Odawara Castle

Japanese: 小田原城 - おだわらじょう

Hirayama -jiro (castle on a mountain ) was located in Odawara City, Kanagawa Prefecture from the Muromachi period to the Edo period. It was the main castle of the Hojo clan during the Sengoku period, and the Odawara Domain's administrative office was located there during the Edo period. It is a nationally designated historic site. It is one of the "100 Great Castles of Japan" selected by the Japan Castle Foundation. It is said that the castle of Kobayakawa Tohei (the ancestor of the Kobayakawa clan), a member of the powerful Tohi clan, was located on the site of Odawara Castle at the end of the Heian period. The Tohi clan fell into ruin after siding with Uesugi Zenshu in the Uesugi Zenshu Rebellion in 1416 (Oei 23), and the castle was seized by the Omori clan, who were based in Suruga. In 1495 (Meio 4), Ise Moritoki (Hojo Soun), who had pacified Izu and made Nirayama Castle (Izunokuni City, Shizuoka Prefecture) his base, seized Odawara Castle from Omori Fujiyori, renovated and expanded the castle, and used it as his residence, beginning to rule Sagami. After that, the Hojo clan made the castle their residence for five generations. The castle was built on top of Mt. Hachiman, where Odawara High School is now located, and was a magnificent castle that surrounded the entire town of Odawara with earthworks and dry moats stretching a total of 9km in length. Its overall structure surpassed that of Osaka Castle, which was built later. According to the "Kanhachishu Kosenroku" (Records of Ancient Battles of the Kanto Region), in 1561 (Eiroku 4), Nagao Kagetora (Uesugi Kenshin) of Echigo gathered various generals from the Kanto region and surrounded Odawara Castle with a large army of 113,000 men, fighting for a month, but was unable to take the castle. Takeda Shingen of Kai also attacked the castle in 1569 (Eiroku 12), but retreated after only setting fire to the castle town. In 1590 (Tensho 18), Toyotomi Hideyoshi attacked Hojo Ujimasa and his son Ujinao at Odawara Castle, and the Siege of Odawara began. Hideyoshi built Ishigakiyama Castle (in the same city) and surrounded Odawara Castle with a large army of 210,000 men, while a separate force captured the castles of the Hojo clan. After a three-month siege, Odawara Castle surrendered and was opened without bloodshed. After this battle, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was based in Suruga, was transferred to Kanto, the former territory of the Hojo clan. Ieyasu made Edo Castle (Tokyo) his residence, but he had his senior vassal Okubo Tadayo enter Odawara Castle, and the Odawara Domain was established. Odawara Castle, which had a grand overall structure, was reduced in size during the reign of Tadayo and his successor Tadachika . After that, three generations of the Inaba clan served as lords of the castle (domain) starting with Abe Masatsugu, and it was during this period that Odawara Castle was developed into the shape that remains today. Later, Okubo Tadatomo entered the castle, and it became the residence of the Okubo clan until the Meiji Restoration. Between 1870 (Meiji 3) and 1872 (Meiji 5), most of the buildings within the castle were demolished, and Okubo Shrine was built on the site of the castle tower. In 1901 (Meiji 34), the Odawara Imperial Villa was built on the castle site, and in 1909 (Meiji 42), the Ninomaru Hirayagura , the only remaining structure that had escaped demolition in the early Meiji period, was repaired, but the Imperial Villa was severely damaged in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 (Taisho 12), and the Hirayagura also collapsed. After the war, in 1950 (Showa 25), construction of the castle tower base began, and the castle site was later developed as Odawara Castle Park, and in 1960 (Showa 35), a reinforced concrete structure was built with the exterior of the castle tower restored to its original state. The Tokiwagi Gate, Domon Gate, and Umade Gate were subsequently restored. Remains of Odawara Castle from the Hojo clan era still remain, such as the dry moat and earthworks near the Okane-no- dai Kuruwa, the double earthworks near the Hayakawaguchi entrance, and the earthworks near the Kodaguchi entrance and Renjoin entrance. It is about a 10-minute walk from Odawara Station on the JR Tokaido Main Line, Tokaido Shinkansen, Odakyu Odawara Line, Izu Hakone Railway, and Hakone Tozan Railway.

Source: Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japanese Castles Information

Japanese:

神奈川県小田原市にあった室町時代から江戸時代にかけての平山城(ひらやまじろ)。戦国時代の北条氏の本城で、江戸時代には小田原藩の藩庁が置かれた。国指定史跡。日本城郭協会選定による「日本100名城」の一つ。小田原城のあった場所には平安時代末期、豪族土肥氏一族の小早川遠平（小早川氏の祖）の城館があったといわれる。土肥氏は1416年（応永23）の上杉禅秀の乱で禅秀に与したために没落し、駿河を本拠としていた大森氏が同城を奪った。1495年（明応4）、伊豆を平定して韮山城（静岡県伊豆の国市）を本拠としていた伊勢盛時（北条早雲）は大森藤頼から小田原城を奪い、城を整備拡張して居城とし相模支配に乗り出した。以後、北条氏は5代にわたって同城を居城とした。現在、小田原高校のある八幡山の山上に本丸を置き、当時の小田原の町全体を総延長9kmの土塁と空堀で囲んだ壮大な城で、その総構えはのちの大坂城をしのいでいた。『関八州古戦録』によれば、1561年（永禄4）に越後の長尾景虎（上杉謙信）が関東の諸将を糾合して11万3000人の大軍勢で小田原城を包囲し1ヵ月に及ぶ攻城戦を行ったが、城を陥落させることはできなかった。甲斐の武田信玄も1569年（永禄12）に同城を攻めたが、城下に火を放つ程度で退去している。1590年（天正18）、豊臣秀吉は小田原城の北条氏政・氏直父子を攻め、小田原の役が起こった。秀吉は石垣山城（同市）を築いて、21万といわれる大軍で小田原城を包囲する一方、別働隊が北条氏の諸城を攻略。小田原城は3ヵ月に及ぶ籠城戦の末、降伏し無血開城した。この戦いの後、駿河に本拠を置いていた徳川家康が旧北条氏の領国である関東に国替えになった。家康は江戸城（東京都）を居城としたが、小田原城には重臣の大久保忠世を入城させ、小田原藩が成立した。壮大な総構えを持っていた小田原城は、忠世とその後を継いだ忠隣(ただちか)の代に規模を縮小させた。その後、阿部正次を経て稲葉氏3代が城主（藩主）をつとめたが、この時代に現在残る小田原城の姿に整備された。その後、同城には大久保忠朝が入城し、以降、大久保氏の居城として明治維新を迎えた。1870年（明治3）から1872年（明治5）にかけて、同城内の建造物はほとんど取り壊され、天守台のあった場所には大久保神社が建てられた。1901年（明治34）に城跡に小田原御用邸が建設され、1909年（明治42）には明治初期の解体を免れた唯一の遺構の二の丸平櫓(ひらやぐら)の修築が行われたが、1923年（大正12）の関東大震災で御用邸は大破し、平櫓も倒壊してしまった。戦後の1950年（昭和25）に天守台の整備が始まり、その後、城跡は小田原城址公園として整備され、1960年（昭和35）にはRC構造の外観復元した天守がつくられた。その後、常磐木門、銅門、馬出門が復元されている。なお、お鐘の台曲輪(くるわ)付近の空堀および土塁、早川口付近の二重土塁、幸田口と蓮上院付近の土塁など、北条氏時代の小田原城の遺構が現存する。JR東海道本線・東海道新幹線、小田急小田原線、伊豆箱根鉄道、箱根登山鉄道小田原駅から徒歩約10分。

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