Japanese Castle guide in Japan castle Historical site Statue Introduction.

[Castle name]
Uehara Castle
Uehara castle was the residence of Suwa-shi, including Yorishige Suwa.

[Explanation]
Uehara castle was a mountain castle that was located in Suwa in Shinano no Kuni. It was owned by Suwa-shi, and Suwa-shi also built Kuwabara castle as a branch castle nearby.
Suwa-shi was also in charge of Ohori of Suwa shrine. At that time it was not rare to be both soldier and Shinto priest like them.

The Suwa family was at the highest position of Shinto priest at Suwa Shrine, so they had an extremely high sense of dignity.

During Sengoku period, the lord Yorishige Suwa had built a good relationship with Kai’s Nobutora Takeda, but when Harunobu (Shingen) became the lord of the Takeda family, their relationship became bad and started fighting.
In 1542, Harunobu cooperated with Yoritsugu Takato, who was the owner of Takato castle at that time, to defeat Yorishige Suwa. After that Yorishige was confined in Kai no Kuni and eventually killed himself.

On the other hand, Yoritsugu Takato was also defeated by Singen. From this point on, Shingen started to defeat a number of castles in Shinano. He did not use Uehara castle to unify Suwa, but instead he built a castle near the lake Biwa.

Suwa-shi was defeated by Shingen, but Shingen’s 4th son, Katsuyori, became the successor of the Suwa family. And when the oldest son, Yoshinobu, committed suicide due to their family dispute, Katsuyori officially became the successor of Takeda family.

In 1582, the Takeda-family was defeated by the Oda family, and shortly after that Nobunaga was killed by his vassal, Mitsuhide Akechi.

※Uehara castle was destroyed when the Oda family’s conquered Kai

Yoritada Suwa, a cousin of Yorishige Suwa, received a support from Yoshimasa Kiso who turned his side to the Oda family, and regained Takashima castle.

Yoritada became independent when Kiso-shi’s power decreased, and became a minor feudal lord. Yoritada rebuilt Suwa-shi, and Yoritada’s son, Yorimizu Suwa, was transferred to Takashima domain because of his achievement at the battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Suwa-shi continued to be the owner of the castle and Takashima domain continued until the Meiji restoration.

※The picuture shows Uehara castle ruins (stone monument) where Suwa-shi used for generations
Location: Uehara Chino, Nagano

[Address,access]
Uehara Chino, Nagano 390-0873

[Map]