Ruined castle in Karatsu, Saga prefecture, Japan
Nagoya Castle
(
名護屋城
,
Nagoya-j?
)
was a
Japanese castle
located in
Karatsu
,
Saga Prefecture
.
Nagoya Castle was located within
Hizen Province
on a
peninsula
near to
Iki Island
, and served as the base from which
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
launched his
invasions of Korea
from 1592 to 1598. None of the original historic structures of Nagoya Castle remain, but the castle's ruined foundations survive in the formerly separate town of
Chinzei
, now part of the city of Karatsu.
It is said that during the brief time that Hideyoshi stayed at Nagoya Castle, he memorized the
shite
(lead role) parts for ten
Noh
plays and performed them, forcing various
daimy?
to accompany him onstage as the
waki
(accompanying role), and even performed before the
Emperor
.
[1]
A museum dedicated to the history of
Japanese-Korean relations
and related subjects is associated with Nagoya Castle and located nearby
[1]
.
History
[
edit
]
Nagoya Castle was located on a hill about 90 meters high on the Higashi-Matsuura Peninsula. During the early
Sengoku period
(1467?1615), this was a strong-point of the Matsuura clan. According to clan history compiled in centuries later in the
Edo period
), the Matsuura was a clan allied with the
Minamoto
, claiming descent from
Emperor Saga
(r. 809?823), who had a "navy" (or
Wokou
).
The castle, built in 1591 by Hideyoshi in preparation for his invasion of Korea, had a five-story tower (
Tenshu
) on the hill, a magnificent residential palace, and various outlying defenses covering 170,000 square meters. Within a 3 km radius were the camps of about 120 vassals.
[2]
A town grew up around the military establishments, with a population of over 100,000 people at its height.
After the death of Hideyoshi 18 September 1598, the invasion of Korea came to a halt and the castle is believed to have been abandoned at this time. It is said that construction materials were utilized by
Terazawa Hirotaka
(1563?1633) to build
Karatsu Castle
.
[3]
See also
[
edit
]
Literature
[
edit
]
- De Lange, William (2021).
An Encyclopedia of Japanese Castles
. Groningen: Toyo Press. pp. 600 pages.
ISBN
978-9492722300
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Ichikawa, Danj?r? XII
.
Danj?r? no kabuki annai
(團十?の歌舞伎案?, "Danj?r?'s Guide to Kabuki"). Tokyo: PHP Shinsho, 2008. p140.
- ^
Gakushu Kenkyusha editors (2008).
【決定版】?? よみがえる名城 漆?の要塞 豊臣の城
[
Definitive Edition: Famous Castles Come to Life through Illustrations: Hideyoshi's Castles: Lacquer-Black Strongholds
] (in Japanese). Gakushu Kenkyusha.
- ^
Hirai, Kiyoshi general editor (1996).
『城』(九州沖? 8)
[
Castles Volume 8: Kyushu and Okinawa
] (in Japanese). Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd.
External links
[
edit
]
Media related to
Nagoya Castle (Hizen)
at Wikimedia Commons
33°31′49″N
129°52′09″E
/
33.530316°N 129.869264°E
/
33.530316; 129.869264