In the 1570s, the Late Hōjō clan based at
Odawara Castle in
Sagami province and the
Takeda clan from
Kai Province went to war over the disputed territories of the former
Imagawa clan in
Suruga Province. The Takeda clan occupied most of Suruga from 1569 and had inherited the Imagawa navy; however the Hōjō clan also had a powerful navy, with which it controlled
Sagami Bay and waged war against the
Satomi clan of
Awa Province. In the 1570s, the Takeda reached an agreement with the Satomi, which allowed them to shift their fleet to Suruga Province, and constructed Nagahama Castle, on the border of
Izu and Suruga as a base of operations. Although the Hōjō clan was unable to destroy the Takeda navy, their fleet was able to keep the Takeda fleet largely bound to port. After the fall of the Takeda clan in 1582, the Hōjō clan came into conflict with
Oda Nobunaga and his successor,
Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi's forces included the
Kuki clan based in
Shima Province and the
Murakami clan based in the
Seto Inland Sea, the two strongest naval powers in Sengoku Japan. During the 1590
Siege of Odawara, the Hōjō navy faced overwhelming odds and surrendered at Nagahama Castle and at
Shimoda. Nagahama Castle was abandoned soon afterwards. The site is a five-minute walk from the "jōkabashi" bus stop on the Izuhakone Bus from
Numazu Station. ==Gallery==