| Nagoya Castle | |
|---|---|
名護屋城 | |
| Karatsu, Saga, Japan | |
 Ruins of the inner citadel Nagoya Castle | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Japanese castle |
| Open to the public | yes |
| Condition | Ruins |
| Location | |
  Nagoya Castle Nagoya Castle Show map of Saga Prefecture Nagoya Castle Nagoya Castle (Japan) Show map of Japan | |
| Coordinates | 33°31′48.12″N129°52′9.75″E / 33.5300333°N 129.8693750°E /33.5300333; 129.8693750 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1591 |
| Built by | Toyotomi Hideyoshi |
| In use | Sengoku period |
| Demolished | 1598 |
Nagoya Castle (名護屋城,Nagoya-jō) was aJapanese castle located in theChinzei neighborhood of the city ofKaratsu,Saga Prefecture. It is sometimes calledHizen-Nagoya Castle to distinguish it from the more famousNagoya Castle inAichi Prefecture. It is located on a hill in the center of Higashi Matsuura peninsula, about 10 kilometer north of Karatsu city. It served as the base from whichToyotomi Hideyoshi launched hisinvasions of Korea from 1592 to 1598. None of the original historic structures of Nagoya Castle remain, but the castle's ruined foundations survive, and were designated aNational Historic Site in 1926, and elevated to a Special Historic Site in 1955. The area under protection was expanded in the year 2000.[1]
A museum dedicated to the history ofJapanese-Korean relations and related subjects is associated with Nagoya Castle and located nearby[1].
The northern coast area ofHizen Province (modern-day Saga andNagasaki Prefecture was held byMatsura clan, who engaged in trade andpiracy aroundEast China Sea andTsushima Strait from the end of theHeian period. The clan was active in the defense of Japan during theMongol invasions of Japan of 1274 and 1281. However, by theMuromachi period, the clan had become subordinate to their more powerful neighbors, such as the Hata clan. AfterToyotomi Hideyoshi'sKyūshū campaign of 1586-1587, his generalTerazawa Hirotaka was awarded the area. After Hideyoshi consolidated his control over Japan with the defeat of theOdawara Hōjō in 1590, he turned his attention to invasion of theKorean Peninsula as a stepping stone to conquest ofMing China. Needing a field headquarters in northern Kyushu as a command center, Hideyoshi found the place name "Nagoya", the same as his hometown ofNagoya (albeit with differentkanji), to be a pleasing coincidence, and was also pleased by the auspicious name of the mountain on which the castle stood, Mount Katsuō, and decided to build a castle there. The planning of the castle was made byKuroda Yoshitaka, and actual construction were performed by local lords of Kyushu under the command ofKato Kiyomasa andFukushima Masanori. The construction was started from the autumn of 1591, and competed in the spring of 1592. Feudal lords from all over the country were ordered to amass at the site and to contribute to a portion of its construction. Its scale was second only toOsaka Castle among castles of the time.
Hizen Nagoya castle spread along a 50 meter hillside, which spread to southeast and southwest from the center point. Thecentral enclosure was a square shaped area of 100 meter length at the highest point of the hill. At the north edge of the central area, where is the crossing point of two ridges, there was a seven-storytenshu. Thetenshu was surrounded by concentricenclosures withmasugata-style compound gates, and the complex included a palace for Hideyoshi and his concubineYodo-dono. The Total size of Hizen Nagoya Castle was over 1000 meters long and 500 meters wide, and whole part of the castle were protected by stone walls. However, as the castle was not actually designed for use in combat, so its stone walls were relatively low and the number ofyagura turrets was few in relation to the castle's size.In June 1592, Dominican friarJuan Cobo arrived in Japan and met with Hideyoshi at Nagoya Castle, which was still under construction. It is said that during the brief time that Hideyoshi stayed at Nagoya Castle, he memorized theshite (lead role) parts for tenNoh plays and performed them, forcing variousdaimyō to accompany him onstage as thewaki (accompanying role), and even performed before theEmperor.[2]
Hideyoshi gathered all of his lords to this area, irrespective to actual participation to military action, many of whom constructed permanent bases guarded by stone walls surrounding the main castle complex. Within a three-kilometer radius were the camps of about 118 vassals.[3] A town grew up around the military establishments, with a population of over 100,000 people at its height. According to theMatsuura Kojiki, over 205,570 soldiers, mostly from western Japan, crossed over to Korea in the first months of theImjin War in 1592, and a further 102,415 soldiers, mostly from eastern Japan, were stationed around Hizen-Nagoya. Water sources were insufficient to support such a large force, and fighting caused by water shortages was constant.
Hideyoshi commanded operations from this castle, but on his death in 1598,Tokugawa Ieyasu ordered the withdrawal of all Japanese forces from Korea. With the establishment of theTokugawa Shogunate, the castle was ordered to be demolished. It was too large to demolish, but foundations oftenshu was thoroughly destroyed as a symbol of the castle. Many stones and some structures were relocated for the construction ofKaratsu Castle, ten kilometers to the south.[4]Date Masamune is said to have dismantled the castle main gate (Otemon) and moved it to his stronghold ofAoba Castle inSendai. Further, after theShimabara Rebellion in 1637, the shogunate ordered more of the castle's remaining walls to be destroyed, to prevent the possibility of any use in any future rebellion.
Plans were floated in 1956 for building a reconstruction of Nagoya Castle as a tourist attraction; however, the plan was rejected by the national government in 1962, citing a lack of solid historical evidence of the castle's appearance, as well as negative political issues regarding the site as having been a base from which Japan invaded Korea.
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Media related toNagoya Castle (Hizen) at Wikimedia Commons
100 Fine Castles of Japan by region | ||
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| Hokkaido | .svg) | |
| Tōhoku | ||
| Kantō | ||
| Chūbu | ||
| Kansai | ||
| Chūgoku | ||
| Shikoku | ||
| Kyūshūa | ||
a includingOkinawa. | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
