Kamino-yama Castle stood at the center of an important logistics hub, in the middle of the Yonezawa Plain, which served as the gateway to the western part of the Tohoku region. Roads connecting the Aizu, Fukushima, and Yamagata areas intersected here.
The first structures on the site of what is now Kamino-yama Castle appeared as early as the Muromachi period, when the territory was controlled by the Tendo clan. The lands around the future castle repeatedly became a battleground between the Mogami and Date clans, changing hands several times.
In 1528, Takenaga (Buei) Yoshitada—a retainer of the Mogami clan and a relative of the Tendo clan—defeated the Koyanagawa clan, a vassal of the Date clan, and established himself in the area around the present-day castle. In 1535, he built Kamino-yama Castle as the southernmost outpost of Mogami territory. Yoshitada took the name of the land as his family name, thereby founding the new Kamino-yama clan.
When an internal power struggle broke out within the Mogami clan, Kamino-yama Yoshitada supported the opponents of the new daimyo, Mogami Yoshiaki. Yoshiaki did not have enough troops to carry out punitive campaigns, so he preferred to rely on cunning and bribery. In 1578, Kamino-yama Mitsukane, Yoshitada’s grandson, invaded Mogami lands with the support of the Date clan. Yoshiaki made a secret agreement with Minbu Satomi, an important vassal of Mitsukane. Under the terms of the plot, Satomi was to kill Mitsukane and, as a reward, receive Kamino-yama Castle. The conspiracy succeeded, and Satomi became the castle’s lord. The castle remained an important stronghold in the confrontation between the Mogami and Date clans.
Kamino-yama Castle was built on a low hill near a river that flowed nearby. Its fortification plan made the most of the natural defenses: the western and southern sides were protected by steep cliffs. The castle had two defensive rings, each surrounded by a water-filled moat (mizubori). The main enclosure, the honmaru, was almost rectangular, measuring roughly 100 by 50 meters.
In 1590, both the Mogami and Date clans pledged loyalty to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the Mogami clan’s rights to the lands around Kamino-yama Castle were confirmed.
During the Sekigahara campaign in 1600, the Mogami clan supported Tokugawa Ieyasu, and as a result their lands were attacked by the Uesugi clan. Kamino-yama Castle was besieged by a force of 4,000 soldiers, while the commander, Minbu Satomi, had only 500 men. However, Satomi hid part of the garrison outside the castle and suddenly attacked the besiegers from the rear, which helped prevent an assault on the castle. After Ieyasu’s victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, the Mogami clan’s rights to the lands around Kamino-yama Castle were confirmed once again.
However, in 1622 a conflict erupted within the clan, and as punishment the Mogami clan was stripped of its rights, and the territory of the new Kamino-yama Domain was confiscated. During the Edo period, the castle and the domain frequently changed hands, including the Matsudaira, Gamo, Toki, and Kanamori clans.
Under the rule of the Toki clan (1628–1691), the castle acquired a donjon, but it was destroyed in 1692 and was never rebuilt. In the 18th century, the castle passed into the hands of the Fujii branch of the Matsudaira clan, who governed the castle and domain until the beginning of the Meiji era.
According to an edict of the new Meiji government, the surviving castle structures were dismantled in 1872, and the former castle grounds were turned into a city park. A Shinto shrine was also built on the ruins.
In 1982, a reinforced-concrete keep tower was built on the site of the former second bailey. Since no materials showing what the original keep of Kamino-yama Castle looked like have survived, the keep of Inuyama Castle was used as the model for this “reconstruction.” This is yet another example of a “fake reconstruction” of Japanese castle keeps.
Today, the tower houses a history museum, and the top floor has an observation deck offering an excellent view of the Zao Mountains and the city of Kamino-yama. Some sources also give the castle another name: Tsukioka.
See also
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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.
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Kavanhoe Castle
Kawanoe Castle is located on the small Wasi-yama hill near the port area of the Kawanoe district in the city of Shikokuchuo, occupying a central position along the northern coast of Shikoku Island. Kawanoe was also known as Butsuden Castle. The term “butsuden” in Japan refers to temple halls, and for this reason it is believed that a Buddhist temple once stood on the site before the castle was built. Due to its location at the junction of four provinces on Shikoku Island, Kawanoe held significant strategic importance and was repeatedly targeted by rival forces seeking military control over the region.
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Yokote Castle
The founder of the castle is considered to be the Onodera clan. The Onodera were originally a minor clan from Shimotsuke Province and served Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–1199), the founder of the first shogunate. The Onodera distinguished themselves in battle against the Fujiwara clan of the Ōshū branch and were rewarded with lands around Yokote. Around the 14th century, the Onodera moved to Yokote as their permanent residence. Their original stronghold was Numadate Castle, but after a series of clashes with the powerful Nambu clan, they relocated their base to the site of present-day Yokote Castle. It was likely during this time that the first fortifications appeared at the castle.
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Wakayama Castle
Wakayama Castle was built in 1585, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered his uterine brother, Hashiba (Toyotomi) Hidenaga, to construct a castle on the site of the recently captured Ota Castle. The purpose of this construction was to secure control over the likewise newly conquered Province of Kii. Following an already established tradition, Hidenaga entrusted the project to his castle-building expert, Todo Takatora. Takatora carefully inspected the future castle site, personally drew up several designs, created a model of the planned castle, and took part in the work of laying out the grounds (nawabari). For the construction he brought in more than 10,000 workers and completed the large-scale project within a single year, which was considered extremely fast by the standards of the time.
Toyama Castle
Toyama Castle is located almost in the very center of the former province of Etchū and is surrounded by a wide plain with a large number of rivers. The very first castle on the banks of the Jinzu River was built in 1543 by Jimbo Nagamoto. The Jimbo clan were vassals of the Hatakeyama clan and governed the western part of Etchū Province. The eastern part of the province belonged to their rivals, the Shiina clan, who were also Hatakeyama vassals. Beginning in the 15th century, the influence of the ancient Hatakeyama clan gradually weakened, and as a result, the Jimbo and the Shiina fought constant wars for control of the province. Meanwhile, the forces of the Ikkō-ikki movement periodically intervened, helping first one side and then the other.
Takada Castle
During the Sengoku period, the lands where Takada Castle would later be built were part of Echigo Province and were controlled by the Uesugi clan.
Kishiwada Castle
The celebrated 14th-century military commander Kusunoki Masashige (1294–1336), who owned extensive lands south of what is now the city of Osaka, ordered one of his vassals, Kishiwada Osamu, to build a fortified residence. This order was carried out around 1336. These fortifications became the first structures on the site of what would later become Kishiwada Castle. From the beginning, the castle stood in a strategically important location—roughly halfway between the cities of Wakayama and Osaka, south of the key port of Sakai. Because of this position, it changed hands several times during periods of warfare.
Imabari Castle
Tōdō Takatora (1556–1630) served at different times as a vassal of several famous clans—Azai, Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa. He took part in the Battle of Anegawa (1570), the Battle of Shizugatake (1583), the invasions of Kyushu and Korea, the Sekigahara campaign (1600), and the Siege of Osaka (1614–1615).
