- Ogaki DomainKey points in the Tokai region
- The Ogaki Domain was a domain whose territory was the area around Ogaki in Mino Province, currently the area around Ogaki City in Gifu Prefecture. During the Sengoku period, the Oda clan and the Saito clan fought over Ogaki Castle, which was a key point connecting Mino and Omi Provinces. In the early Edo period, three clans rapidly changed hands in a short period of time.
Ogaki CastleOgaki City, Gifu Prefecture
- TOP
- Chubu
- Gifu Prefecture
- Ogaki Castle
| Other name | Bijo Castle, Kyorokujo Castle |
|---|---|
| castle construction | 1535 |
| address | 2-52 Kakumachi, Ogaki City, Gifu Prefecture |
| telephone number | 0584-74-7875 |
| Opening hours | 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Last entry is 4:30 p.m.) |
| closing day | Tuesdays, the day after holidays, New Year's holidays |
| Admission fee | Adult 200 yen |
Ogaki Castle has a four-story castle tower, which is rare in Japan, and is familiar to citizens as a symbol of the castle town of Ogaki.
- Access to Ogaki Castle
- 7 minutes walk south from the south exit of JR Ogaki Station.
HISTORYOgaki Castle, which was Ishida Mitsunari's base during the Battle of Sekigahara
Ogaki Castle is a flatland castle located in Ogaki City, Gifu Prefecture. It is also known as Bijo Castle or Kyorokujo Castle, and the castle tower still stood until it was burned down in an air raid during the Pacific War. It also served as the base of Ishida Mitsunari during the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Let's take a look at the history of Ogaki Castle.
- It became Ishida Mitsunari's base during the Battle of Sekigahara.
- The history of Ogaki Castle is said to have begun in 1535, when it was built by Miyagawa Yoshizaemon-no-jo Yasusada of the Toki clan, who served as the guardian of Mino Province, but no definitive records remain.
In the latter part of the Sengoku period, Ogaki Castle became an important strategic base, and was repeatedly fought over by warlords who rose to power in the Chubu region, such as the Oda clan and the Saito clan, and it was eventually captured by Oda Nobunaga's father, Oda Nobuhide, but was recaptured by the Saito clan five years later. Later, in 1559, a warlord named Ujiie Naomoto (Kuwabara Naomoto) carried out large-scale renovations, expanding the moat and earthworks and establishing a full enclosure.
After the Battle of Shizugatake in 1585, the area where Ogaki Castle stands came under the control of Hashiba Hideyoshi (Toyotomi Hideyoshi). Hideyoshi first bestowed the castle to Ikeda Tsuneoki and his son Ikeda Terumasa, then transferred Ikeda Terumasa to Gifu Castle and gave the castle lord position to Toyotomi Hideyoshi's nephew, Toyotomi Hidetsugu's vassal, Ichiyanagi Naosue, with a stipend of 30,000 koku.
The buildings of Ogaki Castle were completely destroyed by the Tensho earthquake that occurred in 1586. Between 1588 and 1596, the distinctive four-story castle tower was constructed by Ichiyanagi Naosue or Ito Sukemori.
When the Battle of Sekigahara took place in 1600, Ito Morimune, the lord of the castle at the time, sided with the Western Army, so Ishida Mitsunari led his main forces into Ogaki Castle and made it his base. After Ishida Mitsunari and his main forces moved to Sekigahara, Fukuhara Nagataka, the husband of Mitsunari's sister, remained behind to defend the castle.
After the Western Army was defeated in the Battle of Sekigahara, Ogaki Castle was surrounded by the Eastern Army. Furthermore, Sagara Yorifusa, Akizuki Tanenaga, and Takahashi Mototane defected to the Eastern Army and summoned Kakimi Kazunao, Kimura Yoshinobu, Kimura Toyonori, Kumagai Naomori, and others under the pretext of a military council, where they murdered them. Even in this situation, Fukuhara Nagataka continued to resist, but he was finally persuaded directly by an envoy from Tokugawa Ieyasu, and surrendered and handed over the castle. The Battle of Sekigahara began on September 15th, and Fukuhara Nagataka surrendered on September 23rd.
After that, Nagataka Fukuhara retired to Ise Asakumayama and became a monk, but Tokugawa Ieyasu did not forgive him, and he ended his life by committing suicide. In addition, the daughter of a military commander named Yamada Kyoreki, who participated in the battle of Ogaki Castle, wrote a book called "Oan Monogatari" about the scene at the time, which has been passed down to the present day. - Ogaki Castle after the Edo period
- In the Edo period, the castle was ruled by Ishikawa Yasumichi, his nephew Ishikawa Tadatsugu, Matsudaira Tadayoshi, and others, during which time it underwent large-scale repairs and reconstructions. In 1635, Toda Ujikane became the lord of the castle, and the Toda clan continued to rule the castle until the Meiji Restoration. In the Edo period, Ogaki Castle featured a four-story, four-storey, combined-style tower-type castle tower, one three-story tower and three two-story towers, four three-story towers including a Tsukimi Tower in Ninomaru, four two-story towers and one flat tower in Sannomaru, and other structures. Records show that Honmaru and Ninomaru were lined up in a parallel enclosure style, surrounded by Sannomaru, and further surrounded by a general enclosure on the outside of Sannomaru.
In the Meiji era, an order was issued to abolish the castle, but some of the buildings, such as the castle tower, escaped damage, and the castle tower was designated a former national treasure in 1936. However, in 1945, the castle tower and all other buildings were burned down in the Ogaki air raid.
Between 1959 and 1967, the castle tower and the Inui turret were restored with reinforced concrete. However, the castle tower was based on Gunjo Hachiman Castle, and its appearance is slightly different. Ogaki City is currently planning the "Ogaki Castle Development Dream Plan" to recreate the castle as it was in the past, but has not yet realized it. In 2017, it was designated as one of the 100 Famous Castles. - summary
- Currently, Ogaki Castle has an exhibition room where you can see materials related to the Battle of Sekigahara and materials related to the Toda clan, who were the lords of Ogaki Castle during the Edo period. It is also a popular cherry blossom viewing spot, and is crowded with local residents and many tourists during the cherry blossom season.
Read about incidents related to Ogaki Castle
- Battle of SekigaharaThe battle that divided the world - What was the trigger, summary, and what happened next?
- On September 15, 1600, the ``Battle of Sekigahara,'' said to be the battle that divided the world, took place. In this battle, the eastern army led by Tokugawa Ieyasu and the western army led by Ishida Mitsunari clashed at Sekigahara (Sekigahara Town, Gifu Prefecture), but the eastern army won in just six hours.
- Battle of ShizugatakeToyotomi Hideyoshi defeats Shibata Katsuie to take over the nation!
- In April 1583, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Shibata Katsuie clashed near Shizugatake in Ika District, Omi Province (Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture). This was a battle called the "Battle of Shizugatake." This is the final battle between Hideyoshi and Katsuie, and the first step in Hideyoshi's takeover of the country.
- Tensho EarthquakeThe great disaster that caused Hideyoshi to give up on subjugating Ieyasu
- In Japan, an earthquake-prone country, large earthquakes have disrupted people's destinies since ancient times. One such earthquake was the Tensho Earthquake, which hit the center of Japan on November 29, 1586 (January 18, 1586). Hide Toyotomi was struck by a huge earthquake with a magnitude of 8.
Read about people related to Ogaki Castle
- Mitsunari IshidaA military commander who was an excellent bureaucrat and loyal vassal of Hideyoshi.
- After Oda Nobunaga, one of the three great heroes of the Sengoku period, was defeated in the Honnoji Incident, it was Toyotomi Hideyoshi who unified the country. Ishida Mitsunari served as one of the five magistrates under Hideyoshi and supported him. After Hideyoshi's death, Mori Teru came to defeat Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was aiming to take over the country.
- Tsuneoki IkedaOda Nobunaga's foster brother
- During the Sengoku period, a vassal who could be trusted was a precious asset to a warlord. However, even if they were from the same family, they could not always be trusted, and it was not uncommon for siblings to fight over the succession. Among the many capable warlords employed by Oda Nobunaga,
History of the Ogaki domain, with Ogaki Castle as the domain office
| Domain office | Ogaki Castle |
|---|---|
| old area | Ogaki, Mino Province |
| stone height | 100,000 koku |
| Fudai/Tozama | Fudai |
| main lord | Ishikawa family, Matsudaira (Hisamatsu) family, Okabe family, Matsudaira (Hisamatsu) family, Toda family |
| Estimated population | 90,000 people (first year of the Meiji era) |
Following Yasumichi Ishikawa, the Matsudaira (Hisamatsu) family, the Okabe family, and the Toda family were included. At the end of the Edo period, the chief retainer, Tetsushin Ohara, supported the new government.