is an high mountain

Mountain

Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

 located in the city of Komaki

Komaki, Aichi

is a city located in Aichi, Japan. It is commonly associated with the former Nagoya Airport, which is partly located in the city. The other part is in the city of Kasugai. As of January 1, 2008, the city has an estimated population of 149,060 and the density of 2,370 persons per km²...

, Aichi Prefecture

Aichi Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region. The region of Aichi is also known as the Tōkai region. The capital is Nagoya. It is the focus of the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area.- History :...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. At one point, the mountain was topped with the original Komakiyama Castle, built by Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga

was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...

. However, in modern days, the entire mountain has become a historical park, well-known for its sakura

Sakura

A cherry blossom is the flower of any of several trees of genus Prunus, particularly the Japanese Cherry, Prunus serrulata, which is sometimes called sakura after the Japanese . Many of the varieties that have been cultivated for ornamental use do not produce fruit...

trees. The current castle was built in 1967, as a recreation of Nobunaga's castle.

Background

Mt. Komaki is located in the center of a vast plain

Plain

In geography, a plain is land with relatively low relief, that is flat or gently rolling. Prairies and steppes are types of plains, and the archetype for a plain is often thought of as a grassland, but plains in their natural state may also be covered in shrublands, woodland and forest, or...

, allowing hikers a clear view of the surrounding area once they reach the summit. Its base stretches for nearly 600 m (1,969 ft) from east to west, and 400 m (1,312 ft) from north to south, covering an area of approximately 21 ha (52 acre). The first Komakiyama Castle was built by order of Nobunaga in 1563; however, the castle became well-known in 1584, during the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute

Battle of Komaki and Nagakute

The consisted of two battles in 1584 between the forces of Hashiba Hideyoshi and the forces of Oda Nobukatsu and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Hideyoshi and Ieyasu had both served Oda Nobunaga and had not previously come into conflict; this would in fact be their only period of enmity...

, when Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu

 was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...

 used it as his base. Inside of the park, visitors can find various castle ruins, including water wells and stone walls, in addition to artifacts dating further back. Though known for the sakura

Sakura

A cherry blossom is the flower of any of several trees of genus Prunus, particularly the Japanese Cherry, Prunus serrulata, which is sometimes called sakura after the Japanese . Many of the varieties that have been cultivated for ornamental use do not produce fruit...

trees, the northern part of the mountain is home to many machilus thunbergii

Persea

Persea is a genus of about 150 species of evergreen trees belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The best-known member of the genus is the avocado, P. americana, widely cultivated in subtropical regions for its large, edible fruit.-Overview:...

trees. This is the only spot in the surrounding area where these trees occur naturally.