Kitano-Sho Castle Ruins in Fukui

Kitano-Sho Castle was built in 1575 by Shibata Katsuie, who was given the fiefdom of Echizen province by his master Oda Nobunaga. However, in 1583, he lost The Battle of Shizugatake (present-day Nagahama city in Shiga prefecture), in which he fought against Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was trying to take over Nobunaga's kingdom. Hideyoshi's army pursued them to Katsuie's castle (here), and although they fought to the end, Katsuie and his wife Oichi, a sister of Nobunaga, had to kill themselves in the burning main keep of Kitano-Sho Castle. In 1604, Yuki Hideyasu, a son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, was given the fiefdom of Echizen province, and started to build a new castle (Fukui Castle) on the ruins of Kitano-Sho Castle. Now, the castle ruins are landscaped as a park, and inside there are shrines to the souls of Katsuie and his family.