Nagashino Castle : A Study of Japanese Bibliography

This is all about Nagashino Castle Ruins you want to know.
Every information you get on this site will be from a credible source based on Japanese history (books for reference).

"Shokoku Kojō no zu (picture in Edo Period)" from 広島市立図書館

A collection of castle illustrations handed down to the Former Hiroshima feudal lord Asano clan, consisting of 177 illustrations depicting ancient castles from Tōhoku to Kyūshū District. Most of the castles that were picked up were abandoned in the early Edo period.

In addition to the castle illustrations of the Asano family, There are several type of ancient castle picture in Edo Period.

Tne one is "Kojō ezu" collected by the Inagaki family, the Toba Daimyō from the mid-Edo period to the Meiji Restoration, as materials for military studies. There are about 350 illustrations, but there is no uniformity because only illustrations of castles, illustrations including castle towns, and old battlefield illustrations are mixed.

Another typical example is "Shōhō Shiroezu", picture of the castle and castle town that the Edo Shogunate ordered the daimyō to create and submit,aggregating military information such as the buildings inside the castle, the height of the stone wall, the width of the moat and the water depth, etc., it also details the location and shape of the castle town and the mountain river.

Profile : Nagashino Castle Ruins


Location	Shinshiro City, Aichi Prefecture
Also known as	Suehiro Castle, Ｏogi Castle
Type of castle	Flatland
Mountain's name	ー
Elevation	―
Condition	Ruins only
Designation	National Historic Sites
Year built	1508
Abolished	1576
Castle lord	Suganuma Motonari
Refurbishment lord	Okudaira Nobumasa, Tokugawa Ieyasu

Battle of Nagashino from Tokugawa Museum
Oda and Tokugawa military (left) Takeda army attacks by cavalry (right)

It is to catch Nagashino Castle based on Allied Army of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu, with 38,000 troops.
On the other hand, 15,000 troops with Takeda Katsuyori.

Portrait of Takeda katsuyori from **Wikipedia**

"Torii Suneemon telling that reinforcements are coming to the castle"(pictured in 1896) wriiten by Yoshu Chikanobu from **Wikipedia**

Crucifixion of Torii Suneemon from Wikipedia

　A hero who has saved the defeat of his allies.

Nagashino Castle admission

admission fee : 220yen (Adult) 110yen (junior high and elementary students)
admission time : am9-pm5
closing period : every Tuesday(If it is a holiday, the next weekday is closed) December 29 - January 3 reference official site

Nagashino Castle Google Map

Nagashino Castle Images

Restored Fence

Built in Shitaragahara, a major stage of the "Battle of Nagashino" to reduce the attack power of the Takeda cavalry at that time.

When the history lesson with this battle among elementary～high school in japan, usually teaches that the "Gun" with Oda and Tokugawa Allied Force (40,000) and the "equestrian" Takeda Army (15,000) recklessly rushed and were defeated one after another at the Shitaragahara field.

Sometimes the strategy that Oda Nobunaga made full use of "Three shots"- The triple strike, "three rows are switched one after another and fire all at once", is considered a pear in current research. It is said the specs are low, and it would be impossible to realistically use a roaring or cracking gun at the time.

At this time, Oda Nobunaga built a sturdy horse fence against the path taken by the Takeda army, and further solidified the work by making a moat, etc., just like building a simple mountain type castle against attacking from upper side. The site was made of recessed terrain, and it was possible to create a defense team in a position invisible to Takeda's and deploy troops.

However, it is believed that there was no doubt that a large amount of guns were brought to the battlefield.

It's no exaggeration to say that this is the deciding factor. At that time, assaulting a fast-moving cavalry against the gun squadron was recognized as a strategy. The matchlock at that time had a low hit rate, and hopefully could break a corner of the artillery squad, and had a good chance of winning. The Takeda army's cavalry is dangerous and he has a cavalry that is written in Nobunaga's memoir 「信長公記」, so he may have just used his strength. However, Oda Nobunaga was better at this time. As mentioned above, unlike ordinary field battles, Oda and Tokugawa's defense is perfect. It was defensive enough to take away the mobility of the horse.

Ruins of Oda Army's Headquarter

Set up at Mt. Chausu, behind the fence. Currently, Chausuyama Inari Shrine is built.

Shouldn't Takeda just retreat? It is exactly "escape but win", (逃げるが勝ち), but in fact the choice was not left to win.

At this time, Nobunaga reinforced another squadron (Sakai Tadatugu and Nobunaga's horse troupe) in advance and succeeded in rescuing Nagashino Castle. So, Takeda's army was in a state of being cut off, Katsuyori is seen as a predicament that only had to come forward.

In short, the Takeda army was being driven. In that sense, it can be said that Nobunaga's strategy was won from the beginning.
As a result, Takeda's cavalry squad repeated assaults, and successive military commanders, such as Yamagata Masakage, Baba Nobuharu, and Sanada Masateru (the older brother of Sanada Masayuki) had died.
(Many have lost their lives when retreating.)

Considering only the situation and the results, Nobunaga's calculation was like a divine development, so it may be better to focus on such tactics rather than three shots with a gun. By the way, at this time, the secret horse of Takeda Katsuyori was left behind on the battlefield and became Nobunaga's.

The proverb says,「Mummy picking has become a mummy」

Link-1 : A castle closely related to [block]5[/block]

【central japan】Gifu castle 【west japan】Odani Castle 【west japan】Azuchi castle 【central japan】Nagashino Castle

Link-2 : A castle closely related to [block]9[/block]

【east japan】Minowa Castle 【central japan】Tsutsujigasaki-yakata 【central japan】 Komoro Castle 【central japan】Matsushiro Castle 【central japan】Takatō Castle 【central japan】Nagashino Castle

Link-3 : A castle closely related to [block]15[/block]

【east japan】Edo Castle 【central japan】Okazaki Castle 【central japan】Sunpu Castle 【central japan】 Nagoya Castle 【west japan】Ōsaka Castle 【west japan】Nijō castle 【central japan】Nagashino Castle