is a hirashiro located in Nagahama

Nagahama, Shiga

is a city located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan on the eastern shore of Lake Biwa. The city center was developed and renamed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi when Hideyoshi moved his center of administration from Odani Castle...

, Shiga Prefecture

Shiga Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan, which forms part of the Kansai region on Honshu Island. The capital is the city of Ōtsu.- History :Shiga was known as Ōmi Province or Gōshū before the prefectural system was established...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

History

Nagahama Castle was built in 1575-1576 by Hashiba Hideyoshi (later known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...

) in the village then called Kunitomo, renaming the area Nagahama. Previously, he had ruled from Odani Castle

Odani Castle

was a Sengoku period mountain-top castle located in the present day town of Kohoku in Higashiazai District, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Only the ruins remain today. It was the home castle of the Azai clan and the mountain it was built upon was considered to be impregnable...

, though found this hard to do as it was a yamashiro (mountaintop castle). Hideyoshi was succeeded as lord by Yamanouchi Kazutoyo after the 1583 Battle of Shizugatake

Battle of Shizugatake

The was a battle in Sengoku period Japan between supporters of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Oda Nobutaka.In May, 1583, a former general of Nobunaga's named Shibata Katsuie coordinated a number of simultaneous attacks on Shizugatake, a series of forts held by Hideyoshi's generals among whom was Nakagawa...

. Kazutoyo was then replaced by Naito Nobunari

Naito Nobunari

was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period through early Edo period, who served the Tokugawa clan; he later became a daimyo.Nobunari is believed to have been the illegitimate son of Matsudaira Hirotada . He was later adopted by Naitō Kiyonaga...

 after the Battle of Sekigahara

Battle of Sekigahara

The , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 which cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu...

 in 1600. In 1615, the castle was demolished, though parts of it were used in the construction of Hikone Castle

Hikone Castle

is the most famous historical site in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. This Edo period castle traces its origin to 1603 when Ii Naokatsu, son of the former daimyo Ii Naomasa, ordered its construction. The keep was originally built in 1575, as part of Ōtsu Castle, and was moved to Hikone by the Ii...

.

Today

Nagahama Castle is now a park. Most of the castle lies in ruins, but the tenshu (keep) was reconstructed out of concrete in 1983. It contains a museum about the city of Nagahama.