Kanayama Castle

, also known as "Ōta Kanayama Castle" and as "Nitta Kanayama Castle", is a "yamashiro" (castle sited on a hill) located on top of Mount Kanayama in Ōta, Gunma Prefecture, Japan.

History

Kanayama Castle was built in 1469 by Iwamatsu Iezumi. In 1528, a retainer of the Iwamatsu Clan, Yokose Narishige (his family later changed their name to Yura), began ruling over it. The castle withstood sieges by Uesugi Kenshin in 1574, Takeda Katsuyori in 1580, and Satake Yoshishige in 1583. The Hōjō clan captured the lord of Tatebayashi Castle, Nagao Akinaga, and Yura Kunishige. The two brothers gave the Hōjō Kanayama Castle, under the condition that he be released. In 1590, as part of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's campaign against the Hōjō, Kanayama Castle was seized by Maeda Toshiie. Following this, the castle was abandoned and never used again. [ [http://www.jcastle.info/castle/profile/93-Kanayama-Castle Kanayama Castle ] ] The castle's ruins (which have partly been restored) are currently maintained by the City of Ota. [ [http://www.city.ota.gunma.jp/gyosei/0020a/007/01/english/sight-seeing/sight-seeing%20guide.htm Sight-seeing guide of Ota city ] ]

A myth that has long surrounded both Kanayama Castle and Inuyama Castle is that the "tenshu" (keep) of the latter was moved there from the former by Ishikawa Mitsuyoshi in 1559. Though this theory has since been disproved, it is still sometimes quoted. [ [http://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.php?title=Inuyama_castle Inuyama castle - SamuraiWiki ] ]

References