Fukushima Castle first appears in history as when in 1413
Date Mochimune rebelled against the
Ashikaga shogunate by barricading himself inside. The
Date clan retained the castle as one of their southern strongholds throughout most of the
Muromachi Period. During the time of
Date Terumune and
Date Harumune it was also called . In 1592,
Gamō Ujisato conquered the area with his capture of nearby
Ōmori Castle and assigned it to his retainer, Kimura Yoshikiyo as the center of a 50,000
koku domain. The castle was then renamed Fukushima Castle, as this was regarded as a more auspicious name. In 1601 the
Battle of Matsukawa between
Date Masamune and
Honjo Shigenaga took place on the plains outside the castle. Following the establishment of the
Tokugawa shogunate, Fukushima was the centre of a
tenryō territory with a
kokudaka of 200,000
koku. In 1679,
Honda Tadakuni was transferred from
Yamato-Komiyama Domain, marking the start of
Fukushima Domain. However, he only ruled for three years before being transferred to
Himeji Domain in
Harima Province. Fukushima Domain was re-established in 1686 for
Hotta Masanaka, formerly of
Yamagata Domain. His son,
Hotta Masatora was transferred back to Yamagata in 1700. Fukushima Domain was once again revived in 1702 for
Itakura Shigehiro, formerly of
Itaki Domain in
Shinano Province. His branch of the
Itakura clan continued to rule Fukushima to the
Meiji restoration. In 1868 the castle was surrendered to the
Satchō Alliance without a battle, and Fukushma Domain was abolished the following year. The castle was demolished at the start of the
Meiji period. == Literature ==