This castle was constructed in 1339 by
Hosokawa Yoriharu, a major
samurai commander under
Ashikaga Takauji, the founder of the
Ashikaga shogunate. The area around the castle is a strategic foothold to defend Kyoto, the capital of Japan at that time, from western threats. During the
Ōnin War, this castle was used as a castle of the western alliance and became occupied by
Iwanari Tomomichi, a
daimyō of the
Miyoshi clan, during the
Sengoku period. The castle fell to
Oda Nobunaga in 1568, and was given to
Hosokawa Fujitaka, who occupied it until 1579. At the
battle of Yamazaki between
Toyotomi Hideyoshi and
Akechi Mitsuhide, following Mitsuhide's killing of Nobunaga, this castle's garrison collapsed, forcing Mitsuhide to flee to his death. ==Access==