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Odawara Castle
(Sagami Province／Kanagawa Prefecture)
Odawara-jo was the castle of Ougigayatsu Uesugi clan's vassal, Oomori clan, at the end of the Muromachi period, but was conquered by Izu's Soun Hojo, whose family maintained ownership for over 5 generations (a hundred years).
Hojo clan expanded the castle, and turned it into an enormous fortress with an outer ward of 9km in diameter, including the castle town. The defensive capabilities are tested and tried by Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen, who were both forced to retreat their Odawara-jo attacks. However, the era soon entered the unification period, and after a three-month period of being sieged by Hideyoshi Toyotomi, Hojo clan finally surrendered and opened the gates.
Ieyasu Tokugawa shifted to Kanto after the war and his vassal Tadayo Okubo became the ruler of the castle. After his child Tadachika lost his position and the castle once became abandoned, but it was rebuilt and Ookubo clan returned as the ruler. During the Edo period, Mt Fuji erupted and shook the earth, destroying the buildings and collapsing the castle tower, which are now restored. Today's Odawara-jo's castle tower was restored in the 35th year of Showa era (1941).
(2007/11/23 、 2014/4/29 )
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