Karasuyama Castle

Karasuyama Castle
	Karasuyama, castle ruins
Alternative name (s):	Gojō-Sankaku
Creation time :	1418?
Castle type :	Yamajiro (mountain castle)
Place:	Nasukarasuyama
Geographical location	36 ° 39 '50 " N , 140 ° 8' 51" E Coordinates: 36 ° 39 '50 " N , 140 ° 8' 51" E

The castle Karasuyama ( Japanese 烏山城 , Karasuyama-jō ) is located in the city Nasukarasuyama , in Tochigi Prefecture . In the Edo period , a branch of the Ōkubo resided there as Fudai daimyō .

Lords of the castle in the Edo period

From 1616 the Narita with an income of 37,000 Koku ,
from 1627 a branch of the Hori with 25,000 koku,
from 1672 a branch of Itakura with 50,000 koku,
from 1681 the Nasu with 30,000 Koku,
from 1687 a branch of the Nagai with 30,000 koku,
from 1702 a branch of the Inagaki with 25,000 Koku,
from 1725 a branch of the Ōkubo with 20,000 koku.

history

In 1418, Nasu Sukeshige ( 那須資重 ) is said to have built a small castle on the western bank of the Nakagawa (那珂川) on the hill Hakkō-san ( 八高山 ). The Nasu resided there since the 15th century.

In 1590 Toyotomi Hideyoshi took the area from the current lord of the castle, Nasu Sukeharu ( 那須資春 ) and gave the castle to the Narita. It was followed by other different daimyo, including once again the Nasu, until Ōkubo Tsuneharu ( 大久保常春 ; 1675-1728) 1725 took over the castle. The Ōkubo remained lords of the castle until the Meiji restoration .

The attachment

Karasuyama Castle plan (see text for labeling)

The castle was usually called "five-fortress-triple bailey" ( 五城・三郭 , Gojō-Sankaku ) because it consists of the central area, the Hommaru ( 本丸 ; 1), the old Hommaru ( 古本丸 , Kyū-hommaru ; 1a) , the middle castle ( 中城 , Nakajiro ; B), the north castle ( 北城 , Kitajiro ; C) and the western castle ( 西城 , Nishijiro ; D), supplemented by the outer castles Wakasa-kuruwa ( 若狭曲輪 ; W), Tokiwa-kuruwa ( 常盤曲輪 ; T) and Ōno-kuruwa ( 大野曲輪 ; O).

The main entrance to the castle was via the "Seven Bends Way" ( 七曲口 , Nana-magari-guchi ) to a fortification called Taiko-maru ( 太鼓丸 ), in which the drum tower ( 太鼓楼 , Taiko-rō ; F) found. Then we continued over the Kurumabashi Bridge ( 車橋 ; E) through the Tokiwa Gate ( 常盤門 ) up to the castle. Another access in the northeast was via the "Twelve Bends Way" ( 十二曲口 , Jūni-magari-guchi ) up, then past the castle fountain (Q) to the castle. At the foot of the mountain was the fortified San-no-maru ( 三の丸 ; 3) with the residence in the later years .

Today the castle grounds are largely covered by forest. In their footsteps, however, the castle is still a good example of a medieval mountain castle.

Remarks

↑ With Narita Ujimune ( 成田氏宗 ; † 1622) this clan died out.

literature

Sugai, Yasuo: Karasuyama-jo in: Miura, Masayuki (Ed.): Shiro to jinya. Tokoku-hen. Gakken, 2006. ISBN 978-4-05-604378-5 , p. 58.
Nishigaya, Yasuhiro (Ed.): Karasuyama-jo. In: Nihon meijo zukan, Rikogaku-sha, 1993. ISBN 4-8445-3017-8 .

[1] With Narita Ujimune ( 成田氏宗 ; † 1622) this clan died out.