Ebigashima Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

Ebigashima Castle (海老ヶ島城) is a former lowland stronghold in the Matsubara district of the Akeno area of Chikusei, in western Ibaraki Prefecture. Despite its name, it does not stand in the hamlet of Ebigashima itself but in the neighbouring locality. Construction began in 1461 on the initiative of the Yūki clan, who in 1467 installed there Hidechiyo, eldest son of Yūki Naritomo, then about ten years old. A distant outpost of the Yūki domain, it stood between the lands of the Mizutani of Shimodate and the Tagaya of Shimotsuma, facing the Oda and Makabe clans across the Sakura River. In the 16th century the fortress was contested between the Yūki and the Shishido clan, which eventually settled there under Satake influence and adopted the name Ebigashima. The site, surrounded by deep paddy fields that served as a natural defence, is now largely occupied by the village; some earthen ramparts and moats survive, notably around Shingozen-ji temple.