Oka Castle

The Oka Castle, now in ruins, is in Taketa, Ōita Prefecture, Japan.[1]

Oka Castle

History

Oka Castle has an extensive history. Sited on a mountaintop, it was originally built in 1185, for Minamoto no Yoshitsune.

Shiga Sadatomo took control in 1332 and made many repairs and improvements. The castle was ruled by Shiga's descendants until 1586.

At that point, it was taken over by Nakagawa Hideshige (in 1594) and more improvements were made, including an expansion. A main keep was added along with a palace. The Sankai turret (三階櫓), the castle's de facto Tenshu, collapsed in an earthquake, in 1769.[2] Many of the buildings were destroyed by fire, in 1771, which had originated in the castle town.[2] The Nakagawa ruled the castle until the Meiji Restoration.

Oka castle was decommissioned in 1871, and in 1874 all the buildings were dismantled.[1]

Current site

The current site features some of the extensive stone walls which run for several kilometres.[2] There is a statue dedicated to composer Rentaro Taki, whose famous song Kōjō no Tsuki was inspired by the castle ruins, on site.[1]

Literature
  • De Lange, William (2021). An Encyclopedia of Japanese Castles. Groningen: Toyo Press. pp. 600 pages. ISBN 978-9492722300.

References
  1. "Oka Castle Profile". Archived from the original on 2016-03-21.
  2. O'Grady, Daniel. "Japanese Castle Explorer - Oka Castle - 岡城".

Media related to Bungo Oka Castle at Wikimedia Commons

32°58′9.18″N 131°24′29.05″E

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.