その後～Later History – ページ 10 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

124.Shinagawa Batteries Part2

The battery is basically a flat structure to avoid being targeted from enemies’ guns and cannons, so visitors can not easily recognize its whole view. That’s why I recommend seeing the bird’s eye view before or after your visitation.

Later History

The later lives of the Shinagawa batteries have been mixed.
The No.1 and 5 Batteries have been engulfed by landfills.
The No.2 and No.7 (which was left because of the canceled construction) have been removed due to the convenience of transportation.
The No.4 (same as No.7) was sold to the private sector before being used for the ground of a dock. The ground has finally become a redevelopmental area of the waterfront, called Tennoz Isle. The remaining stone walls of the No.4 Battery can be seen as the base of its boardwalk.
The No.3 and No.6 are the last remaining historical sites. They were designated as a National Historic Site in 1926 and the No.3 Battery was opened as the Daiba Park in 1928.

Shinagawa Batteries drawn in a Ukiyoe-painting called the illustration of a steam locomotive at the seaside below Yatsuyama Mountain in Tokyo, attributed to Hiroshige Utagawa the third, in the Meiji Era, exhibited by Tokyo Metropolitan Library, The No.2 Battery was used as a lighthouse

The aerial photo around the batteries around 1945 to 1950

The aerial photo around the batteries around 1975

The stone walls of the No.4 Battery support the boardwalk

How to get There

Currently, there are two remaining batteries, No.3 and No.6 out of the five completed ones as mentioned above. In addition, only the ruins of the No.3 Battery are open to the public as a park. If you want to visit the No.3 battery ruins, which has now become Daiba Park, it takes about 10 minutes on foot from Odaibakaihinkoen Station on the Yurikamome line.

Walking from Tamachi Station

However, in order to look over the whole view of the two ruins (No.3 and No.6), try this route.
Get out of the train at Tamachi station on the JR Yamanote Line. Exit from the east entrance of the station. Go along Nagisa street for the time being. You can see the Rainbow Bridge which has promenades on both sides (north and south).

Get in the Shibaura entrance of the bridge and go up using the elevator. Select the south route to see the ruins to the south. If you go straight through the promenade, you will first see the whole view of the No.6 Battery.

No.6 Battery like Birds’ Paradise

The battery is still isolated in the Tokyo Bay, being left as it has been to keep its original condition as much as possible though the canons and relative facilities were already removed. That’s why it looks as if it was during the first sight. However, if you look at it carefully, it is all covered with trees with uncountable number of birds gathering. According to a historian who visited it with permission from the government, it smells very bad and some structures collapsed naturally. It might have just become the birds’ paradise, so we may need to re-consider how to preserve it.

Great View of No.3 Battery

When the promenade goes down with moderate slope, you will be near the park and the view of the No.3 Battery is becoming bigger and bigger. At this point, you will be facing the pier of the battery, it is the biggest one and extremely amazing! It is really a bird’s eye view. It also looks very much better than the No.6 in my opinion. The battery is basically a flat structure to avoid being targeted from enemies’ guns and cannons, so visitors can not easily recognize its whole view. That’s why I recommend seeing the bird’s eye view before or after your visitation.

The great view of the No.3 Battery right in front

The signpost of the Shinagawa Batteries at the edge

To be continued in “Shinagawa Batteries Part3”
Back to “Shinagawa Batteries Part1”

124.品川台場　その２

台場は基本的に、敵からの銃や大砲の標的にならないよう、平面的に設計されています。よって、公園に行ってしまうとなかなかその全体像がつかめません。それなので、現地に行く前か後に、鳥観図のような景色を見ていただきたいのです。

その後

品川台場のその後の運命は少々複雑でした。
一番台場と五番台場は、埋め立てにより消滅しました。
二番台場と七番台場（工事が中止されたまま残っていました）は、海上交通の便のため撤去されました。
四番台場（七番台場と同じ事情）は造船所の敷地として使われました。ただ、その敷地は今ではウォーターフロントの再開発地区「天王洲アイル」となっています。そのボードウォークの基礎部分に、四番台場の残存石垣を見ることができます。
三番台場と六番台場が最終的に史跡として残りました。1926年には国の史跡に指定され、三番台場については1928年に台場公園として一般に公開されました。

「東京八ツ山下海岸蒸気車鉄道之図」、三世歌川広重作、明治時代、二番台場は灯台として使われていました、出典：東京都立図書館

1945年～1950年頃の品川台場周辺の航空写真

1975年頃の品川台場周辺の航空写真

ここに行くには

前項で申し上げました通り、５つの完成した台場のうち、三番台場と六番台場が現存しています。そして、三番台場のみが公園として一般に公開されています。その台場公園と名付けられた三番台場跡に行くには、ゆりかもめ線のお台場海浜公園駅から歩いて約１０分かかります。

田町駅から歩く

しかし、もし２つの台場跡（三番と六番）の全景をご覧になりたいのでしたら、以下の行き方を試してみて下さい。
ＪＲ山手線の田町駅で電車を降ります。田町駅の東口から外に出てください。なぎさ通りの沿ってしばらく進んでください。そうするうちにレインボーブリッジが見えてきます。

この橋には両側（北側と南側）に遊歩道が付いています。橋の芝浦口（西詰の入口）から中に入り、エレベータで上にあがってください。台場跡は南側にあるので、南ルートを選んでください。歩道をまっすぐ進んでいくと、まず最初に六番台場が見えてきます。

鳥の楽園のような六番台場

六番台場は今でも東京の湾上に孤立しています。大砲や関連施設は撤去されていますが、できるだけオリジナルの状態を保つために、そのまま放置されています。そのため一見するとかつてあったようにも見えるのですが、よくよく見てみると、台場中が木々と無数の参集している鳥たちによって覆われています。特別な許可をもらって上陸した歴史家によると、そこには悪臭が立ち込め、元からあった構造物の中には自然と崩壊しているものもあったそうです。まるで鳥の楽園に化しているようです。この台場の保存のあり方には再検討が必要かもしれません。

すばらしい三番台場の眺め

橋の歩道は緩やかな下り坂となり、台場公園に近づくとともに、三番台場の姿が次第に大きくなってきます。ちょうど台場の船着き場の正面に立ったあたりで最大となり、見事な絵柄となります。鳥になって見ている気分です。個人的には六番台場よりずっとよい状態に見えます。台場は基本的に、敵からの銃や大砲の標的にならないよう、平面的に設計されています。よって、公園に行ってしまうとなかなかその全体像がつかめません。それなので、現地に行く前か後に、鳥観図のような景色を見ていただきたいのです。

「品川台場その３」に続きます。
「品川台場その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。

162.Izushi Castle/Arikoyama Castle Part3

Next comes Izushi Castle Ruins. Visitors usually first go across Tojo-bashi Bridge over Taniyama-gawa River in front of the ruins and enter Tojo-mon Gate. You will climb gentle stone steps while seeing great stone walls of the Second Enclosure on the left.

Features

Easy Route to Izushi Castle Ruins

Next comes Izushi Castle Ruins which casual visitors can easily get to. The ruins consist of several tiered enclosures at the foot of the mountain. Visitors usually first go across Tojo-bashi (meaning the bridge for going to the castle) over Taniyama-gawa River in front of the ruins and enter Tojo-mon (meaning the gate for going to the castle). You will climb gentle stone steps while seeing great stone walls of the Second Enclosure on the left. The stones used for the walls look more processed and newer than those of Arikoyama Castle on the mountain, because of the difference of their periods. The enclosure is empty now, which was used as the domain’s offices.

The map around the castle

The stone walls of the second enclosure on the left

The main enclosure is above the second enclosure, which has two rebuilt turrets on both front corners (called the Eastern and Western Corner Turrets). Their designs are different from the original ones, but are made out of wood in a traditional way and look good matching the remaining stone walls.

The interior of the Western Corner Turrret, it is sometimes open to the public

There was the Main Hall in the enclosure, and is now Kannoden Shrine instead, which worships Hisahide Sengoku, the founder of the clan.

Inari Enclosure at Highest of Castle

The Inari Enclosure is at the highest of the castle. It also has the highest stone walls in the castle at 13.5m. This is very rare among Japanese castles as other castles’ main enclosures are usually at the highest and have the greatest stone walls in the castle. The Arikoyama Shrine building has been constructed in the Inari Enclosure since the early stage of the castle. The current building was rebuilt during the late Edo Period and looks very old.

The high stone walls of the Inari Enclosure on the right

Attractions of Castle Town

Part of the old castle town is the former third enclosure which had the Main, Eastern and Western Gates. You can still see the partially remaining stone walls of the Main and Western Gates there. You can also visit Karo Yashiki (meaning the Senior Vassal’s Residence) which is the only remaining Samurai residence in this area. It is interesting that it looks like a single-storied house, but in fact, it has a secret chamber as the second floor.

The map around the castle town

The hidden second floor of the residence, the host on the right can see who is coming from the steps on the left through the hole in the central wall

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Izushi Castle was abandoned and all the castle buildings were demolished in 1871. Instead, locals built a new drum tower called Shinkoro at the Main Gate in the same year. The tower was turned into a clock tower in 1881 and has become a symbol of the area. The area once declined because it deviated from a railway line. However, locals made great efforts to boost tourism by rebuilding castle buildings, promoting Izushi Soba noodles, Izushi Pottery which originated from the castle’s period, and so on. The area was also designated as a Preservation District for Groups of Historic Buildings in 2007. As a result, the area has become an attractive traditional town as we can see now.

Izushi Soba Noodles, they are usually served on a plate

My Impression

As a fact, visiting the Izushi area takes a lot of time no matter which transportation you take. However, lots of people often visit the area. That’s because there are many attractions including the two castle ruins of Izushi and Akikoyama. Other attractions also came from the long history of this area. In my case, I would like to visit that place again to get to the ruins of Konosumi-yama Castle which the Yamana Clan first lived and I didn’t know about during my last visit. Other than castles and ruins, I would also like to buy another Izushi Pottery which has white skin and engraved patterns.

How to get There

If you want to visit the castle ruins by car, it is about a 30-minute drive away from Wadayama IC on the Bantan Renkaku Road.
There are several parking lots around Izushi Castle Ruins.
By public transportation, you can take the Zentan bus bound for Izushi from JR Toyooka Station and get off at the final bus stop.
From Tokyo to Toyooka Station: take the Tokaido Shinkansen super express and transfer to the Sanin Line at Kyoto Station.

The Toyooka Station, the bus terminal is around the center

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Izushi Castle/Arikoyama Castle Part1”
Back to “Izushi Castle/Arikoyama Castle Part2”