Yamazaki Castle

Yamazaki Castle was a castle located in the town of Yamazaki in Yamashiro, Japan.

History[edit | edit source]

In late June 1582, the Kakushiba ikki members Fujibayashi Naoe and Yasuke infiltrated the castle, with the help of Ise Sadatame and Ujimasa, in the hopes that Ise Sadaoki, a member of the Shinbakufu, would relinquish his plans alongside his father-in-law and fellow Shinbakufu member Akechi Mitsuhide. Upon entering the main courtyard, they witnessed Sadatame go further and urge his brother to stop and redeem their clan's honor. However, Sadaoki rejected the notion and insulted his brother's weakness.^[1]

Just as Naoe and Yasuke approached, the Ise brothers were attacked by the shinobi Gennojo, who wounded Sadatame and then fought against Sadaoki. However, when Sadaoki pushed him back, Gennoji used a smoke bomb to disappear. Fighting Sadaoki, Naoe and Yasuke managed to kill him. They then checked on Sadatame, who thanked them and promised to undo his brother's mistakes. Before leaving, Naoe and Yasuke obtained a katana, Steel Blossom, from Sadaoki's personal effects.^[1]

Naoe and Yasuke later returned to the castle after agreeing to help Hori Hidemasa hunt down those who had betrayed Oda Nobunaga during the Honnō-ji incident. Within the northeastern section of the castle, they discovered one of the traitors, Sato Katsubei, residing there and assassinated him, recovering the teppō Roaring Infamy and a bribery letter from his personal effects.^[2] They also eliminated the castle's five samurai daisho, looted the Yurei-Walker Hood from its treasure chest, climbed atop the tenshu to survey the land,^[3] and collected a black umbrella for Niwa Nagahide.^[4]