Shōryūji Castle

Shoryuji Castle

Shōryūji Castle (勝龍寺城, Shōryūji-jō) is a castle in Nagaokakyō, Kyoto, Japan.

History

This castle was constructed in 1339 by Hosokawa Yoriharu, a major samurai commander under Ashikaga Takauji, the founder of the Ashikaga shogunate.

The area around the castle is a strategic foothold to defend Kyoto, the capital of Japan at that time, from western threats. During the Ōnin War, this castle was used as a castle of the western alliance and became occupied by Iwanari Tomomichi, a daimyō of the Miyoshi clan, during the Sengoku period. The castle fell to Oda Nobunaga in 1568, and was given to Hosokawa Tadaoki, who occupied it until 1579. At the battle of Yamazaki between Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Akechi Mitsuhide, about one week after Mitsuhide killed Nobunaga, this castle was used as Mitsuhide’s headquarters.