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

Noshiro Cityis a city in northern Akita Prefecture with a population of approximately 47,000 (as of December 2024, according to Noshiro City) 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 central hub for distribution in 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, archaeological sites such as the Sugisawadai site , a fairly large settlement dating back 7,000 years (Early Jomon period), and the Kashikodokoro shell mound, dating back 2,000 years (Late Jomon period) , have been discovered about 3 km inland from the current coastline, indicating that many people lived in that area.

The Jomon period was a time when the Earth was warming after the end of the Paleolithic ice age. The average temperature was about 2-3°C higher than in 21st-century Japan, and sea levels were about 3-5 meters higher

The fact that the Sugisawadai archaeological site and the Kashiwakosho shell mound are located about 3 km inland from the current coastline is evidence that the sea once extended to the area around the sites

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

The Sugisawadai archaeological site is the remains of a settlement dating from the Early Jomon period (approximately 7,000 years ago) to the Heian period (794-1185)

Excavations in 1980 (Showa 55) uncovered 44 dwelling sites and 109 Frisco-type pits (flask-shaped pits) with narrow entrances and wide interiors, which are believed to have been primarily used as food storage

In particular, a large pit dwelling site measuring 31 meters on its longest side and 8.8 meters in width was discovered. Subsequent investigations have uncovered dwelling sites and numerous buried artifacts in the surrounding area, indicating that it was once a large settlement. The Sugisawadai site is a nationally designated historic site

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

The Kashiwakosho Shell Mound is a shell mound dating back approximately 3,000 years (late Jomon period), and the remains of eight people believed to have been buried there have been unearthed, suggesting that it may have been a cemetery

The Kashiwakosho Shell Mound is a designated historical site of Akita Prefecture

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, which had been expanding its territory, began sending troops to the Tohoku region in the mid-600s to try and extend its control into that area as well

According to records, in 658, the imperial general Abe no Hirafu led his army to the port of Noshiro (then called Nushiro), defeated the local people who were resisting and were then called Emishi by the Yamato court, and brought them under his control (Nihon Shoki)

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 (Dewa Fort) near the mouth of the Mogami River (Yamagata Prefecture, exact location unknown) in 709 at the end of the Asuka period, as a base for attacking the land to the north, and established the province of Dewa

As the imperial army expanded its territory further north, in 733 they moved Dewa FortTakashimizu in present-day Akita City(Terauchi Yakiyama, Akita City), and in 760 they renamed Dewa Fort 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 drew to a close, power struggles among local clans intensified in the Tohoku region

The period entered a turbulent era , marked by events such as the Former Nine Years' War (circa 1050-1062), in which Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, the governor of Mutsu Province, destroyed the Abe clan, who held great power in Mutsu Province (parts of present-day Iwate and Aomori Prefectures) on the Pacific coast of the Tohoku region ; and 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 Yoriyoshi in the Former Nine Years' War , revolted.

In the Later Three Years' War, the Kiyohara clan was destroyed, andthe Oshu Fujiwara clanrose to power.

Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT

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...

read more

Minamoto no Yoritomo, who was displeased with the Oshu Fujiwara clan's rule over the Tohoku region, used the fact that Fujiwara no Hidehira had been sheltering his younger brother, Minamoto no Yoshitsune, as a pretext to bring about the downfall of the Oshu Fujiwara clan

Around that time, Takaakimaru, the son of Abe Sadato, the leader of the Abe clan which had been destroyed in the Former Nine Years' War, managed to reach Fujisaki (Fujisaki Town, Aomori Prefecture) by the skin of his teeth. After coming of age, he founded the Ando clan (later the Ando clan) and expanded his power with Fujisaki Castle as his base

The Ando clan is said to have flourished greatly during the Kamakura period when they were entrusted by the shogunate with the management of Ezochi (Hokkaido)

They later moved their base of operations to Jusanminato (Goshogawara City, Aomori Prefecture), and for the next 350 years, they reigned as a powerful clan in Tsugaru

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 (present-day Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture), advanced into the region, aiming to control Tsugaru. The Ando clan fought back, but the Nanbu clan's military strength was overwhelming, forcing them to abandon Tsugaru and flee to Matsumae in Hokkaido

The head of the family, Masasue Ando , ​​who vowed to make a comeback , did not stay in Matsumae for long and returned to the mainland.

In that instance, they did not return to Jusan-minato, but instead established their base in Hiyama , Noshiro (Hiyama, Noshiro City). This marked the beginning of the Hiyama Ando clan.

Subsequently, in 1495, Tadasue, the second head of the Hiyama Ando clan, completed Hiyama Castle, and it was used as the residence of the Hiyama Ando clan for six generations, from Masasue, Tadasue, Hirosue, Kiyosue, Chikasue, and Sanesue, until they moved their base to Minato Castle in Tsuchizaki Minato (Tsuchizaki Port, Akita City) in 1598

Hiyama Castle was a mountain castle shaped like a horseshoe (a metal fitting that protects a horse's hooves), and it had a very large site for its time, measuring 1,500m east-west and 900m north-south

Also known as Kiriyama Castle or Horiuchi Castle , the surrounding area includes Chausudate and Odate, which were built as subsidiary castles of Hiyama Castle, as well as Kokuseiji 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

The split faction abandoned Tsugaru and headed south, building Minato Castle in Tsuchizaki-minato, Akita, and expanding their territory

Meanwhile, the Ando clan that remained in Tsugaru later established their base in Noshiro-Hiyama. To distinguish between the two split Ando clans, the Ando clan of Tsuchizaki-Minato is called the "Minato Ando clan," and the Ando clan of Noshiro is called the "Hiyama Ando clan."

It seems that Mr. Ando changed his name to Mr. Ando around this time

The Hiyama and Minato families 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

laterthe "Minato Rebellion,"was the catalyst for Ando (Akita) Sanesue, the head of the Hiyama Ando clan, 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 Satake clan took control of Akita as part of a territorial reshuffle carried out by the Tokugawa shogunate

As a result, the Ando clan, who had adopted the name Akita, were transferred to Hitachi Province

At Hiyama Castle, the Koba clan (later the castellan of Odate Castle, who adopted the name Satake and were known as the Satake Nishi family) and Tagaya Nobuie, both vassals of the Kubota Domain (Akita Domain), served as castellans. 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 Odachi ruins and Chausu Castle, are designated as national historic sites

During the Edo period, the Noshiro region flourished as a port of call for Kitamae ships, becoming a distribution hub for Noshiro and the northern part of Akita Prefecture. It was also a bustling port for shipping Akita cedar collected on the Yoneshiro River and minerals from the Ani Mine (Kitaakita City)

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