is a castle located in Obama

Obama, Fukui

is a city located in Fukui Prefecture, Japan.It faces Wakasa Bay due north of Kyoto, and is about four to five hours by train from Tokyo. As of October 1, 2005, the city had an estimated population of 32,185 and a population density of 138.22 persons per square kilometer...

, Fukui Prefecture

Fukui Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Fukui.- Prehistory :The Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry, on the Sugiyama River within the city limits of Katsuyama, has yielded the Fukuiraptor kitadaniensis and Fukuisaurus tetoriensis as well as an unnamed...

, 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...

. The castle is also known as . In 1601 (Keichō

Keicho

was a after Bunroku and before Genna. This period spanned from October 1596 to July 1615. The reigning emperors were and .-Change of era:* 1596 : The era name was changed to Keichō to mark the passing of various natural disasters...

 6), after receiving Wakasa Province

Wakasa Province

was an old province of Japan in the area that is today southern Fukui Prefecture. It is also known as or .The province's ancient capital was at Obama, which continued to be the main castle town through the Edo period.-Neighboring Provinces:...

 due to successes in the Battle of Sekigahara

Battle of Sekigahara

The , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 which cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu...

, Kyōgoku Takatsugu

Kyōgoku Takatsugu

was a daimyo of Omi Province and Wakasa Province during the late-Sengoku Period of Japan's history.Takatsugu is recognized as the founder of the modern Kyōgoku clan. His forebears had been powerful since the 13th century, but their fortunes had waned after the Ōnin War...

 (京極高次) built Obama Castle by using local fisherman as workers. In 1634 (Kan'ei 11), Sakai Tadakatsu

Sakai Tadakatsu

, also known as Sanuki-no-kami, was tairō, rōjū, master of Wakasa-Obama castle and daimyo of Obama Domain in Wakasa province in the mid-17th century...

 (酒井忠勝) took control of the castle after the Kyōgoku family moved to Izumo

Izumo Province

was an old province of Japan which today consists of the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province is in the Chūgoku Region.- History :It was one of the regions of ancient Japan where major political powers arose...

 near Matsue. He finally completed the castle tower with 113,000 stones in 1636 (Kan'ei 13), with the tower reaching a height of 29m.

Obama Castle was held by the Sakai family up to the Meiji Restoration

Meiji Restoration

The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

 in 1868. It was destroyed in a fire in 1871 (Meiji

Meiji period

The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...

4) after acting as the prefectural office since the Meiji Restoration, and only the stone walls remain today. The ruins are often referred to as in tourist brochures.