Komaki Castle, properly known as Komakiyama Castle, was constructed in 1563 during the warlord Oda Nobunaga’s expansionist efforts. His goal was to defeat the neighboring warlord, Saito Tatsuoki, and take the province of Mino (now Gifu Prefecture). Oda Nobunaga, a military genius, recognized the importance of relocating to key strategic positions to expand his territories. For over ten years, Nobunaga had been based at the strategically important Kiyosu Castle in modern-day Aichi Prefecture. With his sights set on Mino, he chose to move his base of operations to a more northerly location.
According to legend, Nobunaga foresaw that his generals would resist relocating far from their established homes around Kiyosu. To address this, he first suggested building the new castle atop the distant and very steep 293-meter-high Mt. Ninomiya near Inuyama. As expected, his men balked at the idea, so he proposed the closer, lower, and more convenient Mt. Komaki instead. Unable to refuse their lord a second time, they agreed on Komaki.
The position of Komaki was ideal. Situated on top of an 86-meter-high hill, it provided an unhindered view across the vast Nobi Plain and surrounding areas, and it was surrounded by a small river that supplied water. Its proximity to Mino would also serve to psychologically unsettle the enemy.
Although Nobunaga only used the castle for four years, it appears he had intended to be based in Komaki much longer. The castle was very well designed, with many innovative features. It served as a template for Nobunaga’s most superb castle at Azuchi, constructed 13 years later. The designs and layout of both castles show many similarities. Recent research and excavations have revealed that Komaki was one of the earliest castles to extensively use defensive stonework, a feature that later became standard in all castles.
Of particular note were the large rocks stacked in three concentric rows around the top of the mountain. The upper ring surrounding the central bailey stood 3-4 meters high, while the middle and lowest rings were both about 2 meters high. One large rock weighing 190 kg was found with the name "Sakuma" written in sumi ink, believed to be that of an Oda samurai tasked with constructing the castle walls. This is the oldest known marking on an ishigaki (stone wall). Since that discovery, all stones unearthed at the site have been carefully washed and inspected for more brush marks.
Aside from the stone walls, the castle featured a 5.5-meter-wide Otemichi, a main path leading straight up the mountain. Nobunaga positioned the homes of his top retainers along either side of this path, ensuring that all his men were central to his needs. This feature was also seen at Azuchi years later.
Komaki was also Japan's first castle to feature a specially constructed Jokamachi (castle town) laid out below it. Partially defended by surrounding moats and 2-meter-high earthen walls, the town was laid out in a grid-like pattern south of the mountain. Nobunaga’s palace is believed to have stood on the flat, moat-protected precincts east of the mountain fortress. Interestingly, the layout of the castle grounds and the castle town was used again when Nobunaga built Azuchi Castle, although on a much larger and more elegant scale. Komaki was the trial, Azuchi was the perfected version.
Komaki Castle was abandoned in 1567 when Nobunaga ousted the Saito clan from what would be renamed Gifu Castle, establishing it as his new base of operations. Seventeen years later, thousands of samurai returned to Komaki for the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute. Komaki Castle didn’t see action until two years after Nobunaga’s death, when it became one of the sites of the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute in 1584. This historically important conflict initially began as a siege between the forces of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Nobunaga’s general and successor, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, his former ally. Ieyasu set his war camp on the long-abandoned Komaki Castle site. The conflict later escalated into a full-blown battle in the Nagakute region.
The 21 hectares of tree-covered mountain are preserved as a National Historical Site. The three-story keep on top of Mt. Komaki is a 1968 concrete reconstruction, which never existed during the time of Nobunaga or Ieyasu. Although there is little information, the keep houses some interesting relics and an easy-to-understand diorama of the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute. Ongoing research means that archaeological digs are often taking place, and new gates, paths, stone walls, and details are continually being discovered at the innovative Komakiyama Castle.
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.
Kaminoyama Castle
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.
