Nagoya Castle (Hizen Province)

Nagoya Castle was located within Hizen Province on a peninsula near to Iki Island, and served as the base from which Toyotomi Hideyoshi launched his invasions of Korea from 1592 to 1598.

It is said that during the brief time that Hideyoshi stayed at Nagoya Castle, he memorized the shite (lead role) parts for ten Noh plays and performed them, forcing various daimyō to accompany him onstage as the waki (accompanying role), and even performed before the Emperor.

Nagoya Castle was located on a hill about 90 meters high on the Higashi-Matsuura Peninsula.

The castle, built in 1591 by Hideyoshi in preparation for his invasion of Korea, had a five-story tower (Tenshu) on the hill, a magnificent residential palace, and various outlying defenses covering 170,000 square meters.

After the death of Hideyoshi 18 September 1598, the invasion of Korea came to a halt and the castle is believed to have been abandoned at this time.