Former Site of Sakamoto Castle

After Enryaku-ji Temple was burned down in 1571, Sakamoto Castle was constructed on the shores of Lake Biwa by samurai Akechi Mitsuhide under orders from the warlord Oda Nobunaga. After Mitsuhide forced Nobunaga to commit suicide in 1582 in the so-called Honno-ji Incident, Sakamoto Castle fell under attack from the forces of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. A memorial to Mitsuhide stands at the site of a grave thought to be his on the site where the castle is thought to have stood. There is also a stone wall made using rare stones taken during a period of drought from the center of Lake Biwa. There are currently two stone monuments erected in the area where Sakamoto Castle used to stand. One monument stands in Shimosakamoto, near Tonan-ji Temple along the Old Hokkokukaido Road, and another has been erected in front of a park built along the lakeside. A statue of Akechi Mitsuhide also stands within the park.