Everything about Wakayama Castle totally explained
in
Wakayama,
Wakayama Prefecture,
Japan, sits at the mouth of the
Kii River. Originally Ōta castle, home of the
Saiga Ikki, it was captured by
Toyotomi Hideyoshi in
1585, during the
Siege of Negoroji; many
monks from Negoroji sought refuge in Ōta, which was soon destroyed by flood. Hideyoshi ordered the building of dams on three sides of the castle, focusing the rainwaters and diverting the river to ruin the castle. As hunger set in, the samurai, monks, and peasants inside Ōta surrendered, and fifty
warrior monks led a final charge against Hideyoshi's army, committing honorable suicide.
Ōta was rebuilt as a temple for the Shinshu branch of
Japanese Buddhism, severed from its history as a home to warrior monks. Wakayama Castle was then built on the same site, under the supervision of
Toyotomi Hidenaga, Hideyoshi's brother, with
Tōdō Takatora's participation.
Asano Yoshinaga arrived in
1600 to serve as feudal lord, under
Tokugawa Ieyasu. The castle was later attacked, in
1615, by forces loyal to
Toyotomi Hideyori, who were trying to end the
siege of Osaka.
In the summer of 1615, parts of the
Osaka garrison left the city, ambushing various elements of the Tokugawa forces.
Ono Harunaga,
Hanawa Naoyuki and
Okabe Noritsuna led part of the garrison in attacking Wakayama Castle, held by
Asano Nagaakira at the time. They had with them 3000 men, but the castle boasted 5000 in its garrison. Asano's men left the castle to meet the Western (Toyotomi) forces in what came to be known as the '
battle of Kashii.' Hanawa and Okabe were killed, and Ono was forced to flee back to Osaka.
The castle's current appearance is the result of renovations made by
Tokugawa Yorinobu, tenth son of
Tokugawa Ieyasu, in the early 17th century.
At the end of the
Edo period, in
1867, the feudal structure fell apart, and Wakayama Castle was opened to the public for the first time.
The castle was destroyed by Allied bombing during
World War II, but was rebuilt in
1958 out of concrete and is open to the public as a symbol of the city and historical site.
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