PLACES
Mines, ports and free markets that underpinned Sengoku-era power. Each entry gives the sources, and covers places whose control changed hands or where a ruler's policy left a mark.
In 1577, under Hōjō rule, Takeda gold miners advanced oblique shafts toward existing vertical shafts. After the Hōjō clan's fall, it was inherited by Tokugawa mining operations and became a major gold-producing site in the Toi region.
A gold mine spanning the midslopes of Mt. Kegane (elevation 1400-1600 meters) at the Kai-Suruga border. Mentioned in Takeda vermillion-sealed documents, with gold miners conducting extraction. It operated from around the 16th century, peaked in the mid-17th century, and was abandoned in the late 17th century.
In 1542, Yamana Suketomi, guardian of Tajima, advanced to Ikuno for silver mining and began large-scale excavation. After management by the Ōta clan at Takeda Castle, the Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa regimes each held it as a directly administered mine.
In 1526, Hakata merchant Ōya Jotei began development; adoption of cupellation in 1533 increased silver output. After the Ōuchi and Amago clans competed for control, the Mōri gained it in 1562, and it became directly administered by the Tokugawa after Sekigahara.
Wealth accumulated through trade with Ming China and Korea; the port repeatedly suffered warfare as the Ōuchi, Ōtomo, Ryūzōji, and Shimazu clans fought for control. After 1587, Toyotomi Hideyoshi restored it through Taikō urban planning, and it continued as a commercial port even under Kuroda clan rule.
In 1542, Matsuura Takanobu protected Ōshio and established the foundation of a trading port; in 1550, Portuguese ships arrived and southern barbarian trade began. The Matsuura incorporated wokou (Japanese pirates) and foreign merchants, leading international trade in northwestern Kyushu.
Succeeding Ōwada anchorage, it was developed as a Ming-Japan trade hub under Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. Destroyed in the Ōnin-Bunmei War, its role as an international port shifted to Sakai. In the late Sengoku period, Ikeda Tsuneoki built Hyōgo Castle to control the port town; it was reorganized during Toyotomi Hideyoshi's era.
It formed a free city of merchants and prospered through commerce and maritime trade as a port city rivaling Sakai, Hakata, and Ōminato. After passing through the Nagashima Ikkō Ikki sphere, it fell under Oda and Toyotomi rule; after 1601, Honda Tadakatsu developed the castle town and harbor.
In 1571, Ōmura Sumitada opened it as a gateway for Portuguese trade and created six districts. In 1580, Nagasaki and Mogi were donated to the Society of Jesus; in 1587, Toyotomi Hideyoshi took direct control and established it as an overseas trading port.
One of the three great ports, it thrived as a commercial harbor with Echigo Fuchu and the Shinano region as its hinterland. Uesugi Kenshin protected it as a financial base; after the Uesugi clan's transfer, it served as an outer harbor under the castle-town policies of the Hori and Matsudaira clans.
As a relay port connecting the Japan Sea to Kyoto, it handled tribute rice, iron, and kelp; in the Sengoku period, it was compared to Sakai. Rulers changed successively from the Wakasa Takeda to the Asakura, Niwa, Asano, Kinoshita, and Kyōgoku clans.
It prospered as a center for Ming trade and southern barbarian trade, forming an autonomous city centered on the kaigō assembly and accumulating vast commercial capital. The Miyoshi and Oda Nobunaga valued its wealth and trade networks; after Nobunaga's rule, it was incorporated into the Toyotomi and Tokugawa regimes.
A key port on the Japan Sea side connecting the Kinai region to Hokuriku, it supported Asakura rule of Tsuruga in the Sengoku period. After Oda Nobunaga's 1570 Echizen invasion, rulers changed; through Hachiya Yoritsugu, Ōtani Yoshitsugu developed port functions and the castle town.
In the late medieval period, it thrived as a foreign trading port connecting to China, Ryukyu, and Southeast Asia, supporting Shimazu overseas commerce and control of southern Kyushu. After Toyotomi Hideyoshi's pacification of Kyushu, it remained under Shimazu domain and was used as a controlled trading port.
Counted among the three great ports, it thrived as a transport hub connecting the Kuzu River basin to the Japan Sea. After the Asakura clan's collapse, the Morita family of the port authority cooperated with Oda Nobunaga and Shibata Katsuie in controlling ship traffic and conducting maritime reconnaissance.
A maritime and shipbuilding hub connecting Ise Bay's mouth to the Miya River system, it supported material transport for Ise Shrine. It passed from Kitabatake domain to Oda Ise rule; in the late Sengoku period, maritime merchants like the Kakuya family operated here and expanded into early-Edo vermillion-seal trading.
In June 1577, Oda Nobunaga issued a 13-article ordinance for the town of Azuchi, abolishing merchant guild privileges, designating the castle town as a free market, and requiring merchants using the Nakasendō road to lodge in Azuchi. It is regarded as a precursor to early-modern castle-town ordinances.
In October 1567, Oda Nobunaga issued an ordinance guaranteeing privileges to Mino Kanō's market; in the following year, he exempted the sales tax-like 'sakari-sen.' It is regarded as the oldest surviving documentary record of a free market ordinance.
In April 1566, Imagawa Ujisada issued a vermillion-sealed decree to Fuji Nobunada, high priest of Fuji Sengen Shrine, designating the Ōmiya market (held six times monthly) as a free market. This stabilized the market and protected merchant traffic through duty exemption.
In June 1586, Toyotomi Hidetsugu issued a 13-article ordinance for Hachiman-yama castle town, establishing a free market exempt from merchant guilds, duties, and assessments. Following the Azuchi castle town ordinance, it also required merchant ships to call at Hachiman harbor.
Ōmi Kanamori, a base of the Ikkō Ikki, was captured by Oda Nobunaga's forces in July 1572; in September that year, Nobunaga issued a vermillion-sealed decree establishing a free market. It was subsequently restored as a town combining post station and marketplace.
Gateway to overseas expeditions built by Mōri Terumoto and others. A crucial supply hub connecting Japan and the peninsula, maintained until the withdrawal.
Where Shimazu Yoshihiro was stationed. He repelled combined Ming and Chosŏn forces in the October 1598 Battle of Sacheon.
Built by Katō Kiyomasa in 1593. Among Japanese forts in Korea, its ruins are particularly well preserved.
The westernmost Japanese fort built by Konishi Yukinaga. Besieged by combined Ming and Chosŏn forces in 1598.
Also called Seongsan Castle. Katō Kiyomasa was besieged here by combined Ming and Chosŏn forces from late 1597 to the following year.
Where Konishi Yukinaga was stationed. Also served as a venue for peace negotiations.
A naval base. Also the site of the 1592 Battle of Angolpo.
A castle on an island commanding the entrance to Busan Bay.
Said to have been built by Kuroda Nagamasa. Located on the line connecting Busan and Seosaengpo.
Linking the area between Sacheon and Ungcheon.
Where Sō Yoshitomo was stationed. Near the site of the Battle of Noryang.
A castle on Geoje Island. Positioned opposite the Chosŏn navy at Hansan Island.
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