Tokoname Castle

History

Tokonamejō was built by Mizuno Tadatsuna before 1529. Tokonamejō was a branch castle of Ogawajō, the main base of the Mizuno Clan. In 1582, following the Honnōji Incident, Mizuno Moritsugu left Tokonamejō to fight alongside Akechi Mitsuhide (a betrayal considering the strong ties the Mizuno had to the Oda Clan), at which time Okabe Shigetaka took over the castle. Okabe Shigetaka was a vassal of Oda Nobuo but was executed in 1584 on charges of conspiring with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Amano Gowemon, his deputy, took over Tokonamejō. But very soon after that Mizuno Tadashige of Kariyajō conquered Tokonamejō in order to wipe out the Okada faction. Following the battle of Komaki-Nagakute later that year, Tokonamejō became the residence of Takagi Hiromasa as a reward for his services in that war by Oda Nobuo. It is thought that Tokonamejō was destroyed in 1590 when Oda Nobuo refused Toyotomi Hideyoshi's order to exchange territory (Tokugawa Ieyasu sensibly accepted this proposal with some negotiation and moved to Kantō), and was subsequently chased out of Owari by force (he was forced to take the tonsure but was later forgiven by Hideyoshi and allowed to return to active political life).

Visit Notes

Tokonamejō is a former fortification site in urban Tokoname Municipality, and it is that city's namesake. The site today is a small park on the edge of the plateau. There is a stone marker post for the castle and an explanatory board, but no ruins remain, and the site is now housing and solar panels. I came here since I was anyway in Tokoname to see the historic townscape of old homes, kilns, chimneys and ceramic-piled retaining walls centred around the 'pottery paths of Tokoname'. There I'd also recommend visiting the Takita Residence, an industrial era ship magnate residence. I visited two such residences that day, the other being the Uchida Residence in Utsumi (Minami-Chita).

Gallery

Castle marker and explanatory board

Castle Profile
English Name	Tokoname Castle
Japanese Name	常滑城
Founder	Mizuno Tadatsuna
Year Founded	Before 1529
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features
Visitor Information
Access	Tokoname Station on the Meitetsu-Tokoname Line; 18 minute walk
Visitor Information	24/7 free; park
Time Required	5 minutes
Location	Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture
Coordinates	34° 52' 52.10" N, 136° 50' 30.05" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2023
Contributor	ART
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed
Friends of JCastle
Jōkaku Shashin Kiroku
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