is a castle

Japanese castle

' were fortresses composed primarily of wood and stone. They evolved from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries, and came into their best-known form in the 16th century...

 in Nagaokakyō

Nagaokakyo, Kyoto

is a city located in Kyoto, Japan.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 79,306 and the density of 4,070.96 persons per km². The total area is 19.18 km²....

, Kyoto

Kyoto Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Kyoto.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Kyoto prefecture was known as Yamashiro....

, 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...

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This castle was constructed in 1339 by Hosokawa Yoriharu, a major samurai

Samurai

is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...

 commander under Ashikaga Takauji

Ashikaga Takauji

was the founder and first shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromachi period of Japan, and ended with his death in 1358...

, the founder of the Ashikaga shogunate

Ashikaga shogunate

The , also known as the , was a Japanese feudal military regime, ruled by the shoguns of the Ashikaga clan.This period is also known as the Muromachi period and gets its name from Muromachi Street of Kyoto where the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu established his residence...

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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

Onin War

The ' was a civil war that lasted 10 years during the Muromachi period in Japan. A dispute between Hosokawa Katsumoto and Yamana Sōzen escalated into a nationwide war involving the Ashikaga shogunate and a number of daimyo in many regions of Japan....

, this castle was used as a castle of the western alliance and became occupied by Iwanari Tomomichi

Iwanari Tomomichi

was a Japanese samurai of the 16th century. Also known as Ishinari Tomomichi , he was a retainer of the Miyoshi clan, and held the title of Chikara-no-suke...

, a daimyō

Daimyo

is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

 of the Miyoshi clan

Miyoshi clan

The Miyoshi clan is a Japanese family descended from Emperor Seiwa and the Minamoto clan . They were a cadet branch of the Ogasawara clan and the Takeda clan....

, during the Sengoku period

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...

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