2023年9月 – ページ 5 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

161.Kishiwada Castle Part2

I recommend using a detour route to the castle through the former Kishu Road and castle town. This is because you can understand how the castle and town were developed by seeing them.

How to get There

Today, you can access the current Kishiwada Castle from Kishiwada or Takojizo Stations on the Nankai Line by foot. Takojizo Station is the nearest, but if you walk from Kishiwada Station towards the western direction, you have to turn right at the Kishiwadaeki-minami Intersection, and then turn left at the Shiromibashi Intersection, there you can see the stone walls of the Eastern Main Gate Ruins at the Kishiwada City Library on the way. The gate was the front one in the early stage of the castle and it looks interesting combined with the library’s entrance. Both routes are flat and easy to access.

The map around the castle, the blue broken line shows the route from Kishiwada Station to the castle through the Easten Main Gate, the red broken line shows the route through the Kishu Road

Takojizo Station (licensed by Nankou Oronain (as36… via Wikimedia Commons)

The remaining stone walls of the Eastern Main Gate

However, I recommend using a detour route to the castle through the former Kishu Road and castle town. This is because you can understand how the castle and town were developed by seeing them. You can also choose one of the other nearer routes above when you return to the station. If you first choose the route though the Kishu Road to go to the castle, go on the shopping street in front of Kishiwada Station until you meet the road. The road still has a laid-back atmosphere with some traditional buildings and you will see it has been intentionally zigzagged to prevent enemies from invading the town easily. As you get closer to the castle, you will find the road goes on a lower land than where the castle is located. Maybe the road was the coastline or below the sea in the past while the current coastline is far from there. If you climb the moderate slope to the castle across the modern road, the great high stone walls of the Second Enclosure will come into view.

The shopping street in front of Kishiwada Station

The road has been intentionally zigzagged

The stone walls and water moat of the Second Enclosure

In addition, if you want to visit there by car, it is about 30 minutes from Kishiwada-izumi IC or Kaizuka IC on the Hanwa Expressway. There are several Kishiwada municipal parking lots around the castle.
From Tokyo to both stations: Take the Tokaido Shinkansen super express, transfer to the Midosuji Line on Osaka Metro Subway at Shin-Osaka Station and transfer to the Nankai Line at Nanba Station.

Features

Gate Ruins connecting Center of Castle

Today, only the Main and Second Enclosures remain with the original stone walls and water moats, and reconstructed buildings in the Main Enclosure. In the past, the Northern and Western Main Gates were open to the castle town side. Currently, the Northern one has become the entrance of the Kishiwada City Hall and the Western one has become a parking lot next to the Danjiri Hall, where you can access the ruins from as well. You can see some remaining stone walls and foundations of the gates on the way. The Second Enclosure is accessible from both sides by going across earthen bridge over the moats.

The aerial photo around the castle

The Northern Main Gate is in the red circle and the Western Main Gate is in the blue circle, in *the miniature model of Kishiwada Castle*

The stone walls seem to belong to another enclosure in front of the Second Enclosure

Second Enclosure may be former Main Enclosure

The Second Enclosure had the Main Hall and Fushimi Turret which was moved from Fushimi Castle, but now has modern facilities such as an information center. The enclosure looks to the edge of the hill which was actually on the sea in the past. It was also said this enclosure was the former Main Enclosure, backed by the sea, when the castle was still small. Therefore, you may want to see a view of the city area (the former sea) around, however, you can not see it because of the tall hedge fences in that direction.

The part of the Second Enclosure in the miniature model of Kishiwada Castle, the Fushimi Turret in the red circle

The stone walls of the Second Enclosure, the Fushimi Turret was on the front corner

The inside of the current Second Enclosure

*This is not a good view point* because of the fences

To be continued in “Kishiwada Castle Part3”
Back to “Kishiwada Castle Part1”

161.岸和田城　その２

現代の岸和田城へは遠回りして旧紀州街道や城下町を通っていくルートをお勧めします。この道を通ることで城と町がどうやって発展してきたかわかるからです。

ここに行くには

現代の岸和田城には、南海鉄道の岸和田駅か蛸地蔵駅から歩いていくことができます。蛸地蔵駅が一番近いのですが、岸和田駅から西の方に歩いて、岸和田駅南交差点を右折し、そして城見橋交差点を左折して行くと、その途中の岸和田市図書館のところに残る東大手門跡の石垣を見ていくことができます。この門は城の初期段階においては正門の扱いでした。また、図書館の入口と組み合わされているのも面白く感じます。両方の駅からのルートは平坦で行くのも簡単です。

城周辺の地図、青破線が岸和田駅から東大手門を通るルート、赤破線が紀州街道を通るルート

蛸地蔵駅 *(licensed by Nankou Oronain (as36… via Wikimedia Commons)*

しかし、ここでは敢えて遠回りして旧紀州街道や城下町を通っていくルートをお勧めします。どうしてかというと、この道を通ることで城と町がどうやって発展してきたかわかるからです。行きはここを通って、帰りに近い方のルートを選んではいかがでしょうか。もし紀州街道を経由するルートを選ばれたなら、岸和田駅前の商店街を街道に行きつくまで進みます。街道には昔ながらの雰囲気が残り、道沿いには伝統的な建物もあります。街道は意図的にジグザグに曲げられていて、もし敵が攻めてきたときには簡単に町に侵入できないようになっていました。城に近づくにつれ、街道が城がある所より低い位置を通っていることに気づかれるでしょう。現在の海岸線は遠いところにありますが、過去にはこの辺りが海岸線か、もしかすると海より低かったかもしれません。城に向かって緩やかな坂を登り大通りを渡ると、二の丸の見事な高石垣が見えてきます。

なお、車で行く場合は、阪和自動車道の岸和田南ICか貝塚ICから約３０分かかります。城の周りにいくつか岸和田市営の駐車場があります。東京から岸和田駅または蛸地蔵駅までは、東海道新幹線に乗って、新大阪駅で大阪メトロ地下鉄の御堂筋線に乗り換え、なんば駅で南海鉄道に乗り換えてください。

特徴、見どころ

城中心部へ通じる門跡

現在は、本丸と二の丸のみがオリジナルの石垣と水堀とともに残っています。本丸には復興された建物もあります。かつては、北大手門と西大手門が城下町側に開いていました。今では、北大手門があった所は岸和田市役所への入口となり、西大手門があった所は駐車場になっていて、となりにはだんじりホールがあります。ここから城跡に向かうことができます。その道すがら、門の石垣や基礎がいくらか残っているのがわかります。二の丸へは、この両側から堀を渡る土橋を通ってアクセス可能です。

城周辺の航空写真

元本丸だったかもしれない二の丸

二の丸には御殿や、伏見城から移設されたと伝わる伏見櫓がありました。現在では観光交流センターなどの施設が建っています。この曲輪はかつては実際に、丘陵の端にあって海に臨んた位置にあったように見えます。また、この城がまだ小さかったころには、この曲輪が海を背にして、元は本丸という扱いだったとも言われています。こういうことを知ってみると、ここからもとは海だった市街地を眺めてみたいと思うのですが、その方向には高い垣根が巡らされていて、景色を見ることができません。

「岸和田城その３」に続きます。
「岸和田城その１」に戻ります。

161.Kishiwada Castle Part1

The reconstructed Main Tower of the castle can be seen among the city area. However, the scenery of the castle was different from the current one before its long history.

Location and History

City is known for Kishiwada Danjiri Festival

Kishiwada City is known for Kishiwada Danjiri Festival which is held in the city every September. Danjiri means traditional Japanese floats which are pulled around the city area in the festival. The city originates from the castle town of Kishiwada Castle. It is said that the festival also came from a celebration event which a lord of the castle, Nagayasu Okabe held for building a new Inari Shrine in the castle in 1703. The reconstructed Main Tower of the castle can be seen among the city area, for instance, from a train you ride on the Nankai Line between Osaka and Kansai Airport or Wakayama City. However, the scenery of the castle was different from the current one before its long history.

A scenery of Kishiwada Danjiri Festival (licensed by Kounosu via Wikimedia Commons)

*The portrait of Nagayasu Okabe, owned by Senkoji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Rulers take over Castle from Local Lords

Osaka Prefecture was roughly divided into three provinces in the past; Settsu, Kawachi and Izumi. The Kishiwada area belonged to Izumi Province which was the southern part of the prefecture and had the border with Kii Province in the south. It is still unknown when and how the castle was first built, but historians speculate that a local clan, the Kishiwada Clan had the old Kishiwada Castle sometime during the Middle Ages and moved to the current Kishiwada Castle in the first 15th Century during the Sengoku Period. The castle was followed by other local clans, the Matsura and the Terada Clans. They were able to maintain their castle and territory by serving the persons of power of the time such as the Hosokawa and the Miyoshi Clans.

The range of Izumi Province and the location of the castle

However, the situation didn’t allow them to do so when the rulers as Nobunaga Oda and Hideyoshi Toyotomi processed their unification of Japan in the late 16th Century. They used Kishiwada Castle as the front line against a group of local lords called Saika-shu which owned Kii Province. They also sent their retainers to the castle to govern it directly. For example, Kazuuji Nakamura who worked under Hideyoshi became the lord of the castle and repelled the attacks from the Saika Goup in 1584. Kishiwada Castle was originally a simple soil-made castle on a hill beside Osaka Bay. It is thought that Kazuuji improved it by building the Main Tower and high stone walls. That’s also why the castle managed to survive until today while the other castles in Izumi Province were all abandoned by the rulers.

*The portrait of Kazuuji Nakamura, owned by Tokyo University (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons*)

Development of Castle and Town

Hideyoshi replaced Kazuuji with Hidemasa Koide, a relative of Hideyoshi in 1585. Hidemasa developed the castle town and the Kishu Road through the town below the Second Enclosure in the west. The tide had actually reached there until then. The Main Gate was also moved from the eastern side to the northern side near the town. It is also thought that he improved or replaced the Main Tower in the Main Enclosure, which had five levels according to the drawing submitted to the Tokugawa Shogunate later on. The shogunate replaced the Koide Clan with Yasushige (Matsui) Matsudaira in 1619, who completed the castle and town. He built new stone walls outside the town in the west to expand it. The castle had probably been small with only the Main Enclosure in the east and the Second Enclosure in the west, but it became larger by adding several enclosures and moats around.

The miniature model of Kishiwada Castle, viewed from the south, the Main Gate (called the Northern Main Gate) is in the red circle, exhibited by Kishiwada Castle

The Main Tower in the drawing, exhibited by the National Archives of Japan

*The remaining stone walls of the castle town (licensed by Hironoyama via Wikimedia Commons)*

*The portrait of Yasushige Matsudaira (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

The castle was finally followed by Nobukatsu Okabe in 1640 and his clan governed the castle and the area around as the Kishiwada Domain until the end of the Edo Period. The clan originally came from Suruga Province which is the modern day central part of Shizuoka Prefecture. They served the Imagawa, the Takeda and finally Ieyasu Tokugawa who was the founder of the shogunate. Their government was basically stable in the peaceful Edo Period like the launch of Kishiwada Danjiri Festival. However, the Main Tower was unfortunately burned down by an lightning fire in 1827. After that, the domain planned to restore the tower with the permission from the shogunate, but the periods of warriors and castles ended by the Meiji Restoration before it was done.

*The portrait of Nobukatsu Okabe, owned by Senkoji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

*The illustration of Kishiwada Cassle in Iaumi Province, exhibited by the National Archives of Japan*

To be continued in “Kishiwada Castle Part2”