| Yoshida-Kōriyama Castle | |
|---|---|
吉田郡山城 | |
| Akitakata,Hiroshima Prefecture,Japan | |
 Honmaru compound of Yoshida-Kōriyama Castle | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Mountaintop styleJapanese castle |
| Controlled by | Mōri clan |
| Location | |
  Yoshida-Kōriyama Castle Yoshida-Kōriyama Castle Show map of Hiroshima Prefecture Yoshida-Kōriyama Castle Yoshida-Kōriyama Castle (Japan) Show map of Japan | |
| Coordinates | 34°40′27.43″N132°42′34.52″E / 34.6742861°N 132.7095889°E /34.6742861; 132.7095889 |
| Site history | |
| Built by | Mōri Motonari |
| In use | Sengoku period |
| Demolished | 1600[1][2] |
| Battles/wars | Siege of Yoshida-Kōriyama Castle (1541) |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants | Mōri Motonari Mōri Terumoto |
 | |
Yoshida-Kōriyama Castle (吉田郡山城,Yoshida-Kōriyama-jō) was aJapanese castle located inAkitakata,Hiroshima Prefecture. It was also calledAki-Kōriyama Castle (安芸郡山城,Aki-Kōriyama-jō) from its location in formerAki Province. Its ruins have been protected by the central government as aNational Historic Site since 1940.[3]
Yoshida-Kōriyama Castle is located in the Yoshida basin in northern Hiroshima prefecture, surrounded by theChugoku Mountains. The basin has two large rivers; the Gonokawa which flows north to theSea of Japan and the Otagawa, which flows south to theSeto Inland Sea. The castle was initially built as a small fortification in the 14th century, by theMōri clan, which descended fromŌe no Hiromoto, an important retainer of theKamakura shogunate. His fourth son,Mōri Suemitsu controlled ashōen landed estate in Aki Province, and through theMuromachi period, his descendants gradually became leader of an alliance ofjizamurai local lords in eastern Aki and westernBingo Province.[4] At the time, Aki was a highly contested border area between the powerfulOuchi clan based inSuo Province and theYamana clan, who were allied with theMuromachi shogunate. After the Yamana clan was destroyed in the struggles of theOnin War (1467-1477), theIzumo-basedAmago clan rose to challenge the Ouchi clan, and the Mōri clan changed allegiance multiple times between these two powerful neighbors in order to survive. UnderMōri Motonari, Yoshida-Kōriyama Castle was greatly expanded to become the main stronghold of the clan.[5][6] Mōri Motonari chose to ally with the Ouchi and in response to this, in September 1540, the Amago besieged the castle at theSiege of Yoshida-Kōriyama Castle, but the Mōri defeated them with Ouchi assistance in January 1541. Mōri Motonari first defeated the Amago with the help of the Ouchi, and then defeated the Ouchi after they were weakened by internal conflict.[4] The Mōri became more influential, and extended its holdings to cover most of the Chugoku region.[5] Yoshida-Kōriyama Castle was repaired, rebuilt and expanded in size to cover most of the mountain.[4][7] It became quite advanced for amountaintop castle (yamashiro), with complex inner and outer stone walls, aquadrangle and a stone-walled fort.
Mōri Motonari had three sons. The eldest, Mōri Takamoto, was given Yoshida-Kōriyama Castle, the second,Kikkawa Motoharu was assigned toSan'in region and ruled fromHinoyama Castle, and the third,Kobayakawa Takakage was assigned theSan'yo region and ruled fromNiitakayama Castle and laterMihara Castle. The Amago were decisively defeated in 1566, and Mōri Motonari ordered the further expansion and strengthening of Yoshida-Kōriyama Castle.
In 1589,Mori Terumoto began the construction ofHiroshima Castle as the new seat of his domains and relocated there in 1591, but Yoshida-Kōriyama was retained as the castle was important for Mōri clan.[2] However, in 1600, the Mōri joined the western alliance againstTokugawa Ieyasu and participated in theBattle of Sekigahara. When the western allies lost the battle, the Mōri clan were stripped of their eastern territories (including Aki Province) and forced west into the provinces ofSuō andNagato.[5] Yoshida-Kōriyama Castle was largely demolished in the earlyEdo period under the "onedomain-one castle" policy of theTokugawa shogunate, like many castles in Japan that were not the seat of a domain.[6]
Currently the site of this castle is used as a historical park. There are some substantial structures left at the current site, mainly some low stone walls andmoats.[5] However, considering it was such a large castle that covered much of the mountain, there are about 130 relics left of the castle on the site.[6] The castle ruins are located about 15 minutes by car fromMukohara Station on theJR WestGeibi Line.[8]
Akitakata City Historical Museum is located near the castle, where excavated artifacts from the castle are exhibited.[9][1] Yoshida-Kōriyama Castle was listed as one ofJapan's Top 100 Castles by the Japan Castle Foundation in 2006.[10]
100 Fine Castles of Japan by region | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hokkaido | .svg) | |
| Tōhoku | ||
| Kantō | ||
| Chūbu | ||
| Kansai | ||
| Chūgoku | ||
| Shikoku | ||
| Kyushua | ||
a includingOkinawa. | ||
Authority control databases: National |
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