Sasayama Castle
Encyclopedia
Japanese castle
' were fortresses composed primarily of wood and stone. They evolved from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries, and came into their best-known form in the 16th century...
in Sasayama
Sasayama, Hyogo
is a city located in the central eastern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.The city was established on April 1, 1999, merging the towns of the former "Taki District" ....
, Hyōgo
Hyogo Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.- 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...
.
History
Construction of this castle was begun by the order of Tokugawa IeyasuTokugawa 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...
in 1608 and it was completed in six months. Ikeda Terumasa
Ikeda Terumasa
was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period. His court title was Musashi no Kami.Terumasa fought in many of the battles of the late Azuchi-Momoyama Period, and due to his service at the Battle of Sekigahara, received a fief at Himeji....
was in charge of the construction and the plan of the castle was done by Tōdō Takatora
Todo Takatora
was a Japanese daimyo of the Azuchi-Momoyama period through Edo period. He rose from relatively humble origins as an ashigaru to become a daimyo...
. It is said that twenty daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
were mobilized for the construction. The castle was so well designed that Ieyasu commanded that the tenshu, or keep, not be constructed because he feared that it would be used as a base against him.
The castle was held by the Aoyama clan
Aoyama clan
The ' was a Japanese clan which came to prominence during the Sengoku period. Its origins were in Kōzuke Province; however, members of the family moved to Mikawa Province and served the Matsudaira clan...
for 123 years during the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
. The first Aoyama lordship of the castle started in 1748, and continued until the castle was torn down in 1871.
Almost all of the buildings in the castle were destroyed after the Meiji Restoration, except for the Ōshoin, or the Grand Hall of the castle. However, the Ōshoin was destroyed by firebombing by American forces in 1944. It was reconstructed in 2000.