Shichinohe Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

Shichinohe Castle, also known as Hakuyō-jō, occupies the tip of a terrace rising about 40 metres above the confluence of the Sakuda and Wada rivers. The steep slopes of this promontory formed its first line of defence. The designated area covers nearly 9.5 hectares and comprises seven enclosures: Honmaru, Ninomaru, Kitadate, Shimodate, Hōsendate, Nishidate and Kakudate. The prefecture emphasises the relative independence of each, a feature common among strongholds of northern Tōhoku. Dry moats, secondary terraces, fortified entrances and concealed lookout positions remain legible in the terrain, while the second enclosure has become a public park. The area was developed from the late Heian period, and members of the Kudō, representatives of the Hōjō, are attested locally in the early fourteenth century, though it is not known whether they built here. In 1335 Shichinohe became the domain of Nanbu Masanaga, to whom tradition attributes the castle. Excavations at Kitadate call for caution: they have produced mainly fifteenth-century material and, so far, nothing from the fourteenth century. The last medieval lord, Shichinohe Iekuni, backed the rising of Kunohe Masazane in 1591 and fell with him; the stronghold was destroyed the following year. The site nevertheless remained occupied by members of the Nanbu family, housed an intendant's office from 1664 and became the seat of the Shichinohe domain in 1869.