Akita Fort

En un regard

Le château en bref

Established in 733 on Takashimizu hill after the Dewa fort was moved from the Shōnai area, Akita Fort is the northernmost of the administrative and military establishments of northern Honshū. Around 760 it took the name Akita-jō. Municipal sources present it as a political, military and cultural centre of Dewa Province with ties to the continent, including contacts associated with the kingdom of Bohai. The Gankyō uprising, led by Emishi in 878, was a turning point. The fort remained in use until the mid-10th century and then lost its function, while its name lived on in titles: from the Kamakura period, the office of Akita-jō no suke was linked to the defence of the north. The layout is based on a double enclosure: an irregular quadrangular outer perimeter about 550 m on a side, lined with earthen walls, and, at the centre, an administrative quarter measuring 94 m by 77 m. Designated in 1939 and extended in 1978, the site covers about 90 hectares. The State excavated here from 1959 to 1962, followed by the city of Akita from 1972; 91 campaigns had been counted by 2007. The most striking finds are flush toilets from the late Nara period at Unonoki, whose parasite eggs are read as a sign of exchanges with the continent. The east gate, an earthen wall and the latrines have been reconstructed in the historical park.