Stonewall points to Japan’s oldest castle keep built by Nobunaga

This seems like another pile of rocks to the uninitiated. But stones unearthed here apparently constitute part of the oldest castle keeps ever built in Japan. The stones form part of the top section of the base of a Gifu Castle keep likely built by legendary warlord Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582).

The discovery was made last October and is regarded as significant in the study of castle building in Japan.

City officials, revealing the discovery on Jan. 7, said it is the first time researchers have identified what they believe was part of the original keep.

The hilltop castle was captured by Nobunaga during the Warring States period (late 15th to late 16th centuries).

The castle was renamed from Inabayama Castle after Nobunaga defeated its lord, Saito Tatsuoki, in 1567. He also renamed the region, then called Inokuchi, Gifu.

Luis Frois, a Portuguese missionary who visited the site two years after the takeover, wrote, “There was a gorgeous Japanese-style guest room (at the castle on the mountain),” according to the city’s education board.

A detailed image of the stone wall, including the base of the keep, is depicted in a drawing dating to the Genroku Era (1688-1704).

However, it had been believed that most of the original wall was long gone, as the structure was torn down during reconstruction work in 1910.

The excavation work covers an area of about 1,410 square meters atop Mount Kinkasan.

Team members decided to excavate around a stone sticking diagonally out of the ground near a wall where the rebuilt structure stands. After digging out about five square meters, the members found what is believed to be the original stone wall.

The section, about 1.8 meters long and 70 centimeters high, has three levels and is located above a layer at the northwestern corner that was created during the Warring States period.

The team also found a piece of stone that supports the bottom of the corner as well as areas where the stones were joined with mazumeishi pebbles to fill the gaps, matching the characteristics of walls built under Nobunaga.

In the castle drawing, a four-meter-high stone wall is depicted above the three layers of stone walls in the vicinity of the one recently discovered.

“We will continue our research to uncover all of the details,” said Mayor Masanao Shibahashi.

Hitoshi Nakai, a professor of history of castle building in Japan at the University of Shiga Prefecture, said the discovery will shed light on the history of castle building, particularly how feudal-era keeps originated.

Nakai added that similar techniques were used for building stone walls at Azuchi Castle, and noted that the same might be true for Sakamoto Castle, where a subordinate of Nobunaga, warlord Akechi Mitsuhide (1528-1582), resided.

A Ceramic Jar Filled with Thousand of bronze coins Unearthed at the site of a 15th-century Samurai Residents

Archaeology is like a treasure hunt where the prizes are pieces of information from the past, and Japanese archaeologists recently hit the jackpot. They discovered a jar filled with coins belonging to a medieval samurai.

The ceramic jar was found in the Saitama Prefecture north of Tokyo and is one of the largest hauls of medieval coins discovered in the country, it has been unearthed at the site of a fifteenth-century samurai’s residence.

The jar, which dates back to the first half of the 15th century, contains well over 100,000 bronze coins and measures nearly 24 inches in diameter.

According to archaeologist Yoshiyuki Takise of the Saitama Cultural Deposits Research Corporation, the coins, which were cast in China, may have been an offering to the deity of the earth, or may simply have been buried for safekeeping.

A wood tablet was discovered next to the stone lid, with the words “nihyaku rokuju” (260) written in ink. Archaeologists believe this could refer to 260 kan, or units of 1,000, placing the total at 260,000 coins in the jar.

The treasure was buried 6.5 feet (2 meters) below ground and was likely placed there to save the samurai’s riches, as it was a troubled period in Japan’s history.

Over the course of the 15th century, civil war broke out as the Muromachi shogunate was under attack.

This was a period where the Emperor was relatively weak, with military dictators known as shoguns leading the country.

The second half of the 15th century saw different families jockeying for position and power—leading to increased violence.

Feudal lords, known as daimyō, challenged the shogun’s authority and it was in this era that ninjas were often hired and used as secret assassins.

With that picture clear, it makes sense that a powerful samurai would want to keep his money hidden.

For now, 70 of the coins have been examined. These coins were looped on a string and include 19 different coins from China and different areas of Japan.

It’s thought that all of the coins—which have holes in the center—would have been strung together on a rope before being added to the jar.

Based on the coins looked at so far, researchers believe the jar would have been buried at some point after the second half of the 15th century.

Rusty Blade Found In An Attic Turns Out To Be A Priceless Samurai Sword From The 12th Century.

If you’ve ever thought that your attic was just full of old junk, you may want to think again.

A rusty blade pulled from an attic decades ago was just revealed to be one of the oldest Japanese samurai swords in existence.

The sword was found covered in rust, in the attic of the Kasuga Taisha shrine in Japan.

Though the discovery of the sword actually took place in 1939, it was only this year that the shrine’s officials realized what the blade actually was.

During a ceremony that takes place every 20 years, the officials sharpened the blades to honor the traditional ceremony of shrine building.

When the blade was cleaned, the sword was discovered to be from the 12th century, making it one of the oldest in existence.

The 32-inch sword, known as a kohoki, was likely an heirloom sword, made for a samurai and passed down through his family.

Experts believe it was crafted during the Heian Period (794-1185) and given to the shrine as a gift sometime between the Nanboku-Cho Period (1336-1392) and the Muromachi Period (1338-1573).

The blade has a characteristic curved shape, which helped experts date it, as ancient Japanese swords, found in ruins or other temples, were known to be straight.

As well as the blade itself, experts have been studying the handle and the exterior portions of the sword.

Though there is no craftsman signature, some experts believe that the blade could have been made by a famed swordsmith known as Yasutsuna, as blades are known to have been made by him carry some of the same patterns as the kohoki.

Along with the kohoki, 12 other blades were found in the Kasuga Taisa shrine’s attic, though none as ancient or valuable as the kohoki.

After it was cleaned and examined, the sword was placed on display at the Kasugataisha Museum at the Kasuga Taisha shrine, where it will stay through the end of March.