Oda Castle

Japanese: 小田城 - おだじょう

Hirajiro Castle was located in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture. It is a nationally designated historic site. It was built by Hatta Tomouji, a member of the Utsunomiya clan and ancestor of the Oda clan, in 1192 (Kenkyu 3), when Minamoto no Yoritomo established the Kamakura Shogunate. In 1338 (Ryakuo 1/Engen 3), at the beginning of the Nanboku-cho period, a fleet carrying Kitabatake Chikafusa and Date Yukitomo, who were on the side of the Southern Court, who were at a disadvantage, set sail for the Tohoku region in an attempt to rally together the Southern Court's generals and regain their power, but was washed ashore in Hitachi Province in a storm. Chikafusa and his men sought refuge with Oda Haruhisa, a military commander on the Southern Court, and entered Oda Castle, the residence of Oda. It is said that Kitabatake Chikafusa began writing Jinno Shōtōki during his stay at Oda Castle. Afterwards, Oda Castle cooperated with other nearby Southern Court castles such as Seki Castle, Ooba Castle, and Isa Castle to oppose the Northern Court, but later the lord of the castle, Oda Haruhisa, switched sides to the Northern Court, giving the Northern Court the upper hand, and the outcome of the war was decided by the expedition of Kouno Morofuyu . Oda Castle continued to exist as the residence of the Oda clan during the Sengoku period, but in 1555 (Tenbun 24) it was taken by Yuki Masakatsu of Shimousa. The lord of the castle, Oda Ujiharu, later recaptured the castle, but in 1569 (Eiroku 12) he was defeated by Satake Yoshishige in the Battle of Tebaizaka, and lost the castle again. After that, Oda Castle became one of the subsidiary castles of the Satake clan, but was abandoned when the Satake clan was transferred to Akita after the Battle of Sekigahara. The castle ruins are well preserved, and excavations by Tsukuba City have revealed that Oda Castle was an outline-style castle area measuring 500m east to west and 600m north to south , with triple moats and large and small enclosures. In 2014, the historic square is scheduled to be restored and regenerated to resemble the medieval Oda Castle. Take the bus from Tsukuba Station on the Metropolitan Intercity Railway Tsukuba Express and get off at Oda Jujiro. Or take the Tsukuba Bus and get off at Oda Castle Ruins Entrance.

Source: Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japanese Castles Information

Japanese:

茨城県つくば市にあった平城(ひらじろ)。国指定史跡。源頼朝が鎌倉幕府を開いた1192年（建久3）に宇都宮氏の一族で小田氏の祖である八田知氏が築いた。南北朝時代初めの1338年（暦応1／延元3）、劣勢となった南朝方の北畠親房や伊達行朝らを乗せた船団が、南朝方の諸将を結集して勢力を盛り返そうと東北へ向けて出航した後、暴風雨により常陸国に漂着し、親房らは南朝方の武将の小田治久を頼って、その居城の小田城に入城した。北畠親房の『神皇正統記』は、この小田城滞在中に執筆を開始したといわれる。その後、小田城は関城、大宝城、伊佐城など近隣の南朝方の諸城と連携して、北朝方に対抗したが、のちに城主の小田治久が北朝方に転じたことにより、北朝方が優勢となり、高師冬(こうのもろふゆ)の遠征により北朝方に勝敗の帰趨が決した。小田城は戦国時代も小田氏の居城として存続したが、1555年（天文24）に下総の結城政勝に奪われ、その後城主の小田氏治は同城を奪い返したものの、1569年（永禄12）には手這坂合戦で佐竹義重に敗れて、再び城を失った。以降、小田城は佐竹氏の支城の一つとなったが、関ヶ原の戦いの後に佐竹氏が秋田に国替えになった際に廃城となった。城跡は遺構の保存状態もよく、つくば市による発掘調査などを通じて、小田城は東西500m、南北600mの城域を有した輪郭式の縄張りで、三重の堀や大小の曲輪(くるわ)があったことがわかってきた。2014年（平成26）には中世の小田城の姿を復元した歴史広場が復元・再生される予定になっている。首都圏新都市鉄道つくばエクスプレスつくば駅からバスで小田十字路下車。またはつくバスで小田城跡入口下車。

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