カテゴリー: ここに行くには～How to get There

36.Maruoka Castle Part3

The Main Tower survived two crises.

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Maruoka Castle was abandoned. All the buildings of the castle including the Main Tower were sold. However, the tower was priced very low because it couldn’t be used for general offices or residences. It was impossible to scrap or move the tower for a low price. The buyer was not able to do anything to the tower, while the other buildings were moved or demolished. All of the water moats were also filled to create more land space in the city. The owners of the tower finally donated it to the officials in 1901. That’s why only the Main Tower remains now.

The miniature model of Maruoka Castle, all the buildings of the castle except for the Main Tower were sold and demolished.

In 1948, The Main Tower and its stone wall base collapsed due to the Fukui Earthquake. However, people in this area restored the tower in 1955 to almost the same condition as the original one. This was because they researched the details of the tower when it was repaired 8 years before the earthquake. They used about 70% of the original main materials to restore it. Such a method is usually used to repair other remaining castle buildings in Japan. That means the Main Tower of Maruoka Castle is valuable like it had been before the earthquake.

The stone grampuses which fell from the roof when the earthquake happened

My Impression

If you have time after visiting the inside of the Main Tower of Maruoka Castle, how about walking around the castle along the trace of the Inner Moat? The moat was turned into city area, but the outer edge of the moat remains as a road. If you walk along the road, you can look up a beautiful view of the Main Tower on the hill. I was honestly envious of the people who can see the view every day when I walked. In fact, Sakai City is considering restoring part of the Inner Moat and make a park inside it over the next 50 years to make the castle more attractive.

The Main Tower of Maruoka Castle seen from the road, former Inner Moat

The trace of the Inner Moat on the present road

Another photo from a different point on the road

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car:
It is about 10 minutes away from Maruoka IC on Hokuriku Expressway.
The castle park offers a parking lot.
By public transportation, take the bus bound for Eiheiji-eki-mae from JR Maruoka Station and get off at the Maruoka Bus Terminal bus stop. It takes about 5 minutes to get there on foot.
To get to Maruoka Station from Tokyo: Take the Hokuriku Shinkansen super express, transfer to the Hokuriku Line at Kanazawa Station.
From Osaka: Take the Thunderbird limited express and transfer to a local train on the Hokuriku Line at Fukui Station.

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Maruoka Castle Part1”
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36.丸岡城　その３

天守には２回の危機がありました。

その後

明治維新後、丸岡城は廃城となりました。天守を含む城の全ての建物は入札にかけられました。ところが、天守の建物の落札額はとても低いものでした。通常の役所や住居として使うことができなかったからです。また、解体して廃材にしたり移設するにはあまりに低い金額でした。落札者は結局天守に何も手をつけることができず、その間他の建物は移設されたり、撤去されていきました。全ての水堀は埋められ、市街地として使われました。天守の所有者はついに、1901年に天守を公共に寄付することにしたのです。そのため、天守だけが今に残っているのです。

天守内にある丸岡城の模型、天守以外の建物は全て売却、撤去されました

1948年、天守と天守台石垣は福井地震により崩壊しました。しかし、地元の人たちは1955年に天守をほとんど元通りに復元しました。これは、地震の８年前に天守を修理した際、その詳細を調査してあったから可能だったのです。復元にあたっては、元から使っていた部材の約７割を再利用しました。日本の他の城の建物を修理するときにも通常、同様のやり方で行われています。つまり、丸岡城天守は、地震の前と同等の価値を維持したと言えるのです。

福井地震の際、落下した石製の鯱

私の感想

丸岡城天守の中を見た後、お時間があれば、内堀の痕跡に沿って城の周りを歩いてみてはいかがでしょう。堀自体は市街地になってしまっていますが、堀の外側の輪郭線は道路として残っています。その道路に沿って歩いてみると、丘の上にある美しい天守の姿を見上げることができます。自分で歩いてみたとき、正直毎日その天守の姿を見ている人たちを羨ましく思いました。実は坂井市は、城の魅力アップのために５０年かけて内堀の一部を復元し、その内側を公園化することを検討しています。（現在そのエリアに住んでいる人が住居の建て替えをする際、公有地化をお願いするようです。）

元の内堀ラインから見える丸岡城天守

道路として残っている内堀のライン

別の場所からもう一枚

ここに行くには

車で行く場合：北陸自動車道の丸岡ICから約１０分かかります。城がある公園に駐車場があります。
公共交通機関を使う場合は、ＪＲ丸岡駅から永平寺駅前行きのバスに乗って、丸岡バスターミナルバス停で降りてください。
そこから歩いて約５分のところです。
東京から丸岡駅まで：北陸新幹線に乗って、金沢駅で北陸線に乗り換えてください。
大阪から：特急サンダーバード号に乗って、福井駅で北陸線の普通列車に乗り換えてください。

リンク、参考情報

・丸岡城　公式サイト
・「丸岡城～ここまでわかった！お天守の新しい知見と謎～／吉田純一著」坂井市文化課丸岡城国宝化推進室
・「よみがえる日本の城８」「天守のすべて①」学研
・「城の科学 個性豊かな天守の「超」技術／萩原さち子著」ブルーバックス新書
・「丸岡城周辺整備基本計画」坂井市

これで終わります。ありがとうございました。
「丸岡城その１」に戻ります。
「丸岡城その２」に戻ります。

137.Fukui Castle Part3

The castle ruins are still the center of Fukui Prefecture.

Features

Ruins of First Kitanosho Castle

I also recommend visiting the ruins of the first Kitanosho Castle which Katsuie Shibata built, about 300m away from Fukui Castle Ruins to the south. You can only see the base stones for the castle because Fukui Castle was built on the Kitanosho Castle Ruins.

The ruins of Kitanosho Castle in Echizen Province
These are the stone walls of Fukui Castle
The base stones of the first Kitanosho Castle

However, you can also see the statues of Katuie, his wife and his three daughters. These women are well-known in Japanese history. One of the daughters was the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s wife. Another was the wife of Hidetada Tokugawa who was a little brother of Hideyasu Yuki, the founder of Fukui Castle.

The statue of Katsuie Shibata
The statue of Katsuie’s wife
The statues of the three sisters

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Fukui Castle was abandoned. All the buildings of the castle were demolished and all its area except for the center of the castle was turned into the city area. In 1873, the former lord of the castle, the Matsudaira Clan opened Matsudaira Agricultural Experimental Station in the center of the castle until it was moved to another in 1921. Instead, The Fukui Prefectural Office was moved to the Main Enclosure in 1923. Since then, the castle ruins have been the center of the local government like the castle used to be.

Matsudaira Agricultural Experimental Station (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The buildings of the Fukui Prefectural Office (on the right) and Fukui prefectural police headquarters (on the left) at the Main Enclosure

My Impression

A Main Enclosure was usually the center of a castle. It often had the Main Tower and (or) the Main Hall to govern the area around in the Edo Period, like Fukui Castle. Many remaining Main Enclosures have now become historical parks, shrines, or facilities like a museum. However, the Main Enclosure of Fukui Castle is still used by the local government. I think this is the only example of the Main Enclosure being used for a prefectural office. Some people call it the strongest prefectural office in Japan.

The Main Enclosure of Fukuoka Castle (an example of being a historical park)
The Main Enclosure of Takaoka Castle (an example of being a shrine)
The Main Tower of the Main Enclosure of Osaka Castle (an example of being a museum)
The Fukui Prefectural Office which looks like the strongest

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car:
It is about 15 minutes away from Fukui IC on Hokuriku Expressway.
There are several parking lots around the ruins.
You can also use the underground parking lot of the prefectural office on weekdays.
(You need to have the parking ticket stamped at the reception counter.)
By public transportation, it takes less than 10 minutes walking from JR Fukui Station.
To get to Fukui Station from Tokyo: Take the Hokuriku Shinkansen super express, transfer to the limited express on the Hokuriku Line at Kanazawa Station.
From Osaka: Take the Thunderbird limited express.

Fukui Station

Links and References

・Fukui Castle Ruins, Fukui Prefecture & Fukui Prefectural Tourism Federation

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Fukui Castle Part1”
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