Remains of canals dug by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1582 to flood Bitchu Takamatsu castle. National Historic Site of Japan

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The original castle was built by the Ishikawa clan, one of the highest ranking retainers of the Mimura clan in nearby Matsuyama. In 1575, the Mimura and Ishikawa were conquered by the Mori who placed Shimizu Munehara as lord of the castle. During Hideyoshi's campaigns in the area in 1582, he forced Shimizu to surrender (aka: commit seppuku) after he successfully built canals to divert the Ashimori River and flood the castle grounds trapping Muneharu in his own castle. This plan was particularly successful because the castle sits in a relatively wet lowland area and the attack took during the rainy season. The castle was put under control of the Hanabusa family, retainers of the Ukita until it was decommissioned under the one castle per country law.

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Size: 2000px × 3078px
Location: Okayama, Japan
Photo credit: © Ivan Marchuk / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

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