* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Oda Castle
小田城
Oda Castle is a historic castle in the Kantō region (Said to have been built in 1185 (Bunji 1); abandoned in 1602 (Keichō 7)). Its lord was The Oda clan of Hitachi (descendants of Hatta Tomoie).
Overview
Overview
Oda Castle stood in Oda, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture. It was the seat of the Oda clan, who governed southern Hitachi from the Kamakura to the Sengoku period. It served as a Southern Court stronghold in the Nanboku-chō era and is known as the castle that Kitabatake Chikafusa entered. The site is a National Historic Site.
Founding and the Oda Clan
Tradition holds that in 1185 Hatta Tomoie, a retainer of Minamoto no Yoritomo, was appointed shugo of Hitachi Province and built a residence and castle at Oda. His descendants took the name Oda and used it as their base for generations.
Nanboku-chō Period and Kitabatake Chikafusa
Oda Haruhisa, the head of the clan at the time, sided with the Southern Court. Kitabatake Chikafusa, a leading figure of the Southern Court, landed by sea at Shida no Shō, entered Oda Castle and sought to restore Southern forces in eastern Japan. It is well known that he wrote the Jinnō Shōtōki here, and a stone monument marking the place where it was begun stands at the site.
Sengoku Struggles
Oda Ujiharu fought the Satake, Taga, Makabe, Uesugi Kenshin, the late Hōjō and others, losing and retaking the castle repeatedly. After the Oda defeat at the Battle of Tebaizaka in 1573 the castle passed to the Satake and never returned to the Oda. It was abandoned in 1602 when the Satake were transferred to Akita.
Structure
It is thought to have begun as a single-enclosure residence surrounded by moats and earthworks, and was expanded in the Sengoku period. The main enclosure is a rectangle of about 120 by 140 meters ringed by earthen ramparts and moats, with turret platforms at the corners. The gates had umadashi and masugata, and shōji moats were found on the moat bed. Excavations confirmed triple moats and many enclosures, and traces of a garden with two ponds were found in the main enclosure.
Present Condition
The site was designated a National Historic Site in 1935. Excavations began in 1997, and it opened on April 29, 2016 as the Oda Castle Site History Plaza. Enclosure remains on the south side are well preserved, and features such as the umadashi have been restored.
Connection to Swords
No source tying the castle to a specific sword has been confirmed. It was the seat of a warrior house that fought repeated contests in southern Hitachi.
Highlights
- Said to have been built by Hatta Tomoie in 1185
- Where Kitabatake Chikafusa entered and wrote the Jinnō Shōtōki
- A Sengoku castle repeatedly lost and retaken by Oda Ujiharu
- Excavations confirmed triple moats and garden remains
- National Historic Site since 1935; opened as a history plaza in 2016
* Opening hours and admission fees are subject to change. Please check the official website before visiting.