Oda Castle

Oda Castle (小田城, Oda jō) is a hira-style Muromachi period Japanese castle located in what is now the city of Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, in the northern Kantō region of Japan. It has been protected by the central government as a National Historic Site since 1935.

Oda Castle is located 5 kilometers south of Mount Tsukuba, in southwestern Hitachi Province, overlooking the Sakura River which flows from the northern slope of Mount Tsukuba towards Lake Kasumigaura. Although the surrounding area is a large plain, when the castle was built Lake Kasumigaura extended further inland, and the area surrounding the castle consisted of many smaller rivers and marshes, which divided the territory into numerous defensible islands. Of the many smallholdings in the area, the Oda clan, Hitachi with Oda Castle, was the most powerful. The Oda clan was a cadet branch of the Hatta clan, who were the shugo of Hitachi Province in the Kamakura period.

Hotta Tomoie achieved distinction in the campaign against the Northern Fujiwara and was awarded estates in Hitachi Province by Minamoto no Yoritomo. He constructed a fortified residence at the foot of Mount Oda, and his descendants took the surname of "Oda" after this place name. However, later in the Kamakura period, the Hōjō clan gradually expanded into Hitachi, usurping many of the Oda clan's estates. For this reason, the Oda were early and strong supporters of the Kenmu restoration of Emperor Go-Daigo and the overthrow of the Kamakura shogunate. The Oda remained loyal to the Southern Court against Ashikaga Takauji, and during the Nanboku-chō period, Southern Court general Kitabatake Chikafusa made Oda Castle his field headquarters for over a year, and wrote the Jinnō Shōtōki (Chronicles of the Authentic Lineages of the Divine Emperors) defending the Southern Court's claims, while he was at Oda Castle.

However, as the Southern Court gradually waned in power, the Oda clan was finally forced to pledge fealty to the Muromachi shogunate. Although the titular title of shugo was lost to the Satake clan, the Oda remained ranked as one of the eight most prestigious clans of the Kantō region.

Into the Sengoku period, the Oda clan was surrounded by more powerful and aggressive neighbors.

Text adapted from “Oda Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Oda Castle ranks #4,185 of 8,134 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #210 of the 297 mapped in Japan. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 2,593 times in the last 60 days, more than 72% of the atlas. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Chiba, 60 km away. See how Japan compares in the castle statistics.

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