Suwahara Castle ( 諏訪原城 , Suwahara-jō ) was a Sengoku period yamashiro -style Japanese castle located in the Kanaya neighborhood of the city of Shimada , Shizuoka prefecture , Japan. The ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1975.
13-458: Suwahara Castle is located at the edge of cliff in the northern part of the Makinohara Plateau, commanding the location where the Ōi River crosses the Tōkaidō highway . It has an elevation of about 200 meters. At the time the castle was constructed, the river was closer to the cliff face, so that the castle was strategically important for controlling both the highway and
26-560: A central storage area and – if it were large enough – as a tournament arena. The terms "upper bailey" or "upper ward" are sometimes used to describe the inner bailey of a hill castle or water castle where the main ward was usually higher than the outer or "lower" bailey. Similarly the Romanesque inner ward of Hohensalzburg Fortress is still called the Hoher Stock ("Upper Storey"). Hill castle A hill castle or mountain castle
39-565: Is a castle built on a natural feature that stands above the surrounding terrain. It is a term derived from the German Höhenburg used in categorising castle sites by their topographical location. Hill castles are thus distinguished from lowland castles ( Niederungsburgen ). Hill castles may be further subdivided depending on their situation into the following: When in the 10th and 11th centuries castles lost their pure fortress character and were increasingly built as residence castles for
52-475: The JR East Tokaido Main Line . Inner bailey The inner bailey or inner ward of a castle is the strongly fortified enclosure at the heart of a medieval castle . It is protected by the outer ward and, sometimes also a Zwinger , moats , a curtain wall and other outworks. Depending on topography it may also be called an upper bailey or upper ward . The inner bailey enclosed
65-665: The Takeda in the Siege of Takatenjin Castle in 1581. After Tokugawa clan was relocated to the Kantō region by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1590, Suwahara Castle was abandoned. Despite having been used for only less than 10 years, original plan of this castle clearly remains. The castle was listed as one of the Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles in 2017. The site is about a 30-minute walk from Kanaya Station on
78-459: The death of the warlord Takeda Shingen , his son Takeda Katsuyori attempted to pursue his father's legacy by pursuing a highly aggressive policy against Mikawa-based Tokugawa Ieyasu . As part of this campaign, Katsuyori ordered his general Baba Nobuharu to construct a castle at this location in 1573 in order the facilitate the Takeda invasion of Tōtōmi Province and capture of Takatenjin Castle . It
91-451: The kings and the nobility, the hill castle was the preferred choice owing to its better defensive capability. In Germany, almost 66 percent of all medieval castles ( Burgen ) known today are of the hill castle type. In the earliest centuries of castle construction only great nobles and kings had the power to build them. From the 12th century, however, the higher imperial ministeriales also built representative hill castles. This pattern
104-438: The middle of both the second and third bailey is a large semi-circular fort, called an "Umadashi", which is a construct unique to Takeda clan designs. Each "umadashi" is a 40 meter semi-circular wall, protected by a dry moat, with a gate on either end, from which the defenders could protect the flanks of the wall, the gates, and to stage counterattacks. total size of the castle was about 300 meter long and 200 meter wide. Following
117-405: The most important living quarters and defensive elements for the lord and his family, e.g. the great hall , the palas , the tower house and the keep or bergfried . The castle well or cistern was usually found in the inner bailey, because water supplies were particularly important in the past in order to be able to withstand a siege for any length of time. The inner bailey is usually
130-405: The oldest part of a castle, because it contains those buildings that were the first to be built during its construction. It often has flanking towers that enabled grazing fire to be brought to bear in front of the curtain wall and gave additional protection to the castle gate . In complex castles the buildings of the inner ward were frequently grouped in a ring around a courtyard which acted as
143-399: The river. The inner bailey of the castle is a square-shaped area, 100 meters on a side, which is backed against a steep cliff. Two enclosures spread in concentric circles from the inner bailey, each protected by a moat and wall. The second bailey is approximately 100 meters long by 80 meters die, and the third bailey is approximately 200 meters long by 80 meters wide. In
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#1732892073942156-409: Was followed in the 13th century by the lesser nobility. Today hill castles primarily serve as tourist attractions, mainly because they often have good views − albeit in some cases for the cost of an entrance fee. They also often have restaurants or kiosks. In some cases, where they are preserved, the interior of the castle may be visited. Examples of hill castles are Kriebstein Castle (spur castle),
169-558: Was named after a Suwa shrine brought to this site by the Takeda clan from Shinano Province , as the Suwa ; kami were the tutelary kami of the Takeda. In 1575, following their victory at the Battle of Nagashino , the Tokugawa swept through Tōtōmi Province, and overran Suwahara Castle. The castle was renamed Makino Castle and used as the Tokugawa base of operations against
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