14.Mito Castle Part2

You can visit the castle ruins from Mito Station through the road which goes on the big valley between the left and right hills. Surprisingly, it is artificial.

Features

Dry Mort becomes Car Road

Today, the ruins of Mito Castle are easy to go to because JR Mito Station is nearby. There are roughly two routes from the station to the castle ruins. One is the path that involves climbing the slope to the Third Enclosure on the left hill and the other is the road which goes on the big valley between the left and right hills. Surprisingly, it is artificial. If you choose the latter one, you can see the scale of one of the former dry moats of the castle. You can also see the restored Corner Turret on firm earthen walls of the Second Enclosure on the right. You will eventually reach under the Main Bridge between these enclosures.

The aerial photo of the castle, the broken red line shows the route through the dry moat from Mito Station

The road through the valley which was the dry moat between the Second and Third Enclosures
The restored Corner Turret of the Second Enclosure
The spot under the Main Bridge

This is where Battle happened

You can climb the steep stairways from the bottom to the tops of the enclosures on both sides, which are about 12m high. In fact, this area is where the second battle between the Shosei and Tengu Parties happened. The Shosei Party tried to break the Main Gate but failed, so they stayed in the Kodokan domain school. The Tengu attacked and destroyed them. However, that resulted in most of the domain school’s buildings being burned down. Only its front gate and the other few buildings remain as a historical site and museum.

Climbing the steep stairway
The area around the Main Bridge
The front gate of the Kodokan domain school

Restored Main Gate

The Main Gate survived in the battle but was also burned down by an arson in the early Meiji Era. The current Main Gate was just restored back in 2020 as the same as it was in the traditional method. It is very large, which is about 10m high and 20m wide, and suitable for the front of the castle. One of its original features was to use tile walls which refer to being piled by roof tiles and clay alternating. This was completely restored in the current gate, which look very beautiful. In addition, some of the excavated original ones can be seen in the window below on the left side of the gate.

The restored Main Gate
The restored tile walls of the Main Gate
The excavated original tile walls can also be seen

Second Enclosure becomes School areas

The inside of the Second Enclosure had the Main Hall, the Three-level Turret and the Shokokan institute but has become school areas, which may follow the educational policy of the Mito Domain. The street going through the enclosure is along the white mud walls on both sides, which look as if castle buildings are still there. However, visitors are available to enter only the designated areas. For example, if you want to see a view of Nakagawa River to the north of the hill, you need to go and return to the same path. the view itself is good and you can understand the river was a natural hazard of the castle.

The map around the Second Enclosure, the broken red line shows the route to the observation platform and the broken blue line shows the route to the Corner Turret of the Second Enclosure

The central street of the Second Enclosure
The route to the observation platform in the north
A view of the Nakagawa River in the north

Similarly, you can see the interior of the Corner Turret by going through another but much longer single path.

The route to the Corner Turret
The Corner Turret seen from the inside of the Second Enclosure
The interior of the turret

To be continued in “Mito Castle Part3”
Back to “Miro Castle Part1”

14.水戸城 その2

水戸駅から城跡へは、左右の丘の間の大きな谷間を走る道を通っていくことができます。驚いたことにこの谷間は人工的に城の空堀として掘られたものです。

特徴、見どころ

道路となっている二の丸前の空堀

現在、水戸城跡はJR水戸駅のすぐ近くにあるので、とても行きやすくなっています。駅から城跡へは、大まかに2つの行き方があって、一つは駅から見て左側の丘の上にある三の丸に向かって坂を登って行く道を通るか、もう一つは左右の丘の間の大きな谷間を通る道を通るかになるでしょう。驚いたことにこの谷間は人工的に掘られたものです。もし後者の谷間の道を進んでいくと、以前城の空堀の一つだったこの場所のスケールを実感できるでしょう。また、右側の二の丸のどっしりとした土塁の上には、復元された角櫓(すみやぐら)が見えます。そうするうちに、両側の曲輪を渡る大手橋の下に着きます。

城周辺の航空写真、赤破線は水戸駅から空堀を通るルート

谷間を通る道(二の丸と三の丸の間の空堀)
復元された二の丸隅櫓
大手門下

かつて戦いがあった場所

その谷底の両側から、急な階段を通って曲輪の上に登って行くことができます。その高さは約12mあります。実は、この辺りは諸生党と天狗党との2度目の戦いがあった場所なのです。諸生党は大手門を破ろうとしますが失敗しました。そのため、藩校の弘道館に留まりました。天狗党はこれに攻撃を加え、撃破したのです。しかし、その結果として弘道館のほとんどの建物は焼けてしまいました。現在ではその正門とわずかな建物が残り、史跡及び歴史博物館となっています。

急な階段を登っていきます
大手橋の周辺
弘道館正門

復元された大手門

大手門はこの戦いの後にも残っていましたが、明治初期焼けてしまいました。現在目にする大手門は、2020年にちょうど復元されたばかりです。伝統的工法により、元と同じものを作りました。高さ約13m、幅約17mで、とても大きく、城の正面を飾るに相応しい姿です。この門の特徴の一つとして、瓦塀を使っていることがあり、瓦と漆喰を交互に積み重ねています。現在の門ではそれが完璧に復元され、とても美しいです。更には、発掘により見つかったオリジナルの瓦塀の一部を門の左下の窓から見学することができます。

復元された大手門
復元された大手門瓦塀
発掘された瓦塀も見ることができます

学校地区となっている二の丸

二の丸の内部には、かつては御殿、三階櫓(さんがいろ)、彰考館がありましたが、今では学校地区になっています。水戸藩の教育を重視する方針が引き継がれているのかもしれません。二の丸を貫く通りの両側には、白い壁が連なっていて、まるで城の建物が今でもそこにあるように見えます。しかし、ビジターは指定された場所以外は立ち入ることはできません。例えば、丘の北側を流れる那珂川の景色を見たいときは、同じ通路を行ってまた戻ってこなければなりません。その那珂川の景色自体はすばらしく、この川が城の天然の障壁だったことがわかると思います。

二の丸周辺の地図、赤破線は見晴台に至るルート、青破線は二の丸角櫓に至るルート

二の丸中央の通り
北側の見晴台に行くための通路
北側(那珂川)の眺め

似たように、復元された角櫓まで行って内装も見ることができますが、別のもっと長い通路を行き来する必要があります。

角櫓に行くための通路
内側から見た角櫓
角櫓の内部

「水戸城その3」に続きます。
「水戸城その1」に戻ります。

今回の内容を趣向を変えて、Youtube にも投稿しました。よろしかったらご覧ください。

14.Mito Castle Part1

Mito Castle was located in the modern day Mito City which is the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture. The castle became the home base of the Mito-Tokugawa Clan, one of the three branches of the Tokugawa Shogun family. However, the castle looked very different from those of the other branches the shogun.

Location and History

Castle is built using Natural Hazzard

Mito Castle was located in the modern day Mito City which is the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture. The castle became the home base of the Mito-Tokugawa Clan, one of the three branches of the Tokugawa Shogun family. However, the castle looked very different from those of the other branches, Nagoya and Wakayama Castles, and the shogun’s Edo Castle.

The range of Mito City and the location of the castle

It was said that the castle was first built by a local lord, the Baba Clan sometime in the early Middle Ages. It was built on a diluvium plateau sandwiched between Nakagawa River in the north and Senba Lake in the south. Its original location was defensive due to the natural hazard, so it could be easy for the lord to build the castle on it. However, it was thought that the early stage of the castle was still small probably with only the lord’s residence on the eastern edge of the plateau.

The relief map around the castle

As time passed by, the castle was followed by greater lords, the Edo and Satake Clans, and was developed larger and larger. The Satake Clan was one of the greatest warlords in the Kanto Region during the 16th Century in the Sengoku Period. The clan completed the basic structures of the castle, establishing the Main, Second and Third Enclosures in a straight line from the east to the west on the plateau. These enclosures were made of soil and divided by deep dry moats, which were typical methods for building castles at that time in eastern Japan. However, the clan was transferred to the Tohoku Region (they would build Kubota Castle there) in 1602 by Ieyasu Tokugawa, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, since they didn’t support Ieyasu in the decisive battle in 1600.

The ruins of Kubota Castle

Home Base of one of Three Tokugawa Branches

Ieyasu sent his sons to Mito Castle as it would be an important northern strongpoint to defend Edo Castle, the home base of the shogun. His youngest son, Yorifusa finally became the lord of the castle as the founder of the Mito Domain in 1609. Since then, the domain governed the castle and the area around it until the end of the Edo Period as one of the three branches of the Tokugawa Shogun family. The castle was also developed further, for example, the Main and the Second Enclosures were combined to make a new Main Enclosure, the Third Enclosure was renamed the new Second Enclosure, and the new Third Enclosure was built outside the others in the west.

The Portrait of Ieyasu Tokugawa, attributed to Tanyu Kano, owned by Osaka Castle Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The Portrait of Yorifusa Tokugawa, owned by The Tokugawa Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The relief map around the castle

However, unlike Nagoya, Wakayama and Edo Castles other Tokugawa relatives built using advanced items, such as Main Towers and high stone walls, Mito Castle was still made of soil using conventional technologies from eastern Japan. The reason for it could be that the lords of the Mito Domain usually lived in the Main Hall near the shogun in Edo, or there was no need to improve it more after the government of the shogunate became more stable. However, the most likely reason is that Mito Castle was strong enough without stone walls.

Nagoya Castle
Wakayama Castle
The ruins of Edo Castle
The ruins of Mito Castle

Mito Domain creates Imperialism and Exclusionism

The second lord, Mitsukuni Tokugawa, known as Mito-Komon in several historical plays, promoted arts and started to edit Dainihonshi or the History of Great Japan at the Shokokan institute in Edo, which would later be moved to the Second Enclosure of Mito Castle. This activity uniquely resulted in the idea of Imperialism although the domain was a relative of the shogunate which had taken the power from the Imperial Court.

The Portrait of Mitsukuni Tokugawa, attributed to Tsunenobu Kano, owned by The Tokugawa Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The ruins of the Shokokan institute in the Second Enclosure of Mito Castle
Some copies of the History of Great Japan, exhibited by the Second Enclosure Museum

The ninth lord, Nariaki Tokugawa, during the end of the Edo Period, established the domain school called Kodokan in the Third Enclosure of the castle in order to educate the retainers and open Kairakuen Garden to all the people. While the Western foreign ships were often seen around Japan, he opposed the policy of the shogunate to open the country to foreigners. As a result, the Imperialism of the Mito Domain led many other domains’ retainers to the movement for Imperialism and Exclusionism over the country, which finally caused overthrowing the shogunate, which was later called the Meiji Restoration. However, in the domain, the retainers were divided into Tengu Party (believing the movement) and Shosei Party (supporting the shogunate), which would bring into a serious tragedy.

The Portrait of Nariaki Tokugawa, owned by Kyoto University Library (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The Kodokan domain school

Sad Killing each other by Mito Domain at Mito Castle

The final version of Mito Castle was like that the largest Second Enclosure became the center of the castle. It had the Main Gate, the Main Hall (also used as the government office), the Shokokan institute, the Corner Turret, and the Three-level Turret. In particular, the Three-level Turret was built as a substitute for a Main Tower. It was about 22m tall, which was too high for a three-story building, in fact, it had five floors inside.

The miniature model of Mito Castle, exhibited by the Second Enclosure Museum (the Third Enclosure Museum on the left, the Second Enclosure in the center, and the Main Enclosure on the right)
The old photo of the Three-level Turret (licensed under Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

The Tengu Party started a rebellion to ask the shogunate to stop trading with foreigners and to exclude them in 1864. In this war, the Tengu Party attacked Mito Castle the Shosei Party resided in, but failed. They eventually went west to ask Yoshinobu Hitotsubashi in Kyoto, who was a son of Nariaki and would become the last shogun, for what they wanted. However, they were arrested by Yoshinobu’s instructions and many of them were executed. The Shosei party also killed or persecuted the families in Mito of the Tengu Party. After that, the situation dramatically changed that the New Government was established and the shogunate was defeated in 1868. The survivors of the Tengu Party returned to Mito Castle and avenged against the Shosei Party. Some of the Shosei Party, who were on the run, attacked the castle the Tengu Party were resided in this time, but failed again. The strength of the castle was ironically proven by the tragedy between the retainers of the owner domain. Records say the number of the retainers was reduced from 3,449 to 892 during the internal conflict, which meant competent personnel from the domain ran out to modernize Japan.

The rebellion of the Tengu Party drawn on an Ukiyoe painting, attributed to Kuniteru Utagawa (licensed under Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
The photo of Yoshinobu Hitotsubashi, by 1867 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

To be continued in “Mito Castle Part2”