Miki Castle

Miki Castle (三木城) was a Japanese castle in Miki during the Sengoku period.^[1] The castle served as the seat of power for its builder, the daimyō Bessho Nagaharu of the Bessho clan, until his downfall and subsequent death in 1580.^[2] Today, its ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 2013.^[1]

History[edit | edit source]

In 1576, the Mōri clan openly opposed the Oda clan,^[2] which sought to expand their authority towards Harima. Nagaharu was counted as an ally to Oda Nobunaga and visited him in Kyoto many times to assure their alliances. However, in 1578, Nobunaga's commander Toyotomi Hideyoshi attacked the Mōri clan in the Chūgoku provinces, which prompted Nagaharu to resist and help the Mōri by shutting himself in Miki Castle. As a result, Hideyoshi enacted a two-year siege of the castle, taking over surrounding fortresses and cutting off Nagaharu's provisions. Ultimately, Nagaharu surrendered and he, his wife, and his younger brother Tomoyuki committed seppuku in exchange for the lives of the castle's soldiers.^[3]^[2]

In 1582, a retainer of the Bessho clan, Bessho Harumasa, also known as "The Ox", sought to build a resistance against the Oda clan and to reclaim his clan's power through bloodshed.^[4] After Nobunaga's death at Honnō-ji,^[5]^[2] Harumasa and his forces easily took back Miki Castle from the remnants of the Oda clan and kept Hideyoshi's men at bay.^[4]

Harumasa's actions, however, drew the attention of the Kakushiba ikki members Fujibayashi Naoe and Yasuke,^[4] who, along with former Bessho clan samurai Koshiro and fellow conscripts, launched an assault on the castle to assassinate Harumasa,^[6] who was secretly a Shinbakufu member and partly responsible for killing Naoe's father Nagato.^[7]

Naoe managed to free Koshiro's remaining fellow conscripts and killed some gunmen, which allowed Yasuke to confront the Ox and his men. When Yasuke challenged to the Ox to a duel, his right hand, known only as "The Tsuno", offered to fight in Harumasa's stead. Yasuke managed to best and kill the Tsuno in combat while Naoe and Koshiro reconvened with him afterwards. Koshiro and his conscripts subsequently left to meet with Nakamura Tadashige at Kyokaiji Temple, leaving Naoe and Yasuke to confront Harumasa further into the castle. Defeating Harumasa, they interrogated the Ox about the box the Shinbakufu had stolen from Iga, but Harumasa stated that he knew nothing.^[6]

When Naoe asked why he was there that night, Harumasa revealed that it was his first time outside Harima and that he owed his loyalty to a figure known as "The Tatsu" in exchange for his support in retaking the castle. When Harumasa asked what would happen with his men, he was told that they would be given freedom of choice, causing him to dismiss the notion as ridiculous. Naoe then signaled Yasuke to execute Harumasa, who thanked him for granting him a warrior's death. Yasuke ultimately beheaded Harumasa, ending the Ox's influence in Harima.^[6]

Sometime later, Naoe and Yasuke returned to the castle, eliminated its four samurai daisho, looted the Defense Master Headwrap from the castle's treasure chest, and climbed atop the tenshu to survey Himeji.^[8]