Hijiyama Fort
Hijiyama Fort was a fort situated in Hijiyama in western Iga Province, Japan.
History[edit | edit source]
Tenshō Iga War[edit | edit source]
On 30 September 1581, during Iga's invasion by Oda Nobunaga, Fujibayashi Naoe and her father Nagato traveled to the fort after being told by Hattori Hanzō that the Kogans had betrayed Iga and sided with the invaders. Infiltrating the heavily guarded stronghold, Naoe and Nagato discovered that Hanzō had told the truth and split up; while Nagato assassinated the traitorous Kogan shinobi, Naoe searched for the enemy's plans.[1]
Upon locating the invasion plans, Naoe was attacked from behind by an Oda clan soldier but was saved by Hanzō, who killed her assailant. Due to Naoe's distrust of him, Hanzō told her how he had abandoned Iga years prior to ensure his own survival and urged her to do the same before it was too late. As Nagato arrived, Naoe dispelled the tensions between her father and Hanzō, and the latter proceeded to hand Nagato a document recovered from an enemy soldier,[1] which revealed the Shinbakufu's plans to steal the Imperial Regalia's jewel hidden by Nagato.[2]
Just then, the group heard explosions in the distance, signaling the approach of Nobunaga's army. Ignoring Hanzō's protests, Nagato and Naoe decided to fight for their homeland and left the fort, riding to the Aekuni Shrine Town to join Momochi Sandayu and the rest of the Iga ikki.[1]
Later history[edit | edit source]
In 1582, the Kakushiba ikki member and samurai Yasuke met with the rōnin Ibuki to save their comrade Kyobei. Barging into the fort, Yasuke and Ibuki made their way to the central courtyard, where they found the daimyō Nakatomi about to execute Kyobei with her naginata. Seeing Ibuki alive, Nakatomi remarked that her methods were practical against those who disobeyed her, especially for Kyobei, who had been ordered to kill Ibuki but had obviously failed. Ashamed, Kyobei begged for death, but Yasuke encouraged him to fight and restore his honor. Ultimately, the trio defeated Nakatomi and her men, after which Yasuke and Ibuki left the fort, agreeing to meet later near Kashiwara Village.[3]
Sometime later, Yasuke and Naoe returned to the fort, eliminated its two samurai daisho, and acquired the Swift Shinobi Robes from the fort's treasure chest. While there, they also climbed atop the watchtower within the fort's upper area and surveyed the land.[4]
Gallery[edit | edit source]
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Yasuke atop one of Hijiyama Fort's watchtowers
