Numata Castle, located in Numata, northern Gunma Prefecture, Japan, has a rich and complex history. During the late Edo period, it served as the residence of the Toki clan, who ruled the Numata Domain. Over the centuries, the castle changed hands multiple times and was the site of significant battles during the Sengoku period.
Origins and Sengoku Period Conflicts
The Numata clan originally controlled the region, with Numata Akiyasu constructing a fortress on the site in 1532. However, in 1580, Sanada Masayuki, a vassal of Takeda Katsuyori, seized the castle. The Numata clan attempted to reclaim their stronghold the following year but suffered devastating losses.
The castle then became a focal point of conflict between the Sanada clan and the Odawara Hōjō clan. In 1589, Toyotomi Hideyoshi sought to mediate the dispute by awarding Numata Castle to the Hōjō and granting nearby Nagurumi Castle to the Sanada. However, Hōjō castellan Inomata Kuninori rejected the settlement and launched an attack on the Sanada. After the fall of the Hōjō at the Battle of Odawara in 1590, the Sanada regained undisputed control over Numata.
Expansion and the Edo Period
In 1597, Sanada Nobuyuki undertook an ambitious reconstruction of Numata Castle, expanding its defenses with stone walls, a grand five-story donjon, and multiple three-story yagura (watchtowers). In 1656, Numata became a separate domain from the Sanada stronghold at Ueda Castle. However, in 1681, Sanada Nobutoshi was dispossessed by the Tokugawa shogunate due to financial misrepresentation, leading to the castle’s destruction.
The domain was later reinstated in 1703 and awarded to Honda Masanaga, who partially rebuilt Numata Castle. While some moats and earthen embankments were restored, neither a new donjon nor yagura were constructed. The castle later came under the rule of the Kuroda clan before being transferred to the Toki clan in 1742. From this period onward, the ruling families resided in a residence within the castle’s third bailey, and the site functioned more as a jin’ya (administrative headquarters) than a military fortress.
Preservation and Legacy
In 1912, Kume Tamenosuke, a former samurai of the Toki clan, purchased the castle site. He later donated it to the town of Numata in 1926, transforming it into a public park. Today, the park features the Ubukata House, an Edo-period structure that once served as a pharmacy in the Numata castle town. Designated as an Important Cultural Property, it now operates as a local history museum, showcasing artifacts, including a scale model of Numata Castle during the Sanada era.
Recognizing its historical significance, Numata Castle was included in the Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles list in 2017. Although little remains of the original structure, its legacy endures as a testament to the region’s turbulent past and the shifting power dynamics of feudal Japan.
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.
