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.
During the time of Onodera Kagemichi (1534–1597), the clan reached the height of its prosperity. As a result of successful military campaigns, their territories expanded significantly, and Yokote Castle was rebuilt and further strengthened.
Yokote was situated on the 60-meter-high Shiroyama Hill, next to which flowed the Omonogawa River (now called the Yokotegawa), providing natural protection. On the opposite side of the hill was a pond, beyond which rose a mountain range. The space between the river and the hill became an ideal location for the castle town (jōkamachi).
Shiroyama Hill consisted of two peaks. The main enclosure, the honmaru, was located on the southern peak, while the second enclosure, the ninomaru, occupied the neighboring peak and was considerably larger—about 100 meters long and 50 meters wide. In the saddle between the two peaks stood the third enclosure, the sannomaru. A palace was built within the second enclosure, where the castle’s lords resided.
Under the next clan leader, Onodera Yoshimichi (1566–1646), the clan’s lands were attacked by neighboring clans—Mogami, Ando, and Tozawa—and also suffered from uprisings by minor vassals. As a result, the Onodera lost part of their territories.
After the victory in the Odawara Campaign of 1590, Toyotomi Hideyoshi compelled the northern daimyō to submit and swear loyalty to him. The Onodera clan’s rights to the lands around Yokote were confirmed. However, a major peasant uprising soon broke out within Onodera domains due to dissatisfaction with Hideyoshi’s land reforms. Hideyoshi blamed Yoshimichi for the rebellion, confiscated a significant portion of his territories, and transferred them to Mogami Yoshiaki. Yoshimichi did not submit, and a series of military clashes followed between him and Yoshiaki.
During the Sekigahara Campaign of 1600, both the Onodera and Mogami clans initially supported Tokugawa Ieyasu. However, when the Uesugi clan, which supported the Western Coalition, attacked Mogami lands, Onodera Yoshimichi saw an opportunity to regain his lost territories and sided with the Uesugi. After Ieyasu’s victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, the Onodera clan was stripped of its holdings in Yokote and relocated to Iwami Province.
The lands surrounding Yokote Castle were granted to the Satake clan. Their main stronghold was Kubota Castle, while Yokote served as an auxiliary fort. The Satake strengthened and expanded the castle.
The castle avoided dismantling under the 1615 “one province, one castle” edict because it occupied a strategically important position on the southern flank of Satake territory, and the shogunate permitted it to remain.
During the Edo period, the castle changed hands several times; it was administered by the Satake, Date, Suda, and Tomura clans. The castle was almost completely destroyed by fire during the battles of the Boshin War in 1868.
Today, only traces of earthen fortifications and some fragments of stone and earthen walls remain. In 1965, a three-story reinforced concrete donjon was built on the site of the former second enclosure (ninomaru), serving as a museum and observation deck. It was modeled after the donjon of Okazaki Castle. Since the historical Yokote Castle, like Kubota Castle, never had a main tower, this donjon is considered one of the so-called “fake” reconstructions.
On the site of the former main enclosure (honmaru) now stands a semi-abandoned Shinto shrine built in 1879, a branch of the main shrine in Akita dedicated to the Satake clan. It is believed that parts of the few surviving castle structures were used in its construction.
In the former castle town, several samurai residences from the Edo period have been preserved to this day.
See also
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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.
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).
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.
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.
