Japanese castle vol 32 Nagahama castle 【Japanese tourism】【Nagahama , Shiga , Japan】
Hello everyone, this is OSHIRO. Today, I have come to visit a castle as part of my castle tour. The castle I will be exploring today is Nagahama Castle, located in Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture. Currently, there is a reconstructed main tower, which serves as a historical museum inside. It is one of the tourist
Attractions in Nagahama City. Now, let’s take a closer look without further ado. Nagahama Castle is currently maintained as a park at the site of the main enclosure. The remains include the reconstructed main tower, inner moat, outer moat, and well site. However,
A part of the former castle grounds is submerged in Lake Biwa. The Taiko Well is also located within Lake Biwa, and its full extent can be seen during periods of low water levels. It becomes apparent that the castle’s fortifications extended further into Lake Biwa than they do now.
The layout of Nagahama Castle is estimated to be approximately 800 meters north to south and 600 meters east to west. The main enclosure (honmaru) and the second enclosure (ninomaru) were surrounded by the inner moat of Lake Biwa. Additionally, there were two sets of outer moats,
The inner and outer outer moats. It appears that between the inner moat and the double outer moats, there were residences for the vassals of the castle. On the northern side of the inner moat, near the entrance to Lake Biwa, there was a fish enclosure called “Goyōbunokoro,” which
Served as a naval port. In this area, there were military facilities such as storage houses for weapons, a training ground, and rice storehouses for storing provisions. The current main tower of Nagahama Castle is a building designed based on the imagined appearance
Of Hideyoshi’s era main tower, but it is uncertain whether the main tower of Hideyoshi’s era had this exact form. Furthermore, it is constructed in a different location from the original one. According to maps from the Edo period, it is known that there was a main tower base in the main
Enclosure measuring approximately 18 meters north to south and 22 meters east to west. Additionally, according to the “Higashi-Asai-gunshi” compiled in the early Showa period, it is said that Hideyoshi moved the bell tower of Kotani Castle and built a three-story main tower. The remains of the
Main tower base are located approximately 50 meters northwest of the current main tower. The founder of Nagahama Castle is Hideyoshi Hashiba. During the Sengoku period, the Asai clan held their power base at Kotani Castle in Omi. After the Oda forces destroyed the Asai clan,
Oda Nobunaga highly recognized Hideyoshi Hashiba and appointed him to the position of “Ejō Asai-ato Ichishoku” (Governor of the former Asai territories). Hideyoshi became a daimyo with control over the three northern Omi districts, totaling 120,000 koku of rice. Initially, Hideyoshi used Oｄani Castle, the former stronghold of the Asai clan,
As his main base. However, Ｏｄani Castle, located at an elevation of 300 meters, was not suitable for effective control of the territory. Therefore, Hideyoshi decided to build a new castle in Imahama, where a subsidiary castle of the Kyōgoku clan had once existed. It seems that there was a
Castle residence belonging to the Uenishi clan, who were originally vassals of the Kyōgoku clan. The construction of Imahama Castle began in 1574 and was completed in approximately two years. By early 1576, the castle was finished, and the castle town was relocated from Kotani.
The history of Nagahama Castle is very brief. After the Incident at Honnōji, the castle was seized by forces loyal to Akechi Mitsuhide. Following the Kiyosu Conference, Nagahama Castle was transferred from Hashiba Hideyoshi to Shibata Katsuie. Shibata Katsuie was the chief retainer
Of the Oda clan. Taking control of the castle was Shibata Katsuie’s nephew, Shibata Katsuie. The Battle of Shizugatake took place between Hashiba Hideyoshi and Shibata Katsuie. Shibata Katsutoyo, surrendering to Hashiba Hideyoshi, temporarily returned Nagahama Castle to Hideyoshi’s control. However, after the battle,
Yamauchi Kazutoyo entered and took control of the castle. In 1606, after the Battle of Sekigahara, Naito Nobunari, who was the half-brother of Tokugawa Ieyasu, entered Nagahama Castle. The territory eventually became the domain of the hereditary daimyo, the Ii clan,
Who built Hikone Castle. In 1615, Nagahama Castle was abandoned and turned into farmland. The buildings and stone walls of Nagahama Castle were utilized in the construction of Hikone Castle. The city of Nagahama recorded a population of 4,723 people during the Edo period. Nagahama served as a lodging station on the Hokkoku Kaido
(Northern Country Road) and Nagahama Minato (Port) was one of the three ports of Hikone, along with Matsubara (Hikone) and Yabase. It was a vital port for lake transportation and fishing. That concludes our castle tour for this time, focusing on Nagahama Castle.
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0:00 Honmaru (main bailey)
1:05 Circumference of Nagahama Castle
1:47 Information board and explanation of the main keep
2:26 Hashiba Hideyoshi
2:50 History of Nagahama Castle
4:17 Nagahama Castle main keep
5:30 Nagahama Castle observation deck
This time, we are exploring a castle called Nagahama Castle. Hashiba Hideyoshi, who was a retainer of the Oda clan, received the Asai domain as a reward for his achievements in the conquest of Asai Nagamasa, a powerful daimyo in the province of Omi. He made Imahama his base and renamed it “Nagahama” by taking the character “Naga” from Nobunaga’s name, who was his lord.
Hideyoshi built Nagahama Castle and established it as his stronghold. However, after the downfall of the Toyotomi clan, Nagahama Castle fell into ruin. The stone walls and other materials were used in the construction of Hikone Castle. The Daido-ji Daigomon gate, Chizen-in Omotemon gate, and Hikone Castle Tenbin-yagura turret are said to be remnants of Nagahama Castle.
Address: 10-10 Koen-cho, Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan
Access: 5 minutes on foot from JR Biwako Line “Nagahama” station.
Here is the link to the previous castle tour.