The Hiyama Ando clan, who ruled Akita during the Sengoku period and had their base in Noshiro [Akita Prefecture]

Noshiro City is a city in northern Akita Prefecture with a population of approximately 47,000 (as of December 2024, according to Noshiro City data) and borders the Sea of ​​Japan to the west. The Yoneshiro River, a first-class river, flows east to west through the center of the city, and Noshiro Port at its mouth has long flourished as a distribution center for northern Akita Prefecture

The current city of Noshiro was formed in 2006 by the merger of the former Noshiro City at the mouth of the Yoneshiro River and the former Futatsui Town in the middle reaches of the Yoneshiro River

The mouth of the Yoneshiro River, where people have lived since the Stone Age

Archaeological excavations have revealed that people have lived along the coast of Noshiro since the Stone Age, approximately 30,000 years ago. Furthermore, about 3 km inland from the current coastline, archaeological sites such as theSugisawadai site(Sugisawadai, Iwa, Noshiro City; a nationally designated historical site), a fairly large settlement dating back 7,000 years (Early Jomon period), andthe Kashikodokoro shell mound(Kashikodokoro, Noshiro City; a prefecturally designated historical site), dating back 2,000 years (Late Jomon period), have been discovered, indicating that many people lived there.

The Jomon period was a time when the Paleolithic Ice Age had ended and the Earth was warming, with average temperatures 2-3°C higher than in 21st century Japan and sea levels 3-5m higher. The fact that the Sugisawadai ruins and Kashiwajisho shell mounds are located about 3km inland from the current coastline is evidence that the sea once extended up to the ruins

Sugisawadai Ruins: The remains of a large settlement that was used from the Jomon period to the Heian period

The Sugisawadai Ruins are the remains of a settlement from the early Jomon period (approximately 7,000 years ago) to the Heian period (794-1185). Excavations conducted in 1980 uncovered the remains of 44 dwellings and 109 frisco-shaped pits (flask-shaped earth pits or flask-shaped pits) with narrow entrances and wide interiors, which are thought to have been used primarily as food storage. In particular, the remains of a large pit dwelling, measuring 31m in length and 8.8m in width, were discovered. Subsequent investigations have uncovered the remains of dwellings and numerous buried artifacts in the surrounding area, demonstrating that it was a large settlement. The Sugisawadai Ruins is a nationally designated historic site

Sugisawadai Ruins <Information>

• Facility name: Sugisawadai Ruins
• Location: Sugisawadai, Noshiro City, Akita Prefecture
• Phone number: 0185-74-6040 (Noshiro City Cultural Property Preservation Office)
• *It is preserved in a field about 1 km east of Noshiro City Takeo Elementary School and can be visited. There is a guide sign on site
• access:
  • Public transportation: Approximately 5 minutes by taxi from Kita-Noshiro Station on the JR Gono Line
  • By car: Approximately 20 minutes from Noshiro Higashi IC on the Akita Expressway

Google Map

The Kashiwajisho Shell Mound, a shell mound dating back approximately 3,000 years. Human remains were also excavated

The Kashiwajisho Shell Mound is a shell mound from approximately 3,000 years ago (late Jomon period), where eight human bones believed to have been buried have been excavated, and it is thought to have been a cemetery. The Kashiwajisho Shell Mound is a designated historic site by Akita Prefecture

Kashiwajisho Shell Mound <Information>

• Facility name: Kashiwajisho Shell Mound
• Address: 87 Kashiwakosho, Noshiro City, Akita Prefecture
• Phone number: 0185-74-6040 (Noshiro City Cultural Property Preservation Office)
• access:
  • Public transportation: Approximately 7 minutes by taxi from Higashi-Noshiro Station on the JR Ou Main Line or Gono Line
  • By car: Approximately 10 minutes from Noshiro Higashi IC on the Akita Expressway

Google Map

During the Asuka period, Abe no Hirafu advanced into the Noshiro region, which came under the control of the Yamato Imperial Court

The people of Noshiro lived in peace from the Jomon period to the Yayoi period (2,800 years ago to 1,850 years ago [around 250 AD]), but things began to change around the Kofun period (around 250 to 600 AD) when the Yamato (Nara Prefecture) imperial court began to gain power

The Yamato court, based in Nara, expanded its territory and began sending troops into the Tohoku region in the mid-600s in an attempt to expand its territory. According to a record from the Nihon Shoki, in 658, the court's general Abe no Hirafu (birth and death unknown) led an army to the port of Noshiro (then called Nushiro), where he defeated the resisting local people, who were then called Emishi by the Yamato court, and brought the area under his control

During the Nara period, Noshiro Port was a place where trade with the Bohai Kingdom on the Chinese mainland was active

The Yamato court, wanting to control the Tohoku region, built Dewa-no-saku (or Dewa-no-ki) near the mouth of the Mogami River (the exact location in Yamagata Prefecture is unknown) in 709 at the end of the Asuka period, as a base for attacking the land further north, and established the province of Dewa. As the court army expanded its territory further north, in 733 they moved Dewa-no-sakuTakashimizu in present-day Akita City(Terauchi Yakiyama, Akita City), and in 760 they renamed Dewa-no-saku Akita Castle, making it an even stronger fortress.

The Tosaminato Ando clan reached its peak from the end of the Heian period to the Kamakura period

As the Heian period entered its later stages, power struggles among local clans intensified in the Tohoku region. This ledNine, destroyed the powerful Abe clan in Mutsu Province (parts ofMutsuthe governor ofa period of turmoil(988–1075)present-day Iwate and Aomori prefectures). Another example is the Later Three Years' War (1083–1087), in which the Kiyohara clan of Dewa Province (present-day Akita and Yamagata prefectures), who had gained power by siding with Yoriyoshithe Former Nine Years' War, revolted. In the Later Three Years' War, the Kiyohara clan was destroyed, and the Oshu Fujiwara clan rose to power.

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The bitter family feud "Gosannen War" unfolded in the Yokote Basin [Akita Prefecture]

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/24309

Yokote City, located in the Yokote Basin, is located in southeastern Akita Prefecture, bordering Iwate Prefecture to the east. During the Heian period, it was under the control of the Kiyohara clan and is known as the site of the Gosannen War. During the Edo period, it was part of the territory of the Kubota Domain (Akita Domain). As it was at the crossroads of roads such as the Ushu Kaido, which branched off from the Oshu Kaido and connected Akita and Aomori, Yokote Castle was home to the Kubota Domain's senior vassals, and it flourished as the political and economic center of the southern part of the domain. Geographically located in the Yokote Basin's center, Asamai and Masuda also flourished as distribution hubs. The Shogun of Mutsu Province defeated the Abe clan, who ruled the Oku-Rokugo region...

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Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147-1199), who was not happy with the Oshu Fujiwara clan's control over the Tohoku region, brought about the downfall of the Oshu Fujiwara clan on the grounds that Fujiwara no Hidehira (1122?-1187) was hiding his younger brother, Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159-1189)

Around that time, Takaakimaru, the son of Abe Sadato (1019-1062), the leader of the Abe clan who was destroyed in the Battle of Zenkunen, barely escaped to Fujisaki (Fujisaki Town, Aomori Prefecture). After coming of age, he founded the Ando clan (later the Ando clan) and expanded his power from Fujisaki Castle. During the Kamakura period, the Ando clan was entrusted by the shogunate with the management of Ezochi (Hokkaido), and is said to have flourished. They later moved their base to Tosaminato (Goshogawara City, Aomori Prefecture, famous for Lake Jusan) and would reign as a powerful clan in Tsugaru for the next 350 years

The Ando clan advanced from Matsumae to Noshiro, and came under the control of the Hiyama Ando clan

In the mid-15th century (Muromachi period), the Nanbu clan, based in Morioka (Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture), advanced into the Tsugaru region with the aim of controlling the area. The Ando clan fought back, but the Nanbu clan's military strength was so great that they abandoned Tsugaru and fled to Matsumae in Hokkaido

​​who vowed to make a comebackMasasue, did not stay in Matsumae for long and returned to the mainland. At that time, he did not return to Jusanminato butHiyamamadethe Hiyama Andoclan. Later, in 1495, Tadasue, the second head of the Hiyama Ando clan, completed Hiyama Castle, and from then until 1598 when they moved their base to Minato Castle in Tsuchizakiminato (Tsuchizaki Port, Akita City), it was used as the residence of the Hiyama Ando clan for six generations: Masasue, Tadasue, Hirosue, Kiyosue, Chikasue, and Sanesue.

Hiyama Castle was a mountain castle shaped like a horseshoe, with a very large site for its time, measuring 1,500m east-west and 900m north-south. It was also known as "Kiriyama Castle" or "Horiuchi Castle," and in the surrounding area were other castles built as subsidiary castles of Hiyama Castle, such as ""and "ChausudateOdate," as well as "Temple" the family temple of the Hiyama Ando clan.

Hiyama Castle was an impregnable castle

The Ando clan, which wielded considerable power as a family in Tsugaru, split into two factions during the late Kamakura period and early Muromachi period. One faction abandoned Tsugaru and moved south, building Minato Castle in Tsuchizaki-minato, Akita, and expanding their territory. The other branch of the Ando clan that remained in Tsugaru later made Noshiro-Hiyama its base. To distinguish between the two split Ando clans,the Ando clan of Tsuchizaki-minato is called the <Minato Ando clan>, andthe Ando clan of Noshiro is called the <Hiyama Ando clan>. It seems that the Ando clan also changed their name to Ando clan around this time.

The Hiyama Ando and Minato Ando clans were on bad terms and clashed frequently. In 1589, the Minato Ando clan attacked the Hiyama Ando clan's Hiyama Castle for five months, but failed to capture it. In the end, with the help of external reinforcements for the Hiyama Ando clan, the Minato Ando clan was defeated. This civil war, later known as the "Minato Rebellion," became the catalyst for the head of the Hiyama Ando clan, Ando (Akita) Sanesue (or Akita Sanesue), to leave Hiyama Castle.

During the Edo period, the castle was abandoned due to the One Castle per Province Order

During the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate carried out a system of domain transfers (kunigae/transfer of daimyo to different provinces), which resulted in the Satake clan taking up residence in Akita. Consequently, the Ando clan, who had adopted the name Akita,Hitachi Province. The Oba clan (later the castellan of Odate Castle, who adopted the name Satake and were known as the Satake Nishi family) and Tagaya Nobuie, who were vassals of the Kubota Domain (Akita Domain), became castellans of Hiyama Castle. However, Hiyama Castle was abandoned in 1620 due to the One Castle Per Province decree issued by the Edo shogunate. The Hiyama Ando clan castle ruins, as well as the Odate ruins and Chausu Castle, are designated as national historic sites.

Hiyama Ando Clan Castle Ruins <Information>

• Facility name: Hiyama Ando clan castle ruins
• Location: Hiyama, Noshiro City, Akita Prefecture
• Phone number: 0185-74-6040 (Noshiro City Cultural Property Preservation Office)

Google Map

Odate Ruins <Information>

• Facility name: Odate ruins
• Location: Nawateshita, Tadokonouchi, Noshiro City, Akita Prefecture
• Phone number: 0185-74-6040 (Noshiro City Cultural Property Preservation Office)

Google Map

Chausukan Ruins <Information>

• Facility name: Chausukan ruins
• Location: Hiyama Ekoshi, Noshiro City, Akita Prefecture
• Phone number: 0185-74-6040 (Noshiro City Cultural Property Preservation Office)

Google Map

Kokuseiji Temple Ruins <Information>

• Facility name: Ruins of Kokuseiji Temple
• Location: Hiyama, Noshiro City, Akita Prefecture
• Phone number: 0185-74-6040 (Noshiro City Cultural Property Preservation Office)
• Access to Hiyama Castle Ruins:
  • Public transportation: Approximately 10 minutes by taxi from Higashi-Noshiro Station on the JR Ou Main Line or Gono Line
  • By car: Approximately 15 minutes by car from Noshiro Higashi IC on the Akita Expressway

Google Map

During the Edo period, the Noshiro region was a bustling port, with the port of Noshiro serving as a port of call for Kitamaebune ships, and serving as a distribution hub for Noshiro and other parts of northern Akita Prefecture. It was also a shipping port for Akita cedar collected from the Yoneshiro River and minerals such as those from the Ani Mine (Kitaakita City)

Noshiro after the Edo period will be introduced in a separate section

NORIJUN

My love of travel led me to work for a travel magazine some time ago, and now I work as a travel writer for an online publication. I have visited all 47 prefectures in Japan, focusing on the Tohoku region, and I enjoy soaking in hot springs and experiencing traditional Japanese culture, including old townscapes, lifestyles, and performing arts and crafts