44.Nagoya Castle Part3

The present Main Tower should survive.

What will happen?

Kawamura has first applied for the demolition of the present Main Tower to the Agency for Cultural Affairs while the tower has been closed since 2018. However, the agency has not given him the approval because he hasn’t answered how the stone wall base will be preserved and what the new Main Tower will look like. Their goals are likely completely different. Unless they make a compromise, nothing may happen for a while.

The Small Main Tower (on the left) and the Large Main Tower (on the right)
The Main Tower can be seen behind the Honmaru Main Hall

My Opinion

I think Nagoya City should give up the replacement and repair the present Main Tower, because the present one has its own value. It is said that one of the reasons why the present one is made of concrete is that people believed it would never burn down in the future (the main reason was the restriction by the law at that time). A wooden Main Tower would be burned down like Shuri Castle.

The Main Tower (on the left) and the Southwest Corner Turret (on the right)
A distant view of the Main Tower

No matter how the wooden one resembles the original one, it is just a replica that people might be bored of soon. In addition, the more similar the replica and the original are, the less useful for general purposes and more expensive for the maintenance they are. If the city can get enough funds for the castle, it should use the money to repair remaining items such as the stone wall base and restore many other buildings that have been lost. This would make people understand what the whole castle looked like.

The ruins of the First Front Gate at the Main Enclosure
The old photo of the First Front Gate at the Main Enclosure (licensed under Public Domain via Wikipedia Commons)

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car:
It is about 5 minutes away from Marunouchi Exit on Nagoya Expressway Ring Route
The castle park offers parking lots.
By train, it takes about 5 minutes on foot from Shiyakusho Station on the Meijo Subway Line.
To get Shiyakusho Station from Tokyo or Osaka: Take the Tokaido Shinkansen Super Express, get off at Nagoya Station, transfer to the Higashiyama Subway Line, transfer at Sakae Station to the Meijo Subway Line.

Links and References

Special Historic Site, Nagoya Castle

That’s all.
Back to “Nagoya Castle Part1”
Back to “Nagoya Castle Part2”

44.名古屋城 その3

現在の天守は残されるべきです。

これからどうなる?

河村市長はまず現在の天守を撤去することを文化庁に申請しており、2018年から天守への入場を停止しています。ところが文化庁は、河村氏が石垣がどのように保存されるか、また天守がどのようになるのか答えていないため承認していません。双方のゴールは完全に異なっているようです。何らかの妥協がない限り、しばらく何も起こらないかもしれません。

小天守(左)と大天守(右)
本丸御殿の背後に見える天守

私の意見

私は、名古屋市は現在の天守の建て替えではなく、修繕を行うべきだと思います。現在の天守に固有の価値があるからです。現在の天守がコンクリートで作られた理由の一つは、将来二度と燃えないようにと考えたからだと言われています(主たる理由はは当時の法規制によるものですが)。木造の天守は首里城のように燃えてしまう恐れがあります。

天守(左)と西南隅櫓(右)
天守の遠景

木造の天守がどんなに元の天守に似ていたとしても、それはレプリカに過ぎず、人々はすぐに飽きてしまうかもしれません。更には、そのレプリカと元の天守が似れば似るほど、一般的な利用には供されず、維持の費用も高額となります。名古屋市がこの城のために十分な予算を確保できるなら、天守台石垣のような現存物の修繕や失われている他の多くの建物の復元に使うべきです。その方が城全体がどのようであったのかより理解できるからです。

本丸表一之門跡
本丸表一之門の古写真

ここに行くには

車で行く場合:
名古屋高速都心環状線の丸の内出口から約5分のところです。
名城公園に駐車場があります。
電車の場合は、地下鉄名城線の市役所駅から歩いて5分のところです。
市役所駅に東京または大阪から行くには:
東海道新幹線に乗って名古屋駅で降り、地下鉄東山線に乗り換え、栄駅で地下鉄名城線に乗り換えます。

リンク、参考情報

特別史跡、名古屋城(公式ウェブサイト)
・「よみがえる日本の城3」学研
・「日本の城改訂版第2、4号」デアゴスティーニジャパン
・「歴史群像69号、戦国最強要塞 名古屋城」学研

これで終わります。
「名古屋城その1」に戻ります。
「名古屋城その2」に戻ります。

149.Komakiyama Castle Part3

The mountain and ruins protected by the Tokugawa Clan

Later History

After the battle in 1584, Komakiyama Castle was abandoned again. In the beginning of the Edo Period, parts of the huge stones were taken away for the construction of Nagoya Castle. You can see one stone which was divided but was not used in the construction. During the Edo Period, the Tokugawa Clan banned people from entering Mt. Komakiyama, because the place was the site of the ruins of their founder Ieyasu’s victory and fortune. For many years during the Modern Times, the mountain was privately owned by the Tokugawa Clan. It is said that it made the foundation of the castle very durable. The ruins were designated as a National Historic Site in 1927 after the Tokugawa Clan donated the mountain to the nation.

The stone which was divided but was not used in the construction for Nagoya Castle
The cross section of the earthen walls at the north entrance

My Impression

It was believed previously, that Komakiyama Castle was just a temporary position for Nobunaga to plan his next step. However, the achievement of the recent excavation made people change their ideas about the castle. I was actually surprised to see the remains of the huge stones and learned they came from Nobunaga’s ideas about castle building. I am looking forward to seeing new discoveries and studies in the future.

The remaining huge stones on the mountain
A view from the top of the mountain

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car:
It is about 10 minutes away from Komaki IC on Tomei Expressway.
There are several parking lots around the mountain including the Komaki City Hall.
By train, it takes about 30 minutes on foot from Komaki Station on Meitetsu Komaki Line.
To get to Komaki Station from Tokyo or Osaka: Take the Tokaido Shinkansen Super Express, get off at Nagoya Station, transfer to the Higashiyama Subway Line, transfer at Sakae Station to the Meijo Subway Line, and transfer at Heandori Station to Meitetsu Komaki Line.

Links and References

Komakiyama, Komaki Civic Cultural Foundation

That’s all.
Back to “Komakiyama Castle Part1”
Back to “Komakiyama Castle Part2”