Miki Castle was built by Bessho Nagaharu in around 1492. At that time, the Bessho family were powerful lords in Harima Province, now part of southwestern Hyogo. In 1615, after the Siege of Miki, the castle was dismantled as per the "One Castle Per Province" order established by the Tokugawa Shogunate. A hill castle with three keeps, Miki-jō was built near the Minogawa river and Yunoyama and Miki highways, major transportation routes during the Sengoku period. Because of the flow of traffic and commerce made possible by the river and roads, Miki city was considered as an important transportation hub and center of industry at that time. Miki-jō was built to be almost entirely surrounded by natural barriers such as mountains, valleys and cliffs, so only a portion to the southeast of the castle was exposed. The site of the main keep of Miki-jō was converted into Uenomaru Park in 1897 during the Meiji period. In the park, there is a city museum and library.
Miki Castle was the scene of a siege from spring 1578 to January 1580, in which Toyotomi Hideyoshi laid siege to the castle, cutting off food supplies to Bessho Nagaharu, a retainer of the Mōri clan. Toyotomi ultimately gained control of the castle, but Bessho committed suicide, aged 27, and Araki Murashige, Lord of Itami, escaped to rejoin the Mōri clan.
Recent Activity
Since Taiga drama “Gunshi Kanbe” aired in 2014, visits to the Miki castle ruins and surrounding area have increased. The drama follows Kuroda Kanbe, a Sengoku period general, and shows the story of his life in Himeji and Miki cities. The people and local government of Miki city capitalized on the popularity of the drama by advertising the castle ruins and selling souvenir goods with symbols of the Sengoku period, to draw people to the city's historic sites. That year, Miki city volunteers began offering tours of the sites of the Siege of Miki, which included the castle ruins, reconstructed outer-wall, and period buildings around the castle site. During the battle of Miki, Toyotomi Hideyoshi built earthwork fortifications around Miki-jō, which remain to this day, and were designated an important historic site by the Japanese government in 2013.
; From Kobe The Miki Castle ruins are accessible by Kamihime Nishiwaki Express bus from Sannomiya bus terminal at Sannomiya Station. The Uenomaru bus stop is a ten-minute walk from the castle ruins.
