Odawara Castle

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The castle of Odawara

The castle Odawara (Japanese小田原 城, Odawara - jo ) is a castle in the town of Odawara in Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. She was a fortress of various daimyo in the Muromachi period.

History

In the Edo period was Odawaras convenient location on the old road Tōkaidō between the mountainous Hakone and Sagami Bay, the castle is of particular strategic importance. During the Edo period, the castle controlled the Tōkaidō between the headquarters of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo, and the stations west of Hakone, as Sumpu ( Shizuoka ), Hamamatsu and Nagoya.

From 1495 to five generations of later Hōjō were lords of the castle. The extensive fortifications and trenches allowed for a successful defense against great warrior like Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen. However, Toyotomi Hideyoshi took the castle in 1590, after the defender for days debated (advice from Odawara ), and gave the lands of the Hōjō to Tokugawa Ieyasu, who in turn began the Okubo clan in Odawara.

Today, a replica of the castle dating from 1960 stands high on a hill overlooking the city of Odawara.