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History of the Nanbata Clan and the Nanbata Castle

Kaneko family was a dominant figure of the Murayama band which was one of many Samurai bands emerged since the late of the Heian period in Musashi Province. Kaneko Kotarō Takanori participated in Jōkyū war and killed in the battle. Nanbata territory was the reward given to his descendants by the Bakufu, and they are presumed to become the Nanbata clan.

In the Nanboku-chō period, the Nanbata clan was defeated in the battle of Hanekura and was confiscated its territory. In the Sengoku period, Nanbata Danjō Zengin was famous as a senior vassal of the Ōgigayastu Uesugi clan. It is said that he was based in the Nanbata castle, which was small at the beginning but expanded along with his exploits. He fought in the Kawagoe battle with the Hōjō clan and was killed in 1546. The Nanbata clan became a retainer of the Hōjō clan afterwards. Then, Nanbata territory fell in the hands of the Ueda clan, the retainer of the Hōjō clan. Later, the Hōjō clan was ruined by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the Nanbata castle was abandoned.

The Nanbata castle was depicted in the old castle map in the Edo period as a model of plain castle (Hirajiro). Shugendō (mountain asceticism) monastery Jūgyokuin temple was built on the former site of the castle in the Edo period.


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Nanbatajō Museum, Fujimi City Municipal Museum of History and Folklore