea in 1592, in which Kiyomasa’s reputation as a master tactician, fierce fighter, castle builder and as a cruel man grew. To this day, the mere mention of Kiyomasa’s name in Korea is sure to bring a frown. Although loyal to the Toyotomi, if there was one thing that Kiyomasa hated more than Christianity and poor martial spirit among the samurai, it was Ishida Mitsunari, leader of the Western coalition of daimyo that opposed the rise of Tokugawa Ieyasu. It was this hatred of Mitsunari that drove Kiyomasa into the Tokugawa camp where he played a pivotal role in the Kyushu theatre of the Sekigahara campaign in 1600. As a result of his service, Kiyomasa was rewarded by becoming one of the elite daimyo who were allowed to build his Edo estate near the shogun’s castle in the upscale area that became known as Kioi-cho, named after the elite Kii Tokugawa, Owari Tokugawa and Ii daimyo families that kept their residences in this area.
As Kiyomasa was loyal to the house of Toyotomi and as a final showdown between the Tokugawa and Toyotomi grew, the Tokugawa began to have their doubts about where Kiyomasa’s ultimate loyalty rested. Fearful of having to face this fierce and influential warlord on the opposing side of the battlefield when the fighting would inevitably erupt in 1615, it has been suggested that the Tokugawa had him poisoned. Shortly after the fall of the Toyotomi, Kiyomasa’s son was accused of disloyalty (most likely a trumped up charge) and the family’s fief in Kumamoto, Kyushu was seized by the shogunate and the clan was abolished. Soon after this, the grounds of the Katō estate in Tokyo were given to the Ii family.
When the New Otani Hotel was constructed, it was decided to keep the traditional Japanese garden intact. Today the garden covers more than 10 acres and has over 800 trees, 10,000 flowering plants, ponds, a waterfall, and 42 stone lanterns, many of which date back from the Edo (1603-1868) and the Kamakura (1192-1333) periods.
Only samurai and daimyo (lords) were authorized to carry two swords, one short one and one long one. In this still from "Zatoichi," the samurai has a katana and a tanto, the long one and the short one. Many samurai carried the long katana and the medium-sized wakizashi, but they were actually quite heavy and were cut down for convenience.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sekigahara
zh.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%e9%97%9c%e5%8e%9f%e4%...
The Battle of Sekigahara (Modern Japanese: 関ヶ原の戦い; historical Japanese: 關ヶ原の戰ひ, Sekigahara no Tatakai?), popularly known as the Realm Divide (天下分け目の戦い; Tenka Wakeme no Tatakai), was a decisive battle on September 15, 1600 (on the ancient Chinese calendar, October 21 on the modern calendar) that cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu. Though it would take three more years for Tokugawa to consolidate his position of power over the Toyotomi clan and the daimyo, Sekigahara is widely considered to be the unofficial beginning of the Tokugawa bakufu, the last shogunate to control Japan.
Détail (plaque avant) d'une armure d'une branche du clan Ogasawara 小笠原氏.
Expo Daymio - Seigneurs de la Guerre au Japon.
Musée Guimet (MNAAG), Paris (75).
Armure datée vers 1740, composée de fer, fer repoussé, soie, laque.
Plus d'information sur le clan Ogasawara : fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Ogasawara
Here's a closer look at the top of Osaka Castle. Unfortunately, I was at a distance and the limitations of my older camera wouldn't allow me to get a crisp shot of the gold relief work.
Osaka Castle has a long and storied history. It all began in 1496 when the priest Rennyo built a small temple called the Ishiyama Gobo on the grounds of the present-day castle. In 1533, the Hongan-ji temple moved from Yamashina in Kyoto to Osaka and made the Osaka location its head temple. As Japan plunged deeper into the chaos of civil war, the Ishiyama Hongan-ji grew in spiritual, political, economic and military power, challenging the rule of daimyo and led many popular military revolts. This Buddhist temple had become a center of military might that stood in Oda Nobuanga’s path of unifying Japan and in 1570, full-scale war broke out between him and the warrior monks. After 10 long years of siege and fighting, the temple finally surrendered to the Oda, and Nobunaga ordered that the temple and its remaining fortifications be burnt to the ground in 1580. Three years later, with Nobunaga dead and Hideyoshi starting to consolidate his power, he chose Osaka as his base and began building a castle on the ruins of the Ishiyama Hongan-ji compound. The main keep was completed in 1585 and was considered the largest, most splendid and impregnable fortress of its day. In 1599, a year after the death of Hideyoshi, his son and heir, Hideyori, along with his mother Yodo, permanently moved into Osaka Castle from Fushimi Castle in Kyoto.
By 1614, it was clear that the Tokugawa were spoiling for a fight with the Toyotomi as they wanted to eliminate any threat that Hideyori could mount from this massive castle. Therefore, in the winter of that year, Ieyasu and his son, Hidetada (now Shogun) launched the winter siege of Osaka. It was a fairly inconclusive affair, but as one of the terms of peace and as a goodwill gesture towards the Tokugawa, Hideyori agreed to fill in the outer moat. However, the Tokugawa forces started filling in the inner moat, severely weakening the castle’s defenses. It was only a matter of time before fighting broke out again under these conditions, and in the summer of 1615, the Tokugawa coalition once again laid siege to the castle. After some heavy and dramatic fighting in which western artillery was used against the castle, Hideyori and Yodo committed suicide when it became clear that all was lost and the castle’s main keep erupted in flames and was completely destroyed. After two major sieges and the final fire, the castle grounds were a heap of ruins.
However, Osaka was an important economic and political center and in 1620, the Tokugawa Shogunate decided to rebuild the castle. In 1626, a new white-colored main keep was built, symbolizing a new age for the castle. In the Toyotomi period, the color of the keep had been black. By 1629 the remaining structures were completed. Bad luck continued to dog the castle and in 1665 lightning struck the main keep and it was destroyed. Through the years, lightning would damage other turrets and structures. I868 also proved to be a disastrous year for Osaka Castle as this was the year of the Meiji Restoration. Following the defeat of the Shogunal forces at nearby Toba-Fushimi, the Tokugawa commanders based at the mighty fortress of Osaka decided to make a stand against the forces of Satsuma and Chōshū. During the fighting, much of the castle fell to the torch and the charred scars of this fiery tragedy are still visible on many of the Castle’s stone walls.
In 1931, with civilian donations, Osaka Castle’s main tower was rebuilt for a third time and the castle became home to a regional HQ for Japan’s Imperial Army. This was a bad move, as this made the castle a legitimate military target for US bombers and attack aircraft in the closing months of World War II. Many surviving turrets from the Edo period and other historical were bombed or burned to bits. In the 1950s, Osaka Castle and many of its structures were designated Important Cultural Properties and the entire site was designated an Important Historical Property by the central government.
Sakana-chō (肴町) in Koga City, was a part of the town where daimyo traveling along the Nikkō Kaidō were greeted by high ranking domain officials. Old buildings and reminders of the Edo period can still be found in this area. As you can see in the photo, the March 11, 2011 magnitude 9.0 quake did a lot of damage to these old structures.
Koga City, in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, has a history that dates back to ancient Jomon times and was even mentioned in the Man’yōshu anthology of poems that was compiled in the AD 800s. During the Muromachi period, Koga became the base for the Kantō branch of Ashikaga under the leadership of Shigeuji, who led a rebellion against the Ashikaga shogunate.
During the Edo period (1603-1868), the fief of Koga was ruled by many hereditary daimyo whose families had pledged loyalty to Tokugawa Ieyasu prior to the battle of Sekigahara in 1600. The families that ruled Koga included the Ogasawara, various branches of the Matsudaira, Okudaira, Nagai, Honda and Doi. Perhaps Doi Toshikatsu, who became tairō (chief elder of the council of elders - rōjū) during the reign of Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, was the most famous ruler of Koga.
Another famous ruler of Koga was Doi Toshitsura (1789-1848), who is sometimes called the “The Snow Lord”. Apart from being a key advisor to the Tokugawa shogunate, he was the first person in Japan to seriously study the designs of snowflakes. He illustrated his findings in a book Sekka Zusetsu (Pictorial Illustrations of Snowflakes) and some of the patterns became popular for clothing and decorative purposes.
Today, there is nothing left of the Edo period Koga castle, but numerous old temples, shrines, samurai and farmer homes remain. Unfortunately, many of these buildings suffered damage during the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011 and repairs were ongoing when I visited.
Daimyo Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who succeeded Oda Nobunaga, was well-known for his unification of Japan, helping to bring to an end the Sengoku, or Warring States period.
At the age of 50, he finally fathered his only son, Sutemaru, or Tsurumatsu. The little boy must have well-loved and anticipated, as the only heir of Toyotomi, meant to carry on his dynasty. Sadly, this small prince only lived just over two years, dying in September 1591. The beauty and richness of the Momoyama period are shown here, in these items a rich and all powerful warlord bestowed upon his son.
From the Tokyo National exhibit Masterpieces of the Zen Culture from Myoshinji, February 2009.
Owned by Toyotomi Sutemaru (1598-5191).
Azuchi-Momoyama period, 16th century.
Domaru armor, 21.0 cm
This child's armor is of the domaru type, closed on the right side with cord.
This armor is covered with leather pressed with gold leaf painted with cranes, turtles and pine trees.
Myoushinji Temple.
Thanks to Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons and Chris 73 for this photo.
Hamarikyu Gardens is a public park alongside Tokyo Bay next to the futuristic Shiodome district. The park is at the mouth of the Sumida River and is a landscaped stroll garden surrounding Shioiri Pond, whose level changes with the tides. The park is surrounded by a moat filled by Tokyo Bay and was once the site of a villa of a feudal lord. It later became the Imperial guesthouse. In 1946 it became a public park. Traditional falcon and goshawk hunting techniques are demonstrated daily. I can't believe I missed that!
The garden of the New Otani Hotel in Tokyo stands on the property that was once the primary yashiki (estate) of the great Sengoku period feudal lord, Katō Kiyomasa (1562-1611). Kiyomasa was a trusted retainer and general of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the warlord who unified Japan in the wake of Oda Nobunaga’s assassination in 1582. Kiyomasa rose to fame during the battle of Shizugatake and soon found himself at the vanguard of many of Hideyoshi’s campaigns, including the invasion of Korea in 1592, in which Kiyomasa’s reputation as a master tactician, fierce fighter, castle builder and as a cruel man grew. To this day, the mere mention of Kiyomasa’s name in Korea is sure to bring a frown. Although loyal to the Toyotomi, if there was one thing that Kiyomasa hated more than Christianity and poor martial spirit among the samurai, it was Ishida Mitsunari, leader of the Western coalition of daimyo that opposed the rise of Tokugawa Ieyasu. It was this hatred of Mitsunari that drove Kiyomasa into the Tokugawa camp where he played a pivotal role in the Kyushu theatre of the Sekigahara campaign in 1600. As a result of his service, Kiyomasa was rewarded by becoming one of the elite daimyo who were allowed to build his Edo estate near the shogun’s castle in the upscale area that became known as Kioi-cho, named after the elite Kii Tokugawa, Owari Tokugawa and Ii daimyo families that kept their residences in this area.
As Kiyomasa was loyal to the house of Toyotomi and as a final showdown between the Tokugawa and Toyotomi grew, the Tokugawa began to have their doubts about where Kiyomasa’s ultimate loyalty rested. Fearful of having to face this fierce and influential warlord on the opposing side of the battlefield when the fighting would inevitably erupt in 1615, it has been suggested that the Tokugawa had him poisoned. Shortly after the fall of the Toyotomi, Kiyomasa’s son was accused of disloyalty (most likely a trumped up charge) and the family’s fief in Kumamoto, Kyushu was seized by the shogunate and the clan was abolished. Soon after this, the grounds of the Katō estate in Tokyo were given to the Ii family.
When the New Otani Hotel was constructed, it was decided to keep the traditional Japanese garden intact. Today the garden covers more than 10 acres and has over 800 trees, 10,000 flowering plants, ponds, a waterfall, and 42 stone lanterns, many of which date back from the Edo (1603-1868) and the Kamakura (1192-1333) periods.
細川忠興とガラシャ夫人のお墓。墓石は、忠興が生前愛好した石灯籠で、千利休から譲られたもの。
The grave of Hosokawa Tadaoki, a famous daimyo in the sengoku period, and his wife, Hosokawa Gracia at Kotoin temple.
Red leaves in summer with the Toto pagoda in the background. Mt. Koya, June 2009.
See the full blog post with VIDEO here:
mignatov.blogspot.com/2009/08/koya-san-kukais-holy-mounta...
And just the video here:
When it came to having castles built, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu ordered their subservient daimyo to bear the burden of providing their wealth, men, material to help build sections of some of Japan’s most magnificent castles. To complete their tasks, the daimyo mobilized craftsmen and labor to transport vast amounts of timber and stones across Japan. Often, daimyo would have their stone masons chisel family crests or other seals into the stones as a way of boasting who supplied these stones and rocks. The original Nagoya castle may have burnt to the ground during WWII, but the original stones survived—and so did the emblems that the stone masons chiseled into them.
Early into the Edo period, as it became clear that a second showdown with the Toyotomi clan would likely happen, Tokugawa Ieyasu ordered that Nagoya Castle be built on the site of the old Oda Castle where Nobunaga was born. As the area stood at an important strategic point along the Tōkaidō Road, Ieyasu wanted to make sure that he had a strong fortress to control the approach midway between Osaka and Edo. Work on the castle started in 1609 and it was completed in 1612. Nagoya Castle became the seat of the Owari Tokugawa clan, who relocated here from nearby Kiyosu Castle, which was dismantled and parts of it were used in the building of Nagoya Castle. The castle with its Honmaru Palace, was along with Himeji Castle, considered one of the most beautiful ones in the entire country. Nagoya Castle was destroyed in a bombing raid by US forces in May 1945 during World War II. The castle was rebuilt, this time using Ferro-concrete and steel in 1959. The Honmaru Palace is also being rebuilt, using traditional materials and techniques when applicable. The first segment will open in 2010, and the construction will finally wrap up in 2017.
Taken inside the daimyo's palace at Kakegawa Castle.
Kakegawa Castle, strategically located along the old Tōkaidō Road in Shizuoka prefecture, is in the heart of one of Japan’s best tea cultivation centers. The peaceful atmosphere that prevails through the area wasn’t always so. Shizuoka prefecture used to be formally a part of Tōtōmi province, in a region known as the Enshū area, which was hotly contested by various warlords during Japan’s Sengoku warring states period that lasted from roughly 1477-1600. The first castle on the site of the present Kakegawa-jō was built in the late 15th century by Asahina Yasuhiro, a retainer of the house of Imagawa, which consolidated its hold over Tōtōmi during and after the Ōnin War (1467–1477). The Ashina continued to hold the castle on behalf of the Imagawa until shortly after their spectacular defeat at Okehazama in 1560. As the Imagawa faded into obscurity, Tōtōmi was carved into two spheres of influence controlled by the competing Tokugawa and Takeda families. The Ashina surrendered Kakegawa Castle to the Tokugawa in 1568.
After the Tokugawa switched fiefs and moved to the Kantō area in 1590, Kakegawa Castle was given by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to his retainer, Yamauchi Kazutoyo, who built up the castle and the town until he was given the domain of Tosa on the island of Shikoku following the battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Following the departure of the Yamauchi, various daimyo held the castle until it was given to the Ōta clan in 1746 who held it until the abolishment of the feudal system in 1872. The main keep that Yamanouchi Kazutoyo built was destroyed in an earthquake in 1604 and was rebuilt. However, another major quake rocked the region in 1854 and destroyed much of the castle, including the keep, which was not rebuilt. Following that quake, the daimyo at the time, Ōta Sukekatsu, rebuilt the wonderful ninomaru (second bailey) palace, which survives to this day. In 1994, using traditional methods and made of wood and stone (no concrete!).
This is a great castle and the ninomaru palace is just as equally fascinating. I highly recommend visiting this site if you are ever in western Shizuoka.
Taken in the Futagawa Honjin.
Futagawa is a post town in the province of Mikawa (present day Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture) Futagawa, if you were approaching it from Edo, was the 33rd of 53 post towns along the Tōkaidō Road. In its hey-day, the town hosted one honjin inn for daimyo, imperial messengers and other people of importance and 30 hatago inns for other travelers.
An 8" Dunny custom. This is the same character as Pandashigaru, though now much later in his life and risen to the rank of Daimyo. Roaring the signal for the battle to begin.
This Catholic Church is a located near the ruins of Takayama Ukon's original church that was 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
Japan - Lions raised funds, purchased relief supplies and shipped the supplies to Fukushima.
Photos courtesy of Lion Shuichiro Tokunaga, Fukuoka Daimyo Lions Club in 337-A (Fukuoka)
The Omizuya (御水舎), or Sacred Fountain or Water House, features a tsukubai covered with an ornate Chinese style roof, was dedicated by Nabeshima Katsushige (鍋島勝茂), an Edo-era daimyo and lord of Saga-han in 1618. A sculpture of a dragons flying over waves is carved just underneath the roof. In accordance with Shintō practice, worshippers would practice ritual purification by rinsing their hands and mouth with the water from this basin.
Nikkō Tōshō-gū (日光東照宮) is a lavishly decorated shrine complex consisting of more than a dozen Shinto and Buddhist buildings set in a beautiful forest. It was initially built during the Edo period in 1617 by Tokugawa Hidetada (徳川 秀忠), the second shogun, as a simple mausoleum for his father, Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川 家康) (1543-1615), the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. Ieyasu was buried on Mount Kunozan on his death in 1616, but according to his testament, his remains were to be moved to their last resting place at Nikko. It was enlarged during the first half of the 187th century by Ieyasu’s grandson, Tokugawa Iemitsu (徳川 家光), the third shogun. Some 15,000 craftsmen were employed on the construction of the Toshogu Shrine, most of them coming from Kyoto and Nara, where there was a great flowering of architecture at that period. The result was a complex of buildings with an over-lavish profusion of decoration, incorporating all the sumptuousness of the preceding Momoyama period.
Today the shrine is dedicated to the spirits of of Ieyasu and two other of Japan's most influential historical personalities—Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣 秀吉) (1536-1598), a daimyo (territorial lord) in the Sengoku period who unified political factions of Japan; and Minamoto no Yorimoto (源 頼朝) (1147-1199), the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate, ruling from 1192 until 1199.
Together with Rinnō-ji and Futarasan Shrine, Tōshō-gū forms the Shrines and Temples of Nikkō UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Takamori Saigo was one of the most famous samurai in Japanese history, a towering figure both figuratively and literally, playing a major role in the ending of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Meiji Restoration. In the West, he is famously the "Last Samurai", the basis for a Tom Cruise film.
A high-ranking if poor samurai of the Satsuma Domain, Saigo moved to Edo in 1854 only to go through a confusing series of political manufacturings in the shogunate, being alternatively banished and recalled. Finally in 1864 the daimyo of Satsuma sent him to the court of the emperor in Kyoto. There, he allied his forces with those of the Aizu Domain, and together they defended the Imperial Palace against the rebellious Chōshū Domain forces, then counterattacked. However he secretly began negotiating with the rebels, and when the second Chōshū expedition was launched Satsuma remained neutral. In 1867, Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigned, paving the way for the Meiji Restoration. However Saigo refused a negotiated end to the Tokugawas, leading to the Boshin War. Saigo led the Imperial forces to victory at Battle of Toba–Fushimi, then seized Edo, which was renamed Tokyo, ending the last major battle here at Ueno.
Saigo helped set up the new Japanese government, calling for the end of the han system and the establishment of a conscript national army. In 1871 he was left in charge of the caretaker government during the Iwakura Mission. However the samurai was quite conservative outside of military goals; he famously opposed the construction of a railway network, unsuccessfully insisting the money go to the military instead. Disputes increased over Korea; in the 1873 Seikanron Debate, Saigo advocated going to war over and annexing Korea for refusing to recognize the legitimacy of the Emperor Meiji as head of state of the Empire of Japan and other insults. Saigo proposed the war would allow the declining samurai class to die gloriously in battle, and further that he could go personally to Korea and incite a casus belli by behaving so obnoxiously that the Koreans would be forced to kill him. Rebuffed, Takamori Saigo resigned from the Japanese government and returned to Satsuma.
At his hometown Saigo set up a private military academy, which soon began attracting opponents of the new regime, including thousands of now unemployed samurai who had just had their rice stipends removed. With outbreaks of rebellion occurring throughout Japan, the government decided to seize the weapons from Satsuma. This sparked the Satsuma Rebellion, the bloodiest of the wars of the Meiji Restoration. Though dismayed by the outbreak, Saigo reluctantly agreed to lead the revolt. Though his army quickly rose to 20000 troops, many trained and armed in European weaponry, Saigo was stopped at the Siege of Kumamoto Castle. Government reinforcements quickly moved in, and Saigo was defeated at Tabaruzaka by the sheer weight of numbers. As they began losing men and equipment, the Satsuma rebels were increasingly forced to re-utilize swords and other ancient weaponry. Finally at the Battle of Shiroyama, Saigo's last remaining 500 samurai were trapped and annihilated by 30000 government troops. Takamori Saigō was mortally wounded and committed seppuku, and the last remaining samurai, armed only with swords were killed in suicide charges at the government lines.
After his death, Takamori Saigō became a folk hero, with many holding him to be a paragon of the samurai code, and others claiming that he would return from exile to retake Japan in times of injustice. Faced with overriding popularity, the government posthumously pardoned him. This famed statue, erected in 1898, depicts Saigo in a hunting uniform with a dog in Ueno Park.
Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan
As a review for those who may have stumbled upon this image without having seen the other photos and descriptions, here is a brief description of Honjin (本陣), Waki Honjin (脇本陣) and Hatago (旅籠) in English that I wrote when I first started my walking/cycling trip.
Honjin (本陣) were designated Inns at which Daimyo would stay while traveling to or from Yedo (Edo/Tokyo). These Inns were typically the homes of Town Heads, Merchants or other Wealthy individuals who had both the space as well as the alternate income to support the Daimyo and his attendants' stay. As a designated Inn, only Daimyo were permitted to stay. Regular travelers, regardless of their status or money available to them, could not lodge at a Honjin. This meant that the owner of the Honjin could typically only really make money between March and May, as Daimyo were required to change residence to or from Yedo (Edo/Tokyo) in April. Even then, Daimyo would many times use "loans" and "favors" to stay instead of cold, hard cash. Without the second income, the Honjin would have found themselves in Bankruptcy quite quickly.
Below Honjin were Waki Honjin (脇本陣),, or back up quarters. These were used when two Daimyo arrived to the same Post Town (Shukuba) on the same night. The higher ranked Daimyo would of course stay at the Honjin, while the lower ranking would stay at the Waki Honjin. These back up quarters were also used for a High Ranking Daimyo's Chief Retainers when his entourage could not all remain at the Honjin, or by regular travelers of high enough status or large enough wallets.
Below Waki Honjin were Hatago (旅籠), or Travel Stops. They originated as places to obtain food stuffs, etc. for travelers and their horses, but became a sort of low tier place to stay (much like a "Business Hotel" of today) at each of the Post Towns. Daimyo and Chief Retainers would never be found staying at a location such as this, but Lower Ranked Retainers and Common Travelers often used the inexpensive locations to rest and keep the elements, like rain, (hopefully?) from falling on their heads as they slept.
At its peak, the Old Tokaido is said to have had 111 Honjin, 68 Waki Honjin and 2,905 Hatago. Most Honjin have been long since converted to schools, hospitals, town offices, (increasingly) parking lots, etc. because of the space they afforded and the cost it would require to maintain such luxurious surroundings in today's Japan. A few have survived as Museums, however. Many Hatago, on the other hand, are still functioning as small Inns or Ryokan that can even be considered quite expensive to stay (for the sake of nostalgia?).
Matsumoto Castle (松本城, Matsumoto-jō?) is one of Japan's finest historic castles. It is located in the city of Matsumoto, in Nagano Prefecture and is within easy reach of Tokyo by road or rail.
The keep (tenshukaku), which was completed in the late 16th century, maintains its original wooden interiors and external stonework. It is listed as a National Treasure of Japan.
Matsumoto Castle is a flatland castle (hirajiro) because it is not built on a hilltop or amid rivers, but on a plain. Its complete defences would have included an extensive system of inter-connecting walls, moats and gatehouses.
In 1872, following the Meiji Restoration, the site, like many former daimyos' castles, was sold at auction for redevelopment. However, when news broke that the keep was going to be demolished, an influential figure from Matsumoto, Ichikawa Ryōzō, along with residents from Matsumoto started a campaign to save the building. Their efforts were rewarded when the tower was acquired by the city government.[1]
In the late Meiji period the keep started to lean to one side. An old picture (shown below) clearly shows how the keep looked like then. It was because of neglect coupled with a structural defect, but a lot of people believed the story of Tada Kasuke's curse[2].
A local high school principal, Kobayashi Unari, decided to renovate the castle and appealed for funds. [3] The castle underwent "the great Meiji renovation" between 1903-1913[4]. It underwent another renovation "the great Shōwa renovation" in the period 1950-1955[5].
In 1990, the Kuromon-Ninomon (second gate of the Black Gate) and sodebei (side wall) were reconstructed. The square drum gate was reconstructed in 1999.
There is a plan for restoring the soto-bori(outer moat) which was reclaimed for a residential zone[6].
[edit] History
The castle's origins go back to the Sengoku period. At that time Shimadachi Sadanaga of the Ogasawara clan built a fort on this site in 1504 which was originally called Fukashi Castle. In 1550 it came under the rule of the Takeda clan and then Tokugawa Ieyasu.
When Toyotomi Hideyoshi transferred Ieyasu to the Kantō region, he placed Ishikawa Norimasa in charge of Matsumoto. Norimasa and his son Yasunaga built the tower and other parts of the castle, including the three towers: the keep and the small tower in the northwest, both begun in 1590, and the Watari Tower; the residence; the drum gate; the black gate, the Tsukimi Yagura, the moat, the innermost bailey, the second bailey, the third bailey, and the sub-floors in the castle, much as they are today. They were also instrumental in laying out the castle town and its infrastructure. It is believed much of the castle was completed by 1593–94.
During the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate established the Matsumoto Domain, of which the Matsudaira, Mizuno and others were the daimyo.
For the next 280 years until the abolition of the feudal system in the Meiji Restoration, the castle was ruled by the 23 lords of Matsumoto representing six different daimyo families. In this period the stronghold was also known as Crow Castle (烏城, Karasu-jo?) because its black walls and roofs looked like spreading wings.
In 1952 the keep, Inui-ko-tenshu (small northern tower), Watari-yagura (roofed passage), Tatsumi-tsuke-yagura (southern wing), and Tsukimi-yagura (moon-viewing room) were designated as national treasures.
The second floor of the main keep features a gun museum, Teppo Gura, with a collection of guns, armor and other weapons.
"'In the Edo Period, the samurai (warrior class) still held power in Japan. Samurai mainly belonged to clans that were led by daimyo (warlords). However, from time to time, these warriors were rendered mater-less. These mater-less samurai were known as Ronin. Our Ronin wears hakama; a type of pleated pants that are a staple of kimono attire for men. They were originally invented to protect the legs of samurai as they rode their horses, but they became a badge of honour for the warriors. You see, they restrict the movement of the wearer somewhat. The ability not only to fight, but to kill while wearing this cumbersome article of clothing was seen as a testament to the samurai’s skill as a warrior."
Photo courtesy of: Jerry Fei Photography JerryFei.com
Japanese
Lacquered iron, gilt copper, stenciled leather, silk
Kamakura period, 13th century (helmet bowl); remounted in the late 17th or early 18th century
During the Edo period (1617-1868), there was a conscious revival of medieval armor fashions of which this helmet is an instructive example. The helmet bowl, a treasured relic of the 13th century, was remounted in the late 17th or early 18th century with a modern brim and neck guard of appropriate 13th century style. The helmet was certainly made to accompany an armor of medieval yoroi fashion. The metal fittings on the helmet include the badge of the Hota family, daimyo of Sakura.
This heron was perching on a stone in a pond in the honmaru area of Osaka Castle.
Osaka Castle has a long and storied history. It all began in 1496 when the priest Rennyo built a small temple called the Ishiyama Gobo on the grounds of the present-day castle. In 1533, the Hongan-ji temple moved from Yamashina in Kyoto to Osaka and made the Osaka location its head temple. As Japan plunged deeper into the chaos of civil war, the Ishiyama Hongan-ji grew in spiritual, political, economic and military power, challenging the rule of daimyo and led many popular military revolts. This Buddhist temple had become a center of military might that stood in Oda Nobuanga’s path of unifying Japan and in 1570, full-scale war broke out between him and the warrior monks. After 10 long years of siege and fighting, the temple finally surrendered to the Oda, and Nobunaga ordered that the temple and its remaining fortifications be burnt to the ground in 1580. Three years later, with Nobunaga dead and Hideyoshi starting to consolidate his power, he chose Osaka as his base and began building a castle on the ruins of the Ishiyama Hongan-ji compound. The main keep was completed in 1585 and was considered the largest, most splendid and impregnable fortress of its day. In 1599, a year after the death of Hideyoshi, his son and heir, Hideyori, along with his mother Yodo, permanently moved into Osaka Castle from Fushimi Castle in Kyoto.
By 1614, it was clear that the Tokugawa were spoiling for a fight with the Toyotomi as they wanted to eliminate any threat that Hideyori could mount from this massive castle. Therefore, in the winter of that year, Ieyasu and his son, Hidetada (now Shogun) launched the winter siege of Osaka. It was a fairly inconclusive affair, but as one of the terms of peace and as a goodwill gesture towards the Tokugawa, Hideyori agreed to fill in the outer moat. However, the Tokugawa forces started filling in the inner moat, severely weakening the castle’s defenses. It was only a matter of time before fighting broke out again under these conditions, and in the summer of 1615, the Tokugawa coalition once again laid siege to the castle. After some heavy and dramatic fighting in which western artillery was used against the castle, Hideyori and Yodo committed suicide when it became clear that all was lost and the castle’s main keep erupted in flames and was completely destroyed. After two major sieges and the final fire, the castle grounds were a heap of ruins.
However, Osaka was an important economic and political center and in 1620, the Tokugawa Shogunate decided to rebuild the castle. In 1626, a new white-colored main keep was built, symbolizing a new age for the castle. In the Toyotomi period, the color of the keep had been black. By 1629 the remaining structures were completed. Bad luck continued to dog the castle and in 1665 lightning struck the main keep and it was destroyed. Through the years, lightning would damage other turrets and structures. I868 also proved to be a disastrous year for Osaka Castle as this was the year of the Meiji Restoration. Following the defeat of the Shogunal forces at nearby Toba-Fushimi, the Tokugawa commanders based at the mighty fortress of Osaka decided to make a stand against the forces of Satsuma and Chōshū. During the fighting, much of the castle fell to the torch and the charred scars of this fiery tragedy are still visible on many of the Castle’s stone walls.
In 1931, with civilian donations, Osaka Castle’s main tower was rebuilt for a third time and the castle became home to a regional HQ for Japan’s Imperial Army. This was a bad move, as this made the castle a legitimate military target for US bombers and attack aircraft in the closing months of World War II. Many surviving turrets from the Edo period and other historical were bombed or burned to bits. In the 1950s, Osaka Castle and many of its structures were designated Important Cultural Properties and the entire site was designated an Important Historical Property by the central government.
Daimyo Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who succeeded Oda Nobunaga, was well-known for his unification of Japan, helping to bring to an end the Sengoku, or Warring States period.
At the age of 50, he finally fathered his only son, Sutemaru, or Tsurumatsu. The little boy must have well-loved and anticipated, as the only heir of Toyotomi, meant to carry on his dynasty. Sadly, this small prince only lived just over two years, dying in September 1591. The beauty and richness of the Momoyama period are shown here, in these items a rich and all powerful warlord bestowed upon his son.
From the Tokyo National exhibit Masterpieces of the Zen Culture from Myoshinji, February 2009.
Owned by Toyotomi Sutemaru (1598-5191).
Azuchi-Momoyama period, 16th century.
Domaru armor; 22.3 cm
This child's armor is of the domaru type, closed on the right side with cord.
This armor is covered with white figured silk twill (aya silk). It is embroidered with turtles, cranes, bamboo, pines and chrysanthemums.
Myoushinji Temple.
A scenery with Kōbuntei house.
奥にある建物は「好文亭（こうぶんてい）」
[ English ]
www.koen.pref.ibaraki.jp/foreign_language/en/index.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kairaku-en
[ Japanese ]
www.koen.pref.ibaraki.jp/park/kairakuen01.html
ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%81%95%E6%A5%BD%E5%9C%92
www.facebook.com/kairakuenpark
偕楽園・茨城県水戸市見川
撮影：河野利彦（2012/11）