Urato Castle

Japanese: 浦戸城 - うらとじょう

Hirayama Castle was a medieval castle located in Urado, Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture. It had a main castle with a triple-story castle tower on a hill overlooking Katsurahama Beach, and had Ninomaru, Sannomaru, and Demaru. It is said that a local feudal lord's fort had been built here since the Nanboku-cho period, but the details are unknown. At the end of the Sengoku period, Chosokabe Motochika built a new castle in Otakasaka (where Kochi Castle is now located) and moved his base from his ancestral Okatoyo Castle, but returned to Okatoyo Castle due to frequent floods. In 1591 (Tensho 19), they strengthened the defenses of Urado Castle and moved there, but the Chosokabe clan was destroyed when his son Morichika was defeated in the Battle of Sekigahara. Yamanouchi Kazutoyo became the new lord of Tosa, but former retainers of the Chosokabe clan refused to hand over the castle and barricaded themselves in it, which was then put down through a conspiracy (Urato Ikki). In 1601 (Keicho 6 ), Kazutoyo began construction of Kochi Castle, which he completed in 1603 (Keicho 8) when he moved there, leaving Urado Castle abandoned. Until World War II, remains of old wells, stone walls, and earthworks remained, but due to postwar tourism development, only the stone walls of the main citadel remain today. It is a 35-minute bus ride from Kochi Station on the JR Dosan Main Line, and a 3-minute walk from Katsurahamaso.

Source: Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japanese Castles Information

Japanese:

高知県高知市浦戸にあった中世の平山城(ひらやまじろ)。桂浜をのぞむ高台に三重の天守を擁する本丸を設け、二の丸、三の丸、出丸を構えていた。南北朝時代からこの地には土豪の砦が築かれていたとされるが、詳しいことはわかっていない。戦国時代末期、長宗我部元親(ちょうそかべもとちか)は、大高坂(おおたかさ)（現在の高知城所在地）に新城を築城して先祖伝来の岡豊城(おこうじょう)から本拠を移したが、水害が多いために、再び岡豊城に戻った。1591年（天正19）浦戸城に防備の強化をほどこして移ったが、子の盛親(もりちか)が関ヶ原の戦いに敗れたために、長宗我部氏は滅ぶ。新たに山内一豊(やまのうちかずとよ)が土佐藩主となったが、長宗我部氏の旧臣が城の引き渡しを拒んで籠城、これを謀略により鎮圧した（浦戸一揆）。1601年（慶長6）一豊は高知城の築城に着手、1603年（慶長8）に完成して移ったために、浦戸城は廃城となった。第二次世界大戦前まで古井戸や石塁、土塁などの遺構は残っていたが、戦後の観光開発のために、現在は本丸の石垣がわずかに残るのみである。JR土讃本線高知駅からバスで35分、桂浜荘前下車徒歩3分。

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