Oka Castle
Oka Castle | |
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岡城 | |
Ogata Koreyoshi | |
In use | Edo period |
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Oka Castle (岡城, Oka-jō) was a Sengoku to Edo period yamajiro-style Japanese castle located in the city of Taketa, Ōita Prefecture, Japan. Its ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 2023.[1]
Overview
Oka Castle is located on the top of Tenjinyama, a long hill to the east of the urban center of Taketa, which is situated in a small basin in the southwestern part of Bungo Province. It is at a crossroads of various roads crisscrossing the island of Kyushu and because of its geographical position, occupies an important strategic point controlling western Bungo Province. The site is flanked by two rivers, the Inaba River and the Tamaki River, tributaries of the Ōno River, which merge just to the east of the castle. The fortifications spread at the narrow east part of the hill, which has an elevation of 325 meters above sea level, and 95 meters above its surroundings. The castle extended 2500 meters from east-to-west and 362 meters from north-to-south.[2]
It is uncertain when this location was fortified. According legend, it was constructed by
Under the Shiga clan, Oka Castle served to protect Bungo against the Kikuchi clan in
The castle continued to be expanded over the years, until it eventually extended for over one kilometer along the crest of the hill, winding along its continues like an inverted letter "J". The castle consisted of three main portions: inner part, middle part and western part, separated by bottlenecks. The Y-shaped middle part consisted of the central enclosure, secondary enclosure and third enclosure, with the central enclosure 100 by 50 meters, and a containing a three-story yagura which was a substitute for the tenshu and additional yagura watchtowers on both sides. Each area was protected by curved tall stone walls are directly built on the body of the hill, topped by sheer stone walls, and securely protected by masugata-style combination gates at each bottleneck. The western portion consists of several large flat terraces, which were used as the residential area of the castle. It was also protected by yagura turrets, stone walls and combination gates, and in case of emergency could function as an independent castle. The main gate of the castle was located on the southern side of this area.[2] The tenshu collapsed in an earthquake in 1769.[3] Many of the buildings in the castle were destroyed by fire in 1771, which had originated in the castle town.
Following the
Gallery
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Approach to the castle ruins
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Site of the Otemon main gate
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Statue of Rentarō Taki
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Site of the Nakagawa daimyo residence
See also
References
- ^ "岡城跡" (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ ISBN 4311750404.(in Japanese)
- ^ O'Grady, Daniel. "Japanese Castle Explorer - Oka Castle - 岡城".
- ^ Japan Castle Foundation
Literature
- Benesch, Oleg and Ran Zwigenberg (2019). Japan's Castles: Citadels of Modernity in War and Peace. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 374. ISBN 9781108481946.
- De Lange, William (2021). An Encyclopedia of Japanese Castles. Groningen: Toyo Press. pp. 600 pages. ISBN 978-9492722300.
External links
Media related to Bungo Oka Castle at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website
- Taketa Sightseeing Guide (in Japanese)
- Taketa city home page