2021年8月 – ページ 2 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

159.Akutagawa-san Castle Part2

You can enjoy both of the ruins and a great view.

Features

Walking from Bus Stop

Now the ruins of Akutagawa-san Castle are private owned and not developed as a public park. Visitors usually have to walk from the nearest bus stop. You may be unsure which mountain you should climb and how you go to the ruins. It is a good idea to bring the route map called “Access to the Summit of Mt. Miyoshi” which you can download from the website of Takatsuki City. After about a 15-minute walk from the bus stop, the route is divided in to two branches. You can choose either of the two routes.

The map around the castle

Access to the Summit of Mt. Miyoshi (exhibited by Takatsuki City Website)

Tsukawaki Route

One of them is called Tsukawaki Route which goes around on the eastern side of the mountain and has a gentle slope. You can see a lot of the ruins of enclosures, but cannot enter them, because the route is surrounded by fences, so accessible areas are limited. You can also see the earthen walls crossing the route at a 90-degree angle. They are called Tate-Dorui or the Vertical Earthen Walls which prevented enemies from attacking the castle from other positions. You will also see the narrow earthen bridge with both sides having dry moats. The purpose of the system is the same as the Vertical Earthen Walls. You can even see something like the ruins of the alternate entrance.

The Vertical Earthen Walls *(licensed by ブレイズマン via via Wikimedia Commons)*

The ruins which might have been the alternate entrance

Main Route

The other branch route is called Otesuji Route or the Main Route which goes straight up to the mountain. It is steep and rocky. You can see some old stone walls around the entrance of the mountain, but they seem to be not original for the castle. The route is also surrounded by fences and you even have to pass through a door for preventing wild boars from entering the area. Take care to close it after entering or leaving. After about a 15-minute climb, you will see the stone walls of the Main Gate. The center part of them collapsed, however they are original to the castle.

The stone walls around the entrance of the route

The remaining stone walls of the Main Gate

Great view from Main Enclosure

The two branch routes meet above the stone walls, as you approach the Main Enclosure on the top. The outside field will suddenly become visible; it provides a great view of the Osaka Plain. You will finally reach the Main Enclosure after another few minutes of climbing. The enclosure has been cleared to create an open space. The excavations found that the traces of the buildings which might have been used as turrets at the front, and the stone foundations of the building which could have been used as Nagayoshi Miyoshi’s Main Hall. You can enjoy the whole view of the plain including the tall buildings in Osaka City and the Ikoma Mountains where Imori Castle became Nagayoshi’s new home base after Akutagawa-san Castle.

The tall buildings in Osaka City can be seen

To be continued in “Akkutagawa-san Castle Part3”
Back to “Akutagawa-san Castle Part1”

159.芥川山城　その２

城跡と景色両方楽しめます。

特徴

バス停から歩く

現在、芥川山城跡は個人所有となっていて、公園として整備されてはいません。観光客は通常バス停から歩くことになります。そこからどの山に登ってどうやって城跡に行ってよいのか迷うかもしれません。そこで、高槻市ウェブサイトから「三好山山頂へのアクセス」という案内図をダウンロードして持っていかれてはどうかと思います。バス停から１５分程歩くと、道は２つに分かれます。どちらを選んでも大丈夫です。

城周辺の地図

塚脇ルート

１つは塚脇ルートで、山の東側をまわっていて、比較的なだらかです。たくさんの曲輪跡を目にすることができますが、フェンスで囲ってあるため中には入れません。通れる場所は限られています。道に対して直角に交差している土塁が見えます。これは竪土塁と呼ばれていて、道以外の他の場所から敵が侵入するのを防ぐためのものです。両側に空堀がある狭い土橋もあります。目的は竪土塁と同様です。食い違い虎口のようなものも見ることができます。

竪土塁 (licensed by ブレイズマン via *via Wikimedia Commons)*

大手筋ルート

もう一つの道は大手筋ルートで、山に向かってまっすぐ登っていきます。その分急で、岩がごつごつしています。山の入口辺りに古い石垣がありますが、城があった時代のものではないようです。この道もフェンスで囲まれており、更にはイノシシ除けに設けられたドアを通り抜けねばなりません。通り過ぎた後にきちんと閉めるようにしてください。１５分程登っていくと、大手門の石垣が見えてきます。中心部分は崩れてしまっていますが、城があった当時のものです。

素晴らしい本郭からの眺め

２つの道は石垣の上の方で合流し、頂上にある本郭に近づいていきます。急に視界が開け、大阪平野の雄大な景色が現れます。更に数分登っていくと、ついに本郭に到着します。本郭は、整地され広場になっています。発掘の成果として、前方では櫓のような建物の跡が見つかり、後方では三好長慶の御殿のものであったかもしれない礎石が見つかっています。ここでも素晴らしい景色が堪能でき、大阪市のビル群や、芥川山城の後長慶が本拠地とした飯盛城があった生駒山地まで見渡せます。

「芥川山城その３」に続きます。
「芥川山城その１」に戻ります。

159.Akutagawa-san Castle Part1

An admired mountain castle during the Sengoku Period governed by the Miyoshi Clan

Location and History

Mountain Castles during Sengoku Period

In the 16th Century during the Sengoku Period, battles often happened in the Kinki Region of Japan. Warlords usually lived in their halls located in a plain area like Kyoto, and used their mountain castles for emergency. However, it got too dangerous for them then because they couldn’t predict when the next battle would happen. As a result, they started to live in their mountain castles every day. These castles had their halls on the top and strong defense systems. Akutagawa-san Castle was one of the most admired ones in the region.

The location of the castle

Nagaoyshi Miyoshi settled at Castle

The castle was first built in 1516 by Takakuni Hosokawa, a senior vassal of the Ashikaga Shogunate, but it is famous for the home base of Nagayoshi Miyoshi. Nagayoshi came from Awa Province (what is now Tokushima Prefecture) in Shikoku Island working under the Hosokawa Clan. He got power in both politics and military while other retainers of the shogunate conflicted each other. When his power competed with the Shogun, Yoshiteru Ashikaga, Yoshiteru tried to kill Nagayoshi. Nagayoshi banished the shogun from Kyoto and started his own governance in 1553. In the same year, he also settled at Akutagawa-san Castle.

The portrait of Nagayoshi Miyoshi, owned by Juko-in of Daitokuji Temple *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

The portrait of Yoshiteru Ashikaga, owned by the **National Museum of Japanese Histories** *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Mountain with Defense and Authority

The castle was located on the top of Miyoshi-yama Mountain in Settsu province (what is nearly the northern part of Osaka Prefecture), the north of the Osaka Plain. The mountain itself was very defensive being surrounded by Settsukyo Valley in north and west directions. The castle was accessible by road from the east through the ridges and the south through the valley. Nagayoshi himself attacked the castle previously, so he would have realized how strong the castle was.

The relief map around the castle

The imaginary drawing of the castle (from the signboard at the site)

The Main Enclosure had the Main Hall on the top of the mountain. Many other enclosures were around the ridges on the east of the Main Enclosure. The route went alongside these enclosures, and it was controlled by structures such as earthen walls, earthen bridges, dry moats, and alternate entrances. The Main Route also ran on the south of the Main Enclosure. It was very steep and guarded by the Main Gate which had stone walls. The stone walls are thought to also show the authority of the castle, so regarded as one of the earliest examples of castles in Japan to use stone walls intendedly.

*The imaginary drawing around the Main Enclosure (from the signboard at the site)*

*The imaginary drawing of the group of the enclosures on the east of the Main Enclosure (from the signboard at the site)*

*The imaginary drawing of the Main Route and the stone walls (from the signboard at the site)*

Nobunaga Oda once stayed in Castle

Though Nagayoshi passed the castle to his son and moved to Imori Castle in 1560, Akutagawa-san Castle continued to be used by the Miyoshi Clan as their important castle. In 1568, Nobunaga Oda came to Kyoto to rule the Kinki Region. He once captured and stayed in Akutagawa-san Castle and gave it to his retainer. However, as he proceeded with his unification of Japan, there would be no need for a castle like Akutagawa-san Castle. The castle was later abandoned.

The portrait of Nobunaga Oda, attributed to Soshu Kano, owned by Chokoji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

To be continued in “Akutagawa-san Castle Part2”