Oshi Castle : A Study of Japanese Bibliography

This is all about Oshi 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).

Ukiyo-e "The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidō" by **Keisai Eisen** from Wikipedia

A state of a traveler with Mt. Fuji in the background near Oshi Castle drawn at the end of the Edo period.

A scene from the movie **”The Floating Castle"** from youtube

Based on "Battle of Oshi Castle", the Japanese movie "The Floating Castle" released in 2012. At the 36th Japan Academy Awards, it received 10 awards for excellence, including the highest award for art. It became a sensational and a record hit at that time, with the first appearance in the movie spectator mobilization ranking (according to Kogyō Tsūshin) for the first three days on November 2-4, 2012.
(from **Wikipedia**)

Profile : Oshi Castle Ruins


Location	Gyōda City, Saitama Prefecture
Also known as	Uki-Jō , Ki-Jō (means "Floating" or like "a turtle" because of not fall to the end against inundation)
Type of castle	Flatland
Mountain's name	ー
Elevation	ー
Condition	No main keep but other buildings
Designation	Saitama Prefecture Historic Sites
Year built	late 15th century
Abolished	1871
Castle lord	Narita Clan
Refurbishment lord	Abe Tadaaki ※One of the greatest staff in history. Served as member of shōgun's council of elders for two generations of the Tokugawa Shogunate's third general, Tokugawa Iemitsu and the fourth Tokugawa Ietsuna.

Portrait of Ishida Mitsunari from **Wikipedia**

Portrait of Matsudaira Tadayoshi from **Wikipedia**

Family Crest of Abe Clan from **"Bukan Complete Works"** (produced by CODH)
adapted from "Classical Japanese National Data Set" (Kokubunken Collection)

The family crest was originally created from the pattern that the emperor and the royal family put on the kimono, and the pattern was made into a fixed pattern, and the one attached to his own oxcart is said to be the beginning of the family crest. The warlords drew large crests on the flag-fingers, used to distinguish enemy views on the battlefield, and used by the generals to determine which warlords were active and how much.

Oshi Castle admission

admission fee : 200yen (Adult) 100yen (over junior high school students) 50yen(elementary school students) ※Gyōda Municipal Folk Museum
admission time : am9:30-pm4
closing period : Monday (open on holydays) The day after a holiday (Open on Saturday and Sunday) reference ⇒ official site 【Saitama Prefecture Trade & Tourism Association】

Oshi Castle Google Map

Oshi Castle Images　

Reconstructed Yagura (turret) with three structure-three story in 1988

It has a structure that makes use of the vast swamps and natural levees that dot the Tonegawa River in the north and the Arakawa River in the south. It is known as a fortified castle that never fell after being attacked several times.

It is said that the fathers and sons of Narita shōtō and Akiyasu, who were local powerful families, destroyed a former family that ruled this area and built a castle. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi conquered the Kantō region in 1590, The owner, Narita Clan, barricaded themselves in Odawara Castle. According to "Oshi-Jō Senki" and other sources, the president's uncle, Narita Yasusue, fought against Ishida Mitsunari , general of Toyotomi Army, as a substitute for the castle owner, and in addition to about 500 Samurai and Ashigaru, 3,000 people including troops, farmers, and townspeople remain in there. It is a famous "Battle of Oshi Castle".

The general of Toyotomi's attack on Oshi Castle was Ishida Mitsunari. Ōtani Yoshitsugu, Nagatsuka Masaie, and the father and son of Sanada Clan (Masayuki and Nobushige) also joined. Mitsunari decided to set up the headquarter at the nearby Maruhakayama Tumulus overlooking Oshi Castle, and decided to carry out inundation tactics using the Tonegawa River flowing nearby, and constructed "the Ishida Enbankment" with a total length of 28 km. However, Oshi Castle did not finally fall, and eventually it opened because Odawara Castle fell first. This is the origin of the another name , "Oshi's Floating Castle".

After Tokugawa Ieyasu joined the Kantō area, Matsudaira Tadayoshi, the fourth son of Ieyasu, entered Oshi Castle. After that, it became the government office of 100,000 stones level of Oshi domain. When the member of shōgun's council of elders, Abe Tadaaki , entered in 1639, the castle was expanded and maintained, The castle town was shaped like a beak of a bird in the east, and a townhouse and samurai residences were placed inside the outer defense line of the castle. The castle town has been expanded and improved in each period, but especially when Abe Tadaaki moved to Oshi Castle, a major renovation of this castle was started, and it was finally completed around 1702.

The castle town is prosperous as it has both the function of a back highway post town on the Nakasendō and the function of a goods flow path that uses the water transport of the Tonegawa River flowing nearby. From the latter half of the Edo period, it became famous as a tabi ( Japanese socks ) production area.

【Check！on Facebook】⇒ **Oshi Castle Omotenashi Kacchutai**

"Oshi Castle Omotenashi Kacchutai (Armor)", formed with the brave warlords of the Narita Clan as a model. Main activities include taking pictures with tourists at various places in the city, mainly at the site and the local museum, and showing a heroic performance.

Tweets by oshi_omotenashi

Link : Seven Major Castles in Kantō region

【east japan】Kawagoe Castle【east japan】Karasawayama Castle【east japan】Maebashi Castle【east japan】Kanayama Castle【east japan】Ōta Castle【east japan】Utsunomiya Castle【east japan】Oshi Castle