Tottori Castle

Tottori Castle (鳥取城, Tottori-jō) was a Japanese castle located in Tottori, Tottori Prefecture.

Tottori castle
鳥取城
Tottori, Tottori Prefecture, Japan
Former site of Tottori Castle
Type	Japanese castle
Site information
Controlled by	Ikeda clan
Condition	Ruins
Site history
Built	1532-1555
Demolished	1879
Battles/wars	Siege of Tottori
Garrison information
Past commanders	Nasu no Yoichi, Kajiwara Kagetoki, Kikkawa Tsuneie

A gate leading into the castle grounds

History

Tottori Castle was constructed in Inaba Province during the Sengoku period as a yamashiro ("mountain castle") built into the mountain itself, using natural obstacles and defenses to a greater extent than man-made walls. In the late 12th century, following the Genpei War, the new shōgun Minamoto no Yoritomo granted the position of shugo of Tottori Castle to Nasu no Yoichi, the hero of the Battle of Yashima. Nasu lost the castle soon afterwards to Kajiwara Kagetoki, a spy for Yoritomo, in a hunting competition. Tottori Castle was reconstructed over a period from 1532 to 1555, having passed between various owners, and soon became the main castle of the San'in region.

Tottori Castle is perhaps best known for the Siege of Tottori in 1581, in which the castle was besieged for 200 days by Toyotomi Hideyoshi on behalf of Oda Nobunaga. According to some accounts, the defenders led by Kikkawa Tsuneie were forced to surrender due to starvation, coming just short of resorting to cannibalism. When they surrendered, Hideyoshi provided food for the castle garrison, but many survivors ate too quickly and subsequently died from refeeding syndrome.

Tottori Castle became the seat of the Tottori Domain during the Edo period, a han (fief) covering much of Inaba and Hōki Province, and was ruled by various branches of the Ikeda clan.

After the Meiji Restoration, Tottori Castle was nationalized and given to the Ministry of the Army in 1873, coming under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Japanese Army's 4th Division. In 1876, the Ministry of the Army decided to dismantle Tottori Castle when Tottori Prefecture was incorporated into Shimane Prefecture, arguing that no castle was needed except in the prefectural capital, Matsue. In 1879, the demolition of Tottori Castle began, though Tottori Prefecture was later re-established in 1881. Little remains of the castle aside from parts of the stone wall and one gate, reinforced with iron and featuring spikes on the outside of the doors to help protect against attackers.

Tottori Castle's outer citadel (ninomaru) before demolition.

References

• Turnbull, Stephen (2000). The Samurai Sourcebook (Reprinted ed.). London: Cassell. ISBN 1854095234.

Literature

• Benesch, Oleg and Ran Zwigenberg (2019). Japan's Castles: Citadels of Modernity in War and Peace. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 374. ISBN 9781108481946.
• Schmorleitz, Morton S. (1974). Castles in Japan. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Co. ISBN 0-8048-1102-4.