a poem handed down, "The rain which falls when the season of cutting algae comes Is the rain reminiscent of the tears of the poor O-shizu's sorrow". Although built in the Momoyama period (1575-1600) the design is more indicative of earlier fortresses of the Warring States period (1477-1575) . As it was being sited on top of a low hill it was decided to mount the tenshu on a high stone base in order to gain additional height. However at the time successful techniques of constructing such a steep faced base were still in their infancy, especially when using rough uncut stones (known as nozurazumi) in a steeply inclined base as adopted at Maruoka. This random-style piling of stones is suggested as the source of the instability in the walls during the construction period. Tokugawa shogunate After Shibata Katsutoyo died of illness during the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583, the castle was given to the Aoyama clan. However, the Aoyama sided with the Western Army under Ishida Mitsunari during the Battle of Sekigahara and were thus dispossessed by the victorious Tokugawa Ieyasu. Ieyasu awarded Echizen Province to his son, Yūki Hideyasu, who in turn created a 26,000 koku holding centered at Maruoka for his retainer, Imamura Moritsugu. In 1613, due to an O-Ie Sōdō within Fukui Domain, the Tokugawa shogunate raised Maruoka Domain to 40,000 koku and assigned it to Honda Narishige, the son of Honda Shigetsugu, one of Ieyasu's leading generals. Due to Honda Narishige's efforts at the Siege of Osaka in 1624, the kokudaka of the domain was further raised to 46,300 koku. His son and grandson completed the castle and the surrounding jōkamachi. However, his great-grandson, Honda Shigemasu was an alcoholic and incompetent, and was dispossessed by the shogunate in 1695. The Honda were replaced by Arima Kiyosumi, a descendant of the Kirishitan daimyō Arima Harunobu. The Arima clan continued to rule Maruoka for eighth generations until the abolition of the han system in July 1871 during the Meiji Restoration. Meiji restoration After the Meiji restoration, almost all Japanese castles around the country were demolished. In the case of Maruoka while many of the castle buildings were demolished and various gates, stone walls, and trees were sold off, the tenshu and castle grounds was purchased in 1901 by the town of Maruoka and became a park. The pentagonal moat surrounding the castle was gradually filled in and