Karatsu, Saga
Due to its proximity to mainland Asia, Karatsu has long been known as a stopover to Korea and China.Under ritsuryō, the current city area was part of the Hizen Province. In 1591, on the coast of the northern part of the city (formerly the town of Chinzei), Nagoya Castle was constructed. The following year, it became the location from which the Imjin War was launched by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In the middle of 1593, Terasawa Hirotaka created the Karatsu domain and began governing it. In 1602, replacing Nagoya Castle, Karatsu Castle was constructed in what is now the heart of Karatsu. The tower of Karatsu Castle was built in 1966 .
Hachiōji Castle
Hachiōji Castle was built in the 1570s by Hōjō Ujiteru. It was constructed on a mountain, with many features located in strategic positions to deter an enemy force. Ujiteru left only 1,300 men behind at Hachiōji Castle when he went to help lift the Siege of Odawara (1590), which had been surrounded by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Shortly thereafter, on June 23, 1590, more of Hideyoshi's forces, numbering 50,000 and led by Maeda Toshiie and Uesugi Kagekatsu, arrived to take the castle, which fell in just one day. Hideyoshi then commanded that the castle be destroyed, as he worried that it could be used against him. For years afterwards, the site remained abandoned because it was believed to be haunted.