Kozuki Castle

Kozuki Castle (Japanese: 上月城 Kozuki-jō[*]) was a renkaku-style mountain castle located in Sayo, Sayo District, Hyōgo Prefecture.

History

Northern and Southern Courts period

In the first year of Engen (1336), Kozuki Kagemori, a member of the Akamatsu clan, built a castle on Mount Daihei.

Muromachi period to Azuchi–Momoyama period

In the first year of Kakitsu (1441), during the Kakitsu War, the Kozuki clan was annihilated by the forces of the shogunate. Afterward, conflict between the Yamana and Akamatsu clans continued. In the third year of Kōji (1557), Akamatsu Masamoto moved from Okishio Castle to Kozuki Castle. His son, Akamatsu Masanori, controlled the western part of Harima with the five districts of Sayo, Ako, Itto, Issai, and Shiso as his domain, and was therefore called "Nishi-Harima-dono." However, in the fifth year of Tenshō (1577), Kozuki Castle was attacked by Hashiba Hideyoshi, a general of Oda Nobunaga, and fell, and the Oda forces came to control the Harima region. Afterward, Amago Katsuhisa entered the castle. In the following year, the sixth year of Tenshō (1578), a large army led by Mōri Terumoto surrounded the castle. In addition, Hashiba Hideyoshi's army, which had been trying to come to its relief, withdrew due to the rebellion of Bessho Nagaharu, lord of Miki Castle in eastern Harima. Isolated, the Amago restoration forces of surrendered to the Mōri clan, and Katsuhisa committed suicide. At this time, , a general of the Amago clan, was also captured and executed on the bank of the . Afterward, Kozuki Castle was abandoned.