Posted by The first, and only time went to Hamamatsu and Okazaki it was on the same trip to meet up with a friend. I was very happily surprised that my friend and her sister planned to take me around and see a bit more than I had expected. I am very grateful that they both could give me their time to show me around some places that I probably would not have gone on this trip, which includes visits to a couple of castles and walking a part of the old Tokiado which was excellent.
Before going there, I really only knew Okazaki Castle for two things. One, the birthplace of Tokugawa Ieyasu and two, it was the castle that a very brave man named Torii Sunuemon ran to for help, all the way from the Nagashino battlefield to tell Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu about the Takeda attack on Nagashino fort in 1575.
History of Okazaki.
Okazaki castle (岡崎城) is found on a small hill beside the Tomoegawa river, a tributary of Yahagigawa river. Okazaki city, the city located on the center of Mikawa region (western Aichi prefecture). It is located on an important crossroads where the old Tokaido crosses the Yahagigawa river, which was an important connecting point of land and water transportation.
The first structure was built in 1455 by the Saigo clan near the current castle but in the 16th century Matsudaira Kiyoyasu defeated the Saigo clan and took possession of the castle and relocated it a short distance to where it is today, in 1526. Kiyoyasu was the 7th Lord of the Matsudaira clan and grandfather to Ieyasu, who had risen to power in Mikawa province.
Riding on his recent success, Kiyoyasu attacked Moriyama Castle in Owari province held by Nobuhide Oda, father of Nobunaga Oda in 1530. Although, during the attack he was assassinated by his retainer. It is suspected that the retainer accepted a bribe by Nobuhide to murder the head of the Matsudaira clan. It is said the Murasame katana was used in the assassination. The sword has since become well known for its mythic wizardry, and which drives its owner into insanity and bloodlust. Something to look up if you like that kind of thing I suppose. Anyway, after the loss of Kiyoyasu things turned sour for the Matsudaira clan. Just as a note, the history of Okazaki castle, Matsudaira, Oda and Imagawa is quite deep, so for this blog post I’ll keep it as short as I can, focussing on the castle only.
Kiyoyasu’s son and eighth head Matsudaira Hirotada, who was supported by Imagawa Yoshimoto, a powerful warlord of Suruga and Totomi country, re-took possession of Okazaki castle around 1538. He married Odai-no Kata, a daughter of a local lord, Mizuno Tadamasa located in west Mikawa. Ieyasu was the first born from the couple in 1543 in Okazaki castle. His childhood name was Takechiyo which later changed to Motoyasu then Ieyasu.
In 1549 the castle came under control of Imagawa once again, after defeating Matsudaira Hirotada and Ieyasu was taken hostage by the Imagawa. Ieyasu was kept as a hostage with the Imagawa until the very well known Okehazama attack in 1560. Oda Nobunaga boldly made an attack directly where Imagawa Yoshimoto was camped, and killed. This allowed Ieyasu to escape from the clutches of the Imagawa and he returned to Okazaki castle. Over the next few years he fought back and managed to retake most of Mikawa province. Ieyasu built Hamamatsu castle and left his son, Nobuyasu lord of Okazaki.
I feel like whoever becomes the lord of this castle doesn’t live too long. So, Nobuyasu also gets the Okazaki curse and is forced to commit seppuku in 1579 after being accused of doing deals with the Takeda which seems to have been a fabricated story due to jealousy. Please feel free to look this up, it is one of the most tragic stories I have read and although Ieyasu had already suffered a lot in his life, losing a son like this must have been heartbreaking. After Nobuyasu’s tragic death, a senior retainer of the Matsudaira clan, Ishikawa Kazumasa and then Honda Shigetsugu were appointed lord of the castle. When Ieyasu was was ordered to move to Kanto by Hideyoshi in 1590, Hideyoshi’s vassal Yoshimasa Tanaka became lord of the castle. During this period Yoshimasa carried out large-scale construction and expansion of the castle, creating a total of 4.7 km of moats to the east, north and west of the castle.
After Sekigahara the Tokugawa shogunate began and peace eventually came to Japan. The Okazaki domain was created, and Ieyasu’s close retainer Honda Yasushige was assigned lord of the castle. A three-story main tower and one basement floor, with a well turret to the east and an annexed turret to the south was completed in 1617. The Honda clan were replaced by the Mizuno clan from 1645-1762, which is weird considering their family history, and the Matsudaira clan from 1762-1769. In 1769, another branch of the Honda clan returned, and governed until the Meiji Restoration.
The castle sat on the Tokaido, and a castle town developed and prospered during the Edo period. Only the most loyal of retainers ruled from Okazaki castle and it is said that although small, Okazaki lords were extremely proud to serve in the castle where The Shogun, Ieyasu was born.
Unfortunately, at the beginning of the Meiji Period most of Okazaki castle was demolished. I always hate to think how much of Japan’s medieval history was destroyed at this time. Only the moats and stone walls (ishigaki) remained. Most of what we see today was built in 1959.
This text was written by Stuart from information boards and flyers from Okazaki castle and online from here. https://okazaki-kanko.jp/okazaki-park
Photos by Stuart.
Japanese History and Culture 
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