Cherry trees in full bloom in Oba Castle Ruin Park (Obajoshikoen), Fujisawa, Japan
Spring is a magical season in Japan. It transforms this fascinating country into the thing of dreams. And the reason is the cherry blossoms. Japan loves their sakura trees, and for the brief couple of weeks in the spring that the cherry trees are in bloom, everyone here finds the time for sakura hanami, or cherry blossom viewing. Since it is Sakura season right now in Japan, I’ve decided to preempt my series on Nara and write about an adventure I took in search of cherry blossoms in a place called Oba.
People enjoy hanami, or flower viewing, in Oba Castle Ruin park (Obajoshikoen) in Fujisawa, Japan
Modern Oba is a mixture of agriculture and residential areas under the administration of Fujisawa City in Kanagawa, and not far at all from my apartment in neighboring Chigasaki. So imagine my surprise when I learned that the village of Oba has an interesting history that goes back more than a thousand years. So, since the weather had cleared up and I had the afternoon free, I decided to grab my camera, hop on my bike, and make another trip into Oba to search for that history. And all under the cover of cherry blossoms.
These shrine buildings were built in the mid 1700s when the shrine was moved to its current location. Later, a small shrine box was placed over the original location. – Oba Shrine, Fujisawa, Japan
According to local archeology, or at least the little bit that I have been able to find, evidence of human occupation in Oba goes back thousands of years. The village itself, though, according to local legend, began with a small shrine founded by the small Oba samurai clan (from which the shrine and village take their names) in the 997 C.E. Over time, more people began to visit the shrine, and people moved into the area to support that travel and trade. Before long, the village of Oba was born. The village was small, but peaceful and protected by their samurai clan. The surrounding area, however, was not so peaceful. In 1180, a dispute between different branches of the imperial family boiled over into civil war and fighting broke out all across the area. A commander from the Oba clan even defeated the samurai who would later become the first Shogun of Japan. In the aftermath of what is now called the Genpei War, the Oba samurai built a small castle to protect the village from any future fighting. And this castle stood for nearly three hundred years in peace, prosperity, and relative obscurity. But that peace wouldn’t last forever. In the late 1400s, the period of civil war called the Sengoku, or warring states period came, and with it came the Hojo.
These foundation stones are all that remain of the buildings of Oba Castle. Oba Castle Ruin Park, Fujisawa, Japan
Hojo Suon was the warlord and leader of the Hojo clan, and as with most Daimyo at this time, he was interested in expanding his territory and this little castle wasn’t going to stand in his way. So, in 1512 he marched his army up from his castle in Odawara and laid siege to Oba. Initially, thanks to the swampy terrain, the Oba held out. In the end, though, the Hojo clan was much bigger, and it was only a matter of time before the castle fell. Hojo eventually found a way to drain the swamp, the castle was destroyed and the Oba clan disappeared from the history books. After the battle, some efforts were made by the new Hojo masters to repair and rebuild the castle. But when they were themselves defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at Odawara Castle in 1590, Oba and other nearby castles were abandoned and the village was left to fend for itself. They survived the Edo period, but at some point in the late 1800s, the village of Oba was annexed into the growing city of Fujisawa and ceased to be its own entity. The castle itself was nearly forgotten and even used as farmland until recently when it was converted into a park full of cherry trees.
In 1512, as Hojo Suon gazed across the swamp separating his army from the besieged Oba castle. He was frustrated, as all of his attacks to this point had failed. But as he stood fuming, an old woman selling cakes approached. “If you destroy the earthen bank south of the castle, the swamp will drain.” She told him. Hojo saw this to be true, and to ensure that this secret didn’t get back to his enemies, he had the old woman killed. After the castle fell, this jizo statue was set up in the old woman’s memory. – funejizo, Oba ward, Fujisawa, Japan
And so ends the tale of Oba. It seems like kind of a tragic end for a place with such a rich background. Still, that history isn’t lost. It is still there, waiting to be found, if you know where to look. As I have said before, this is one of the things I love about Japan. Not only is the history long, deep, and full, you don’t have to go very far to find it. In fact, it might be just around the corner.
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