Hamada Castle (Ise)
Hamadajō is a hirajiro (flatland castle) ruin in downtown Yokkaichi. It is now a shrine and park with the name Unomori. Dorui (earthen ramparts) remain, particularly around the shrine grounds which presumably constituted the main bailey. Displays at the shrine tell of the site's history. An impressi
History
Hamadajō was constructed by Tahara Tadahide, the youngest son of Tahara Kagenobu, in 1470. Tadahide rerouted the Tōkaidō trade route to the seaward of the castle. A market was established as a town began to grow around the castle. 'Yokkaichi' refers to a market held on the 4th day of each month, and this is where the name of the modern municipality originates -- strange that it didn't become Hamada really, but the market was presumably still important long after the castle was destroyed.
Hamadajō was attacked by Takigawa Kazumasu, a general of Oda Nobunaga, in the late 1560s, and its castellan, Tahara Mototsuna, was killed. Tahara Shigetsuna, Mototsuna's son, fled to Mino Province, but was later slain at Kaganoijō in 1584 when Toyotomi Hideyoshi besieged it and massacred everyone.
Hamadajō was destroyed in 1575 by Oda-alligned forces - perhaps the Yamaguchi Clan of Mochibukujō, though it is recorded in the Ishū Gunki that Takigawa made use of the fort in 1584 during the Komaki-Nagakute campaign. Unomori-jinja was later established, enshrining the spirits of four generations of the Tahara Clan under Tadahide.
Field Notes
Hamadajō is a hirajiro (flatland castle) ruin in downtown Yokkaichi. It is now a shrine and park with the name Unomori. Dorui (earthen ramparts) remain, particularly around the shrine grounds which presumably constituted the main bailey. Displays at the shrine tell of the site's history. An impressive kabukimon-style gateway has also been reconstructed in recent years to acknowledge the site's martial past.
Gallery
| Castle Profile | |
|---|---|
| English Name | Hamada Castle (Ise) |
| Japanese Name | 伊勢浜田城 |
| Founder | Tahara Tadahide |
| Year Founded | 1470 |
| Castle Type | Flatland |
| Castle Condition | No main keep but other buildings |
| Designations | Local Historic Site |
| Historical Period | Pre Edo Period |
| Artifacts | Dorui, Kuruwa, Kabukimon |
| Features | gates |
| Visitor Information | |
| Access | Kintetsu-Yokkaichi Station; 2 min walk |
| Hours | 24/7 free; park |
| Time Required | 30 mins |
| Location | Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture |
| Coordinates | 34.96487, 136.61678 |
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| Admin | |
| Added to Jcastle | 2025 |
| Contributor | ART |
| Admin Year Visited | Viewer Contributed |
| Friends of JCastle | |
| Jōkaku Hōrōki | |
| Oshiro Meguri | |
