In 1334, Ikeda Noriyoshi built a small fort on this site, which over time was repeatedly expanded and rebuilt. During the Ōnin War of 1467–1477, the Ikeda clan supported the Western Coalition. As a result, Ikeda Castle was attacked and captured by the forces of the Eastern Coalition, but it was soon recaptured, allowing it to avoid serious destruction.
In the early 16th century, during internal conflicts within the Hosokawa clan, the castle repeatedly became a battlefield and suffered from the fires that accompanied these clashes. This is evidenced by the results of archaeological excavations, which revealed layers of burned earth dating to this period, as well as the remains of wooden structures that had been charred into charcoal. After each such episode of destruction, the castle was rebuilt once again.
In 1557, Ikeda Katsumasa confronted the forces of the Oda clan. After the capture of the castle in 1558, Oda Nobunaga highly praised Katsumasa’s abilities, made him one of his vassals with an income of 60,000 koku of rice, and allowed him to retain Ikeda Castle. Katsumasa subsequently strengthened and rebuilt the castle, making use of the plans and ideas provided by Nobunaga.
In 1570, Araki Murashige rose in rebellion against the Ikeda clan. Initially, he had served as a vassal of Ikeda Katsumasa and became a member of the Ikeda family by marrying the daughter of Ikeda Nagamasa. Later, however, Murashige aligned himself with the Miyoshi clan, organized a revolt, expelled Katsumasa, and seized power within the Ikeda clan. Although he was considered a supporter of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki, in 1571 he sided with Oda Nobunaga in Nobunaga’s conflict with the shogun. In 1574, Murashige took part in suppressing the uprising of Itami Tadataka in Kawachi Province, besieged Itami Castle, and captured it. As a reward for this victory, Nobunaga granted the castle to Murashige, and around the same time the castle was renamed Arioka.
After Murashige moved to Arioka Castle, Ikeda Castle was almost no longer used. Nevertheless, in 1578 Murashige defected to the rebel Ikkō-ikki, and during the siege of Arioka Castle by Oda forces, Ikeda Castle served as the headquarters of the punitive expedition. After the fall of Arioka Castle in 1579, Ikeda Castle was permanently abandoned and ceased to be used.
In 1989, large-scale archaeological investigations were carried out on the castle ruins, leading to the discovery of remains of fortifications and various artifacts dating to the Sengoku period.
In 2000, the ruins were turned into Ikedashiroato Park. Earthen rampart walls (dobei), several types of gates, and a mihari-no-yagura watchtower were reconstructed. Towers of this type are considered predecessors of the tenshu donjons of later periods. At the same time, this tower is a notional, “fake” reconstruction, since according to surviving descriptions and excavation materials, no such structure actually existed on the grounds of the historical castle.
Overall, the reconstructed buildings represent a clear and high-quality example of the fortifications of a typical early to mid–Sengoku period castle, even though they are not directly tied to the historical Ikeda Castle itself. In addition, the site features a beautiful garden with a pond inhabited by carp and turtles, which also attracts visitors.
See also
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Hiroshima Castle
Mōri Terumoto (1553–1625) was the grandson and rightful heir of the renowned Mōri Motonari. When Terumoto became the head of the Mōri clan in 1571, he inherited vast territories covering a large part of the San’in and San’yō regions in western Honshū. In addition, the Mōri clan possessed the largest and most technologically advanced naval fleet of its time.
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Fukuyama Castle
After the defeat of Toyotomi Hideyori’s supporters in the Osaka Campaigns of 1614–1615, many clans in Japan still remained not fully loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate, especially in the western Chūgoku region. Mizuno Katsunari (1564–1651), a cousin of Tokugawa Ieyasu, became the first of the Tokugawa house’s close retainers, the so-called fudai daimyō, to be relocated to this strategically important area.
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Tiba Castle
The founder of the Chiba clan is considered to be Chiba Tsunesige (1083–1180), who in 1126 moved his residence to the Inohana area and built a strongly fortified stronghold there. Although Tsunesige himself came from the Taira clan, the Chiba clan later supported Minamoto no Yoritomo, the future founder of the first shogunate.
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Sunomata Castle
Oda Nobunaga, as part of his “final solution” to the conflict with the Saitō clan, conceived the construction of a fort in the Sunomata area, which was intended to serve as a forward base for an attack on Inabayama Castle (later renamed Gifu). Sunomata was a swampy area located between Ogaki Castle, a stronghold of the Oda clan, and Inabayama, the main fortress of the Saitō clan. Earlier attempts to build fortifications in this area, carried out by Oda generals Sakuma Nobumori and Shibata Katsuie, had all ended in failure. After that, the task was entrusted to the young vassal Kinoshita Tokichirō, who later became known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
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Shibata Castle
The exact time when structures first appeared on the site of the present-day castle is unknown; however, it is generally believed that the first fortified buildings were constructed here during the Muromachi period, when these lands were controlled by the Shibata clan.
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Okayama Castle
According to a number of accounts, the earliest fortifications on the site of present-day Okayama Castle appeared as early as the 14th century and were built by the Nawa clan. The Asahigawa River was used as a natural defensive barrier, protecting one side of the fortifications.
In the early 16th century, the Kanamitsu clan constructed a new castle here, which at the time was known as Ishiyama. In 1573, it came under the control of the Ukita clan, after which Ukita Naoie (1529–1582) launched large-scale reconstruction efforts. He did not live to see the work completed, and construction was continued by his son Hideie. -
Nagahama Castle
Hashiba, later known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi, received Odani Castle and the surrounding lands from Oda Nobunaga after the defeat of the Azai clan. However, Odani Castle was located high in the mountains, which made it poorly suited for the effective administration of the territory. For this reason, in 1575 Hideyoshi began constructing a new castle in the village of Imahama on the shore of Lake Biwa. Taking the character naga from Nobunaga’s name, he renamed both the village and the new castle Nagahama.
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Kokura Castle
Kokura Castle is traditionally considered to have been founded by Hosokawa Tadaoki (1563–1645), although by the time the Hosokawa clan came to control these lands, the fortification had already existed since at least 1569 and was most likely built by members of the Mori clan.
