Nagoya Castle

Nagoya Castle (名古屋城, Nagoya-jō) is a Japanese castle located in Nagoya, central Japan. During the Edo period, Nagoya Castle was the center of one of the most important castle towns in Japan—Nagoya-juku— and it included the most important stops along the Minoji, which linked the Tōkaidō with the Nakasendō.

History

In order to advance into Owari, Suruga Province, military governor Imagawa Ujichika built Yanagi-no-maru during the Taiei era from 1521–1528 for his son, Imagawa Ujitoyo. The original castle at Nagoya, it was located near the site of the later Ninomaru residence. Oda Nobuhide seized it from Imagawa Ujitoyo in March 1532 (Kyōroku 5). He moved in and changed the name to Nagoya Castle. Oda Nobunaga was supposedly born there in 1534 (Tembun 3), although this is subject to debate. After he defeated Oda Nobutomo at Kiyosu Castle in April 1555 (Kōji 1), he established his residence there. Around 1582 (Tenshō 10), the castle at Nagoya was abandoned.

After various upheavals in Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu emerged victorious. He decided in November 1609 (Keichō 14) to rebuild the castle at Nagoya. Up until the Meiji Restoration, Nagoya Castle would flourish as the castle where the Owari branch, the foremost of the three Tokugawa clan lineages, resided. Castle construction technology had been extensively developed and consolidated since the construction of Azuchi Castle in 1576 by Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582). One of the main architects who designed and directed the building of the castle was Nakai Masakiyo, who was previously involved in the construction of the Nijo, Fushimi, Edo, and Sunpu castles. He had gathered and refined existing castle and fortification construction technology and techniques and ultimately formulated the standards for the Tokugawa Shogunate's castles, as exemplified by Nagoya Castle.

Nagoya

Nagoya (名古屋市, Nagoya-shi) is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is Japan's third-largest incorporated city and the fourth most populous urban area. It is located on the Pacific coast on central Honshu. It is the capital of Aichi Prefecture and is one of Japan's major ports along with those of Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Yokohama, Chiba, and Kitakyushu. It is also the center of Japan's third-largest metropolitan region, known as the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area. As of 2010, 2.27 million people lived in the city, part of Chūkyō Metropolitan Area's 9.10 million people.

History

Etymology

The city's name was historically written as 那古野 or 名護屋 (both read as Nagoya). One possible origin is the adjective nagoyaka (なごやか), meaning 'peaceful'.

The name Chūkyō (中京, consisting of chū (middle) + kyō (capital)) is also used to refer to Nagoya. Notable examples of the use of the name Chūkyō include the Chūkyō Industrial Area, Chūkyō Metropolitan Area, Chūkyō Television Broadcasting, Chukyo University and the Chukyo Racecourse.

Castle

A castle (from Latin: castellum) is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a palace, which is not fortified; from a fortress, which was not always a residence for nobility; and from a fortified settlement, which was a public defence – though there are many similarities among these types of construction. Usage of the term has varied over time and has been applied to structures as diverse as hill forts and country houses. Over the approximately 900 years that castles were built, they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls and arrowslits, were commonplace.

A European innovation, castles originated in the 9th and 10th centuries, after the fall of the Carolingian Empire resulted in its territory being divided among individual lords and princes. These nobles built castles to control the area immediately surrounding them, and were both offensive and defensive structures; they provided a base from which raids could be launched as well as protection from enemies. Although their military origins are often emphasised in castle studies, the structures also served as centres of administration and symbols of power. Urban castles were used to control the local populace and important travel routes, and rural castles were often situated near features that were integral to life in the community, such as mills and fertile land.