Sunpu Castle
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese castle
in Shizuoka City
, Shizuoka Prefecture
in Japan
. The sobriquet of this feudal fortress was the "Castle of the Floating Isle." It was also referred to as or .
, the Imagawa clan
ruled Suruga province
from their base at Sunpu (modern-day Shizuoka City). It is not certain exactly when a castle was built on this site. After Imagawa Yoshimoto
was defeated at the Battle of Okehazama
in 1560, Suruga Province passed to the Takeda clan, and then to Tokugawa Ieyasu
, who had spent his youth in Sunpu as Yoshimoto's hostage.
In 1585, Ieyasu constructed a new Sunpu Castle on the approximate site of the former fortified Imagawa residence. However, after the defeat of the Late Hōjō clan
at the Battle of Odawara by Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, Ieyasu was forced to change his domains in the Tōkai region
with the provinces of the Kantō region
, and turned Sunpu Castle over to Toyotomi retainer Nakamura Kazuichi in 1590.
After the defeat of the Toyotomi at the Battle of Sekigahara
, Ieyasu recovered Sumpu. With the formation of the Tokugawa shogunate
, Ieyasu turned the title of Shogun
over to his son Tokugawa Hidetada
, and retired to Sunpu, where he set up a shadow government
to maintain effective rule over the country from behind the scenes. As part of the Tokugawa policy to sap potential rivals of economic strength, daimyo
from around the country were called upon to rebuild Sumpu Castle in 1607 with a triple moat system, keep and palace. When this burned down in 1610, the daimyo were ordered to rebuilt it immediately, this time with a seven-story donjon. After Ieyasu’s death in 1616, Sunpu Castle remained the seat of government for the surrounding Sunpu Domain
, which for most of its existence was a tenryō territory governed directly by the Shogun in Edo
.
During this period, a series of appointed overseers were based at Sunpu Castle to serve as administrators for the region. These officials were called the or Sushū Rioban, and were most often appointed from the ranks of the Ōbangashira.
In 1635, most of Sunpu burned down in a fire, which also consumed the buildings of Sunpu Castle. By 1638, the palace, gates, yagura and other structures were reconstructed, but notably, the donjon was not, since Sunpu was ruled by an appointed administrator, rather than by a daimyo.
After the Meiji Restoration
, the final Tokugawa Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu
, resigned his post and moved to Sunpu in retirement. However, he was not allowed to move into Sunpu Castle, but was given the former Sunpu Daikansho offices to be his residence. His heir, Tokugawa Iesato
, was briefly established as daimyo of “Shizuoka Domain” (700,000 koku
) in 1868 until its abolition a year later in 1869.
In 1871, American educator E. Warren Clark
arrived in Shizuoka to teach science. Shortly thereafter, he directed construction of an American-style house on the grounds of the former castle. In 1873, Clark left Shizuoka for Tokyo. A western-style school, the Shizuhatasha (or Shizuhatanoya) was established in the house which had been built for Clark; and a Canadian missionary, Davidson MacDonald, was engaged to run it. McDonald later helped establish Aoyama Gakuin University
in Tokyo.
The castle grounds became property of Shizuoka city from 1889. Much of the moat system was filled in, and portions of the bailey
either became a park, or were used as for prefectural government offices. In 1896, a large portion of the inner castle grounds was turned over to the Imperial Japanese Army
as a base for the IJA 34th Infantry Regiment.
In 1949, the army base was abolished, and the area turned over to the city government, which transformed the area into "Sunpu Park." Reconstruction projects in 1989 and in 1996 recreated the Tatsumi Yagura and eastern gate.
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 Shizuoka City
Shizuoka, Shizuoka
is the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, and the prefecture's second-largest city in terms of both population and area. It became one of Japan's 19 "designated cities" in 2005.-Geography:...
, Shizuoka Prefecture
Shizuoka Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.- History :Shizuoka prefecture was formed from the former Tōtōmi, Suruga and Izu provinces.The area was the home of the first Tokugawa Shogun...
in 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 sobriquet of this feudal fortress was the "Castle of the Floating Isle." It was also referred to as or .
History
During the Muromachi periodMuromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kemmu restoration of imperial...
, the Imagawa clan
Imagawa clan
The was a Japanese clan that claimed descent from Emperor Seiwa . It was a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Ashikaga clan.-Origins:Ashikaga Kuniuji, grandson of Ashikaga Yoshiuji, established himself in the 13th century at Imagawa and took its name.Imagawa Norikuni received from his cousin the...
ruled Suruga province
Suruga Province
was an old province in the area that is today the central part of Shizuoka prefecture. It was sometimes called . Suruga bordered on Izu, Kai, Sagami, Shinano, and Tōtōmi provinces; and had access to the Pacific Ocean through Suruga Bay.-History:...
from their base at Sunpu (modern-day Shizuoka City). It is not certain exactly when a castle was built on this site. After Imagawa Yoshimoto
Imagawa Yoshimoto
was one of the leading daimyo in the Sengoku period Japan. Based in Suruga Province, he was one of the three daimyo that dominated the Tōkaidō region. He was one of the dominant daimyo in Japan for a time, until his death in 1560....
was defeated at the Battle of Okehazama
Battle of Okehazama
The took place in June 1560. In this battle, Oda Nobunaga defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto and established himself as one of the front-running warlords in the Sengoku period.-Background:...
in 1560, Suruga Province passed to the Takeda clan, and then to 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...
, who had spent his youth in Sunpu as Yoshimoto's hostage.
In 1585, Ieyasu constructed a new Sunpu Castle on the approximate site of the former fortified Imagawa residence. However, after the defeat of the Late Hōjō clan
Late Hojo clan
The ' was one of the most powerful warrior clans in Japan in the Sengoku period and held domains primarily in the Kantō region.The clan is traditionally reckoned to be started by Ise Shinkurō, who came from a branch of the prestigious Ise clan, a family in the direct employment of the Ashikaga...
at the Battle of Odawara by Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...
, Ieyasu was forced to change his domains in the Tōkai region
Tokai region
The is a sub-region of the Chūbu region in Japan that runs along the Pacific Ocean. The name means "East sea" and comes from the Tōkaidō, one of the Edo Five Routes...
with the provinces of the Kantō region
Kanto region
The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....
, and turned Sunpu Castle over to Toyotomi retainer Nakamura Kazuichi in 1590.
After the defeat of the Toyotomi at 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...
, Ieyasu recovered Sumpu. With the formation of the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
, Ieyasu turned the title of Shogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
over to his son Tokugawa Hidetada
Tokugawa Hidetada
was the second shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate.-Early life :...
, and retired to Sunpu, where he set up a shadow government
Shadow government (conspiracy)
The term shadow government besides its party political meaning can also refer to what is sometimes called "the secret government" or "the invisible government" , an idea based on the notion that real and actual political power does not reside with publicly elected representatives but with private...
to maintain effective rule over the country from behind the scenes. As part of the Tokugawa policy to sap potential rivals of economic strength, 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...
from around the country were called upon to rebuild Sumpu Castle in 1607 with a triple moat system, keep and palace. When this burned down in 1610, the daimyo were ordered to rebuilt it immediately, this time with a seven-story donjon. After Ieyasu’s death in 1616, Sunpu Castle remained the seat of government for the surrounding Sunpu Domain
Sunpu Domain
' was a Japanese feudal domain intermittently during the Edo period. It was centered in Suruga Province, in what is now the city of Shizuoka, but at times included Kai and parts of Tōtōmi Provinces. In 1869 the domain was renamed .-History:...
, which for most of its existence was a tenryō territory governed directly by the Shogun in Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
.
During this period, a series of appointed overseers were based at Sunpu Castle to serve as administrators for the region. These officials were called the or Sushū Rioban, and were most often appointed from the ranks of the Ōbangashira.
In 1635, most of Sunpu burned down in a fire, which also consumed the buildings of Sunpu Castle. By 1638, the palace, gates, yagura and other structures were reconstructed, but notably, the donjon was not, since Sunpu was ruled by an appointed administrator, rather than by a daimyo.
After 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...
, the final Tokugawa Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu
Tokugawa Yoshinobu
was the 15th and last shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful...
, resigned his post and moved to Sunpu in retirement. However, he was not allowed to move into Sunpu Castle, but was given the former Sunpu Daikansho offices to be his residence. His heir, Tokugawa Iesato
Tokugawa Iesato
Prince was the first head of the Tokugawa clan after the overthrow of the Tokugawa bakufu, and a figure in Japanese politics during the Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa period Japan.-Early life:...
, was briefly established as daimyo of “Shizuoka Domain” (700,000 koku
Koku
The is a Japanese unit of volume, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres. The koku was originally defined as a quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year...
) in 1868 until its abolition a year later in 1869.
In 1871, American educator E. Warren Clark
E. Warren Clark
E. Warren Clark was an American educator who taught thousands of young Japanese the rudiments of modern science while employed as a teacher in Japan from 1871-75. Clark was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and graduated from what is now Rutgers University in New Jersey in 1869 with a degree in...
arrived in Shizuoka to teach science. Shortly thereafter, he directed construction of an American-style house on the grounds of the former castle. In 1873, Clark left Shizuoka for Tokyo. A western-style school, the Shizuhatasha (or Shizuhatanoya) was established in the house which had been built for Clark; and a Canadian missionary, Davidson MacDonald, was engaged to run it. McDonald later helped establish Aoyama Gakuin University
Aoyama Gakuin University
, abbreviated AGU, is a Japanese Christian university in Shibuya near Omotesandō, Tokyo, Japan. Aoyama Gakuin University is part of a comprehensive educational institute called Aoyama Gakuin, which includes a kindergarten, an elementary school, junior and senior high schools, and a women's junior...
in Tokyo.
The castle grounds became property of Shizuoka city from 1889. Much of the moat system was filled in, and portions of the bailey
Ward (fortification)
In fortifications, a bailey or ward refers to a courtyard enclosed by a curtain wall. In particular, an early type of European castle was known as a Motte-and-bailey. Castles can have more than one ward. Their layout depends both on the local topography and the level of fortification technology...
either became a park, or were used as for prefectural government offices. In 1896, a large portion of the inner castle grounds was turned over to the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
as a base for the IJA 34th Infantry Regiment.
In 1949, the army base was abolished, and the area turned over to the city government, which transformed the area into "Sunpu Park." Reconstruction projects in 1989 and in 1996 recreated the Tatsumi Yagura and eastern gate.