The impressive ruins of Koriyama Castle sit atop a small hill, surrounded by two rivers. The strategic positioning and strong layout of the castle served it well through the final years of the Sengoku period and the peaceful days of the Edo period.
Tsutsui Junkei (1549-1584), after defeating Matsunaga Hisahide with the assistance of Oda Nobunaga, relocated from Tsutsui Castle to Koriyama and built the magnificent castle as a symbol of his mastery over the Yamato region. Two years after its completion in 1580, Akechi Mitsuhide attacked Oda Nobunaga in the Honno-ji Incident and sought Tsutsui’s military assistance at Horagatoge Pass. Tsutsui, who had served under Akechi since allying with the Oda, hesitated and observed the unfolding events before deciding his course of action. This delayed response led to the Japanese saying “Horagatoge wo kimekomu,” meaning “to wait and see what happens at Horagatoge,” used sarcastically to describe someone who waits to join the winning side.
In 1595, Mashita Nagamori ruled the area from the fine castle but was forced out following the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. For the next 15 years, Koriyama remained vacant until the Tokugawa installed Mizuno Katsushige in Yamato, tasking him with reconstructing the now-dilapidated structures. The Honda clan also served as lords of Koriyama.
In 1724, the Yanagisawa clan of Kofu (Yamanashi Prefecture) became masters of Koriyama. Upon hearing of Lord Yanagisawa Yoshisato’s transfer, the peasants of Kofu promptly paid their annual rice tax and saw their lord off with respect. He brought with him 5,286 retainers and their families to Koriyama, along with his prized pet goldfish. This led to a prosperous side business for many lower-ranked samurai, sustaining them long after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, when the samurai were disbanded. The Yanagisawa clan also introduced silkworm farming, improving the local economy. They remained in control of Koriyama until the Meiji Restoration. Koriyama Castle was destroyed in 1873. The surrounding deep moats, impressive stonework, and the castle’s Rinkakushiki layout, with the Honmaru protected on all four sides by surrounding baileys and precincts, offer much for castle enthusiasts to enjoy. Having been built in 1580, the stone walls exhibit a mixture of stoneworking methods.
The Otemon gate, Ote Mukai Yagura, Tamon Yagura, and Ote East Yagura have been well reconstructed and are open at certain times during the year. Plans are underway to reconstruct the Gokuraku Bridge and Hakutaku gate. Koriyama Castle was designated one of the Alternative Top 100 Castles in early 2017.
See also
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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.
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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).
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Iwakuni Castle
Kikkawa Hiroie (1561–1625) was the grandson of the famous daimyo Mori Motonari and a vassal of the Mori clan. Under Mori Terumoto, he fought in both Korean campaigns and took part in the defense of Ulsan Castle. During the Battle of Sekigahara, Hiroie stood with his 3,000-man force on the side of the Western Coalition; however, even before the battle began, he sent Tokugawa Ieyasu a secret message stating that he did not intend to fight Tokugawa’s troops. As a result of his inaction, 15,000 soldiers under Mori Hidemoto were also unable to enter the battle, since Hiroie blocked their path.
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Gujo Hachiman Castle
Gujo Hachiman Castle is located on 350-meter Mount Hachiman, near the confluence of the Yoshidagawa and Kodaragava rivers, and not far from the Nagaragawa River. During the Sengoku period, this area was of great strategic importance: it stood at a key crossroads of routes connecting Mino Province in the south with the Sea of Japan in the north, and Hida Province in the east with Echizen Province in the west.
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Amagasaki Castle
The founding year of Amagasaki Castle is traditionally considered to be 1617, when Toda Ujikané built his castle here, making it the administrative center of the Amagasaki Domain. However, as early as the Sengoku period, a fortress built by the Hosokawa clan already stood on this site. After the fall of Itami Castle in 1579, Araki Murashige—formerly a vassal of Oda Nobunaga who had rebelled against him—fled to this earlier castle.
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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.
