was a castle built in Mino Province

Mino Province

, one of the old provinces of Japan, encompassed part of modern-day Gifu Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Mino Province bordered Echizen, Hida, Ise, Mikawa, Ōmi, Owari, and Shinano Provinces....

 in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 in 1597. Though the castle spanned the Sengoku

Sengoku period

The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...

 and Edo

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

 periods, it barely did so as the castle was demolished in 1610. The castle supported the Saitō

Saito clan

The was a Japanese clan in Mino Province during the Sengoku period in the 16th century. According to records, the Saitō clan descended from the Fujiwara clan...

, Oda

Oda clan

The was a family of Japanese daimyo who were to become an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they had the climax of their fame under Oda Nobunaga and fell from the spotlight soon after, several branches of the family would continue on as daimyo...

 and Toyotomi

Toyotomi clan

Originating in Owari Province, the served as retainers to the Oda clan throughout 16th-century Japan's Sengoku period. -Unity and Conflict:The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan." Oda Nobunaga was another primary unifier and the...

 clans.

History

The castle was built by Katō Sadayasu in 1597. Though Sadayasu supported the Toki clan

Toki clan

The was a powerful clan that ruled in Japan from the Kamakura period to the Edo period. It descended from Emperor Seiwa by Minamoto no Yorimitsu from the Minamoto clan and used Toki in Mino Province as their hometown...

, Katō Mitsuyasu

Kato Mitsuyasu

was a retainer under the Toyotomi clan during the late Sengoku period of feudal Japan. Residing within Mino Province during his early life, Mitsuyasu took up arms in support of the Saitō clan and its leader, Saitō Dosan....

, his father, supported the Saitō clan and Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...

, who provided many of the stones for the construction of the castle. Mitsuyasu join in the invasions of Korea, but died of illness during his trip home in 1593, putting Sadayasu in charge of construction.

Present

At present, there is a marker designating the former location of the castle. The surrounding area has been developed into a park. Though the donjon no longer exists, the moat, earthen walls and foundation stones still remain.