Okayama Castle
| Okayama-jō | ||
|---|---|---|
 Okayama Castle |
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| Alternative name (s): | Crows Castle | |
| Creation time : | 1346 | |
| Castle type : | Hirayamajiro (hill castle) | |
| Conservation status: | Receive | |
| Place: | Okayama | |
| Geographical location | 34 ° 39 '54.7 " N , 133 ° 56' 9.8" E | |
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The Okayama Castle ( Jap. 岡山城 , Okayama-jō ) is a castle in the city of Okayama in Japan . Because of its black color, it is known as the " crow castle ", or figuratively as the " raven black castle " ( 烏 城 , Ujō ).
history
The origins of Okayama Castle date back to 1346. Ukita Hideie ( 宇 喜 多 秀 家 ; 1573–1655), son of Naoie ( 宇 喜 多 直 家 ; 1529–1581) and close vassal of Toyotomi Hideyoshi moved his father's castle to the eastern edge of Okayama in 1590 at his behest. After years of extensive construction, the castle was completed in 1597. The fiefdom was endowed with 574,000 koku , but then Hideie was one of the losers in the Battle of Sekigahara .
- In 1600 the fiefdom (500,000 Koku) and thus the castle fell to Kobayakawa Hideaki (小早川 秀 秋; 1577–1602), who died after two years.
- In 1602, Ikeda Tadatsugu (池田 忠 継; 1599-1615) from the Himeji line took over the fief with 280,000 koku. Later, in the course of a loan exchange during the Kan'ei era, Ikeda Terumasa from the Tottori line became lord of the castle with 315,000 Koku. The Ikeda remained masters until the Meiji Restoration .
The castle
The castle was built in a bend in the Asagawa River (旭川). In the innermost protected area, the castle tower area (天 守 曲 輪, Tenshu-kuruwa; 1), there was the castle tower (天 守 閣, Tenshukaku; 2, red). The castle tower has six floors, which are combined into five in the external view. It is said to be a replica of the castle tower of Azuchi Castle . This castle tower area was part of the surrounding inner area (本 丸, Hommaru), which was protected in the north by the Tsukimi watchtower (月 見 櫓; 3; preserved). There was the residence (表 書院, Omoto shoin; 4). Around it was the outer bailey Shita-no-dambi kuruwa (下 の 段 帯 曲 輪, 5), which in turn was (preserved) protected by a wide moat. The “indefinite gate” (不明 門, Fumei-mon; orange) leads to the outside.
The inner area was protected in the north and east by the river, in the south and west by the second castle area, the Ni-no-maru (二 の 丸). In the southern part of the Ni-no-maru, the south-east bailey (東南 曲 輪, Tōnan kuruwa; 6) protected, from which a small gate (下水 の 手 門, Gesui no temon; 7) led to the outside across the river. In the north of this castle area there was a place with cherry trees for the horses (桜 の 馬 場, Sakura no baba; 8) and a memorial for the ancestors (祖廟, Sobyō; 9). In front of a protective wall, the western pre-area (Nishi-no-kuruwa; B) and the Nishi-no-maru (西 angelegt 丸; A) were laid out further west. The conclusion was formed by the Nishite watchtower (西 手 櫓, Nishite-yagura; 10) on the western wall.
The castle in the southwest, separated by a moat, also had a castle district (C) for the closest followers. - On the other side of the river there was (and is) a large, well-known Kōraku-en convertible garden that belonged to the castle.
The castle today
Parts of the system in the western area are well preserved. The original castle tower was destroyed in World War II when the city was bombed by 138 B-29s on the night of June 28-29, 1945 . The castle tower, however, was rebuilt in 1966 with a concrete core.
photos
Historical representation
1934
2005
2016
The Fumei Gate
literature
- Ikeda, Koichi .: Okayama-jo in: Miura, Masayuki (Ed.): Shiro to jinya. Saikoku-hen. Gakken, 2006. ISBN 978-4-05-604379-2 .
- Nishigaya, Yasuhiro (Ed.): Okayama-jo In: Nihon meijo zukan, Rikogaku-sha, 1993. ISBN 4-8445-3017-8 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ United States Army Air Forces : Combat Chronology of the US Army Air Forces June 1945 ( Memento of the original from February 11, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed May 25, 2012
