Otsu Castle

Japanese: 大津城 - おおつじょう

Hirajiro ( Mizu Castle) was located in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture. In 1586 (Tensho 14), Hashiba Hideyoshi (later Toyotomi Hideyoshi) abandoned Sakamoto Castle (Otsu City), which had been Akechi Mitsuhide's castle, and ordered Asano Nagamasa to build a new castle. After the castle lord changed hands between Nagamasa, Masuda Nagamori, and Shinjo Naoyori, Kyogoku Takatsugu, who had been based in Hachimanyama Castle (Omihachiman City), entered the castle in 1595 (Bunroku 4) as the lord of a fief of 60,000 koku. During the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 (Keicho 5), Takatsugu sided with the Eastern Army and barricaded himself in Otsu Castle, where he was surrounded and attacked by 15,000 men from the Western Army (Toyotomi side), including Mori Motoyasu and Tachibana Muneshige. Otsu Castle was built as a storage castle for supplies from Mino and Echizen, using the boat traffic on Lake Biwa, and was therefore unsuitable for defense, but Kyogoku's 3,000 troops managed to withstand the offensive of the Western Army for seven days. However, the Tachibana forces occupied the Ninomaru area, and the castle was forced to surrender and open its doors. Takatsugu passed through Onjo-ji Temple, shaved his head, and entered Mount Koya. After the war, Tokugawa Ieyasu recognized Takatsugu's achievement of pinning down the Western Army's large army for seven days, and transferred him to Obama Castle in Wakasa Province (Obama City, Fukui Prefecture) with an increased fief of 82,000 koku. Shortly after Takatsugu moved to Obama Castle, Ieyasu abandoned Otsu Castle and built Zeze Castle. It is said that the problem with this was that the castle was within range of artillery fire from nearby Mount Choto. It is said that some of the buildings that escaped the damage of the battle for the castle were repurposed and relocated to Hikone Castle and Zeze Castle when the castle was abandoned. This fact came to light during the dismantling and repair of Hikone Castle's keep in 1957, and it was thought at the time that Otsu Castle may have had a four-tiered, five-storey keep. After Ieyasu's victory in the Battle of Sekigahara, he entered Otsu Castle and received an audience with the imperial envoy. After the defeat, Ishida Mitsunari, who had fled the battlefield, was captured by Tanaka Yoshimasa and taken to Ieyasu at Otsu Castle, where he was beheaded at Sanjo-gawara in Kyoto. Otsu Castle's boundaries were the area around the current Keihan Electric Railway Hamaotsu Station, and the main citadel was located near the pier at Otsu Port on Lake Biwa, but unfortunately the castle ruins have been lost. There is only a stone monument in front of Hamaotsu Station that reads "Otsu Castle Ruins". It is a short walk from Hamaotsu Station on the Keihan Electric Railway Keishin Line.

Source: Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japanese Castles Information

Japanese:

滋賀県大津市にあった平城(ひらじろ)（水城）。羽柴秀吉（のちの豊臣秀吉）が1586年（天正14）、明智光秀が居城としていた坂本城（大津市）を廃城とし、浅野長政に命じて新たに築かせた城である。長政、増田長盛、新庄直頼と城主が代わった後の1595年（文禄4）、八幡山城（近江八幡市）を居城としていた京極高次が6万石の領主として入城した。高次は1600年（慶長5）の関ヶ原の戦いの際、東軍に与して大津城に籠城し、毛利元康・立花宗茂ら西軍（豊臣方）1万5000の包囲攻撃を受けた。大津城は、琵琶湖の舟運を利用して美濃や越前から集まる物資を集積する城としてつくられたために防御に不向きだったが、京極勢3000は7日間にわたって西軍の攻勢を持ちこたえた。しかし、立花勢に二の丸まで占領されて降伏、開城。高次は園城寺を経て剃髪して高野山に入った。戦後、高次は徳川家康から西軍の大軍を7日間にわたって釘付けにした功績が認められ、若狭国の小浜城（福井県小浜市）8万2000石に加増転封となった。高次が小浜城に移って間もなく、大津城は家康により廃城となり、新たに膳所(ぜぜ)城が築かれた。これは同城が近隣の長等山からの砲撃の射程圏内にあったことが問題にされたといわれている。廃城に伴い、城の攻防で戦禍を免れた建造物の一部は、彦根城や膳所城に転用・移築されたといわれている。これは1957年（昭和32）に行われた彦根城天守の解体修理の際に明らかになり、このとき、大津城は4重5階の天守を持っていたのではないかと考えられるようになった。なお、家康は関ヶ原の戦いに勝利した後、大津城に入城、勅使に拝謁している。また、敗戦後、戦場を逃れた石田三成は田中吉政によって捕縛され、大津城の家康のもとに連行され、京都三条河原で斬首された。大津城は、現在の京阪電鉄浜大津駅周辺一帯を城域とし、琵琶湖大津港桟橋付近に本丸があったが、残念ながら、城跡は失われてしまっている。浜大津駅前に「大津城跡」の石碑があるだけである。京阪電気鉄道京津線浜大津駅から徒歩。

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