Hamamatsu Castle, situated in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, originally bore the name Hikuma Castle or Shusse-jo ("Castle of Success"). Constructed around 1532 by Imagawa Sadatsuke on a modest hill, its fate changed with the fall of the Imagawa clan following their defeat by Oda Nobunaga at Okehazama in 1560. In the aftermath, Tokugawa Ieyasu, then 29 years old, claimed control of the stronghold, shifting his base from Okazaki to Hamamatsu in 1570. Over the next 17 years, Ieyasu fortified and expanded the castle, shaping it into a Teikakushi-styled layout spanning 600 meters east to west and 650 meters north to south. The south-facing main gate stood sentinel over the vital Tokaido Route.
One legendary incident highlights the strategic cunning of Ieyasu. After narrowly escaping defeat at the Battle of Mikatagahara in 1572, Ieyasu returned to Hamamatsu Castle. He left the main gates open and ignited all the brazier fires, illuminating the fortress to guide his retreating samurai. The resounding beat of a war drum echoed through the January night. When Takeda Shingen's army approached and witnessed the scene, they suspected a trap and refrained from entering, inadvertently sparing Ieyasu and his forces.
In 1577, Ieyasu renamed the castle Hamamatsu. It became known as the "Castle of Success" as many of its lords achieved greater prominence, including Ieyasu's ascent to Shogun. The castle saw a succession of rulers during the Edo period, undergoing 12 changes of lordship.
In modern times, Hamamatsu Castle underwent dismantlement, with its moats filled in, and the inner Honmaru areas transformed into a city park. However, in 1958, a three-story Tenshu was reconstructed in concrete atop the original Nozura-zumi-made Tenshu-dai. The castle's remaining 10.28-hectare grounds, along with its ishigaki stone walls and layout, serve as exceptional examples of a large Sengoku-period castle. Visitors can explore the reconstructed Tenshu, which features a georama of the former castle's layout, a museum housing armor and weapons, and Tokugawa-related artifacts. Recent research suggests that the castle's original keep was not a Tenshu but a large two-story Yagura in the Ni-no-Maru. The reconstruction of the castle's Tenshu-mon in the traditional manner enhances the historical ambiance of Hamamatsu Castle.
Siehe auch
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Arato Castle
Arato Castle was built in 1524 by the Yamada clan under the orders of their overlord, Murakami, as a small mountain fort. Over time, it gained strategic importance and became a focal point in the conflict between two famous daimyō of the Sengoku period — Takeda Shingen and Murakami Yoshikiyo. This conflict turned the castle into one of the key fortifications in the struggle for control over Shinano Province.
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Tatsuno Castle
Tatsuno Castle is not a single fortification but rather a complex consisting of two parts: a mountain fortress located at the summit of Mount Keirozan and a flatland-mountain castle situated at its base. The mountain stronghold was built around 1499 by Akamatsu Murahide. During the Muromachi period, the Akamatsu clan was an influential family that, at the height of its power, controlled the provinces of Settsu, Harima, Bizen, and Mimasaka. Murahide’s ancestors were directly involved in the events of the Genkō War in the 14th century and in the subsequent establishment of the Ashikaga shogunate. However, by the 15th century, due to the process of gekokujō, the clan began to lose its position under pressure from rising families, including their former vassals—the Urakami and Bessho clans. In addition, the Akamatsu faced constant pressure from the Amago clan of Izumo Province.
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Takamatsu Castle
Takamatsu Castle was founded by Ikoma Chikamasa (1526–1603), who was appointed ruler of Takamatsu by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1587. The following year, Chikamasa began construction of the castle on the coast of the Inland Sea (Setonaikai), completing it by 1590.
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Sawayama Castle
During the Kamakura period, Sabo Tokitsuna, the sixth son of Sasaki Sadatsuna, built a fort on Mount Sawayama. This fort occupied a strategically important position because it allowed control over traffic along the important Tōsandō route, which was later known as Nakasendō. This road connected the capital, Kyoto, with the eastern regions of the country. Due to its location, the fortification held great military importance, and during periods of civil war it repeatedly became the site of fierce battles.
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Nadzima Castle
It is believed that the first structures on this site were built by Tachibana Akitoshi (?-1568), head of the Tachibana clan, a branch family of the Ōtomo clan, as auxiliary fortifications for Tachibanayama Castle. In 1587, Toyotomi Hideyoshi established control over the island of Kyushu and granted Chikuzen Province to Kobayakawa Takakage, one of the leading vassals of the Mori clan. Takakage began construction of a new castle on the site of the existing fortifications in 1588. The exact date of completion is unknown, but by the time the invasion of Korea began in 1592, the castle had already been finished, as records note that Toyotomi Hideyoshi stayed there overnight on his way to Hizen Nagoya Castle, which served as the headquarters of the invasion forces.
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Kubota Castle
The founder of the castle is considered to be Satake Yoshinobu (1570–1633). Yoshinobu was one of the six great generals of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. During the Odawara Campaign of 1590, he took part in the siege of Oshi Castle under the command of Ishida Mitsunari, with whom Yoshinobu developed a good relationship.
