Sanada clan
During the Muromachi period, the area around Numata was controlled by the Numata clan, with a fortification built on this location by Numata Akiyasu in 1532. Sanada Masayuki, a vassal of Takeda Katsuyori captured the castle in 1580, and most of the Numata clan perished in a failed attempt to retake their ancestral home the following year. The area was subsequently contested between the Sanada clan and the Odawara Hōjō clan. In 1589, Toyotomi Hideyoshi attempted to arbitrate the dispute by giving Numata to the Hōjō and awarding nearby Nagurumi Castle to the Sanada. However, the Hōjō castellan Inomata Kuninori was dissatisfied with this arrangement and attacked the Sanada. However, after the defeat of the Hojo at the Battle of Odawara in 1590 the control of Numata was firmly restored to the Sanada.