Sunomata Castle

Sunomata Castle was a makeshift castle constructed by Hideyoshi Toyotomi when his lord Nobunaga Oda was at war against the Saitō. He built this fortification to oppose Inabayama Castle. It's fabled in folklore that Hideyoshi built the castle overnight which greatly intimidated the Saitō forces and triggered a wave of defections including the Mino Three.

Role in Games
In Samurai Warriors, the construction of Sunomata plays a major part in Nobunaga's Inabayama campaign. The first half of the battle consists of the Oda army following Hideyoshi's orders entirely, both Nō and Oichi do their best to clear the way for the castle's construction. After it is built at dawn, Hideyoshi will perform a grandoise celebration and singing his praises to show off his accomplishment for everyone to see. Hideyoshi's version stresses such importance on sunomata's construction that if it fails, it counts as a defeat for the Oda forces. He also leaves the construction of the castle to Koroku Hachisuka instead of doing it himself.

When playing as the Saitō forces, Mitsuhide Akechi comments on the impressive power of the Oda after the castle is constructed seemingly out of nowhere. The castle's construction also causes Yoshitatsu Saitō to flee within his castle and Hanbei Takenaka to revolt, leading the player to stop him and preserve the Saitō's remnants before fighting Nobunaga himself. During Kenshin Uesugi's invasion of Gifu, Hideyoshi is positioned at his castle and grows impatient with Katsuie Shibata, prompting Hideyoshi to start firing cannons and damaging his own ally's forces.

Sunomata only briefly appears in Samurai Warriors 3 and Samurai Warriors 4.

It's given due importance again in Samurai Warriors 5. The construction of Sunomata becomes it's own battle as a precursor to the main invasion where Hideyoshi enlists the help of Koroku and his supposed master, Sandayū Momochi to outmaneuver the Saitō forces and build the castle right at the heels of the fortress of Inabayama. The castle will then be constructed in Nobunaga's main invasion where Hideyoshi's forces are pinned down and Nobunaga intends to rendezvous with the construction unit. The castle's construction changes the geography of the central area of the battlefield entirely.

The battle appears in the Taikō Risshiden series, when the player (Tōkichirō) receives their orders from Nobunaga to build the castle at Sunomata to help prepare for the assault on the Saitō. The player should seek help from Koroku to clear the mission. The enemy informants include Ōsawa Masahide in the first, Nagai Michitoshi in the second and Saitō Tatsuoki in the fourth.

Historical Information
The year of construction is still unclear. Ōta Gyūichi records indicate that it was built in 1561, but it does not specify who built it. In the Taikōki record that it was created by Hideyoshi in 1566, but the exact date cannot be specified.

In the first and second, Oda Nobunaga orders Sakuma Nobumori and Shibata Katsuie moved to Sunomata to build the castle, but was hindered by the Saitō. After the failure of Sakuma and Shibata, Hideyoshi asked for a volunteer to build the castle. Hideyoshi collaborated with Koroku to build the castle during heavy rain at night. Then they attacked the Saitō army in the morning. From that battle, causing Sunomata Castle to get the nickname "The castle was built in one night"

In 1584, Sunomata Castle was renovated by Iki Tadatsugu who was vassal of Ikeda Tsuneoki. In 1586, the castle was damaged in the aftermath of the flood. Causing the castle to be abandoned.

In 1991, a faux castle tower was reconstructed, to serve as a local history museum.