特徴～Features – ページ 113 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

80.Yuzuki Castle Part2

The beauty between the Inner and Outer Moats of Yuzuki Castle was restored.

Features

Entrance of Castle Ruins

Today, the ruins of Yuzuki Castle have been developed as the Dogo Park. The western and southern parts of it are the restored area. The western entrance, which was originally used as the back gate, looks like the front gate now. If you go across the earthen bridge over to the Outer Moat to enter the inside of the earthen walls, you may feel like you are inside a medieval castle. You can first visit the Yuzuki Castle Museum near the entrance to learn more about the history of the Kono Clan and how the area was first developed.

The aerial photo around the castle

The entrance of Yuzuki Castle Ruins (the Dogo Park)

Restored Warrior’s House

Next to the museum in the western part, which is a middle-class warrior’s house, including the gate and mud walls in front of it, was restored. If you enter the house, you will see its interior was also restored because the layout was discovered by the excavation team. There are five mannequins representing people who once lived in the castle enjoying a poetry party in the meeting room, while another mannequin is preparing a meal and tea in the kitchen.

You can visit the other restored warrior’s house with the exhibition room inside. The reason for this is the original layout of it is not clear to see even though the excavation was already done.

High-class Warriors’ Residential Area

The southern part was originally used as a Japanese garden as well as the residential areas for the high-class warriors. You can now see the diagram on the lawn of how the residential were back then. The wild rocks of the hill still face where the garden was used to be, so the rocks might have been used as a natural scenery for the garden. I recommend seeing the Inner Moat with the earthen walls nearby.

The former residential areas for the high-class warriors

Unique Earthen Wall Exhibition Room

As for the earthen walls beside the Outer Moat, there is the exhibition room showing the earthen walls, inside them. You can see the original cutout model of the walls confirming how the excavation team penetrated, and explanation for them. This model was taken when the excavation was done and used to visualize how other earthen walls would have been restored. It is very interesting and easy to understand how great the construction was.

The exhibition room in the earthen walls along the Outer Moat

The original cutout model of the walls in the room

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

80.湯築城　その２

湯築城の内堀と外堀の間がきれいに復元されています。

特徴、見どころ

城跡の入口

現在、湯築城跡は道後公園として整備されています。その公園のうち、西側と南側の部分が復元地区となっています。もともとは搦手門として使われていた西側の入口が、今では正面口のようになっています。外堀にかかる土橋を渡り、土塁の内側に入っていくと、中世城郭の中にいるように感じるかもしれません。その入口の近くには湯築城資料館があり、そこでは河野氏の歴史やこの周辺地が当初からどのように開発されてきたのか学ぶことができます。

城周辺の航空写真

復元された武家屋敷

資料館に隣接する西側部分には、中級クラスの武家屋敷が、その前にある門と土塀とともに復元されています。屋敷の中に入ってみると、その内装までが復元されています。発掘によって、その屋敷のレイアウトが判明したからです。会所と呼ばれる部屋には、５体のマネキンがあり、城に住んでいた人たちが集まって句会を楽しんでいる様子が再現されています。一方、台所ではもう１体のマネキンが食事とお茶の準備をしています。

復元された武家屋敷はもう１棟あるのですが、内部は展示室になっています。その理由は、発掘調査は行われたのですが、その屋敷の元のレイアウトが確定できなかったためです（２案作られたのですが、１つに絞れなかったそうです）。

上級武士の居住地区

南側部分は、元は日本庭園と、上級武士の居住地区として使われていました。現在は、芝生によってその居住地区の範囲が示されています。丘の自然の岩場が今でも庭園があった場所に面していて、かつてはその庭園の借景であったのかもしれません。近くには、内堀が土塁とともに残っているので、こちらもご覧になってはいかがでしょう。

ユニークな土塁の展示室

土塁は外堀にも沿っても築かれていますが、その内部に土塁についての展示室が作られています。そこにはオリジナルの土塁から切り出した土層模型があり、土塁がどのように積まれたのかわかるようになっていて、その説明板とともに展示されています。この模型は、発掘が行われたときに実際に土塁から切り出されたもので、他の場所に土塁を復元する際の参考とされました。とても興味深い展示であり、これらの土塁の建設がいかに大がかりなものであったか理解できます。

「湯築城その３」に続きます。
「湯築城その１」に戻ります。

183.Kurume Castle Part2

The stone walls of the castle are still intact.

Features

Great Stone Walls of Main Enclosure

Today, only the Main Enclosure remains as the ruins of Kurume Castle. The ruins have no castle buildings, but its stone walls are still mostly intact. The scale of the enclosure is not so large, about 150m from north to south and about 100m from east to west. It is surprising to imagine there were seven three-story turrets all connected by two-story row-style turrets in such a limited space. There is the Sasayama Shrine which worships the Arima Clan in the enclosure.

The map around the castle

The ruins of Kurume Castle now have only the Main Enclosure

Newer Stone Walls of Southern side

The front side of the enclosure is facing the south, which is also the entrance of the shrine. The only remaining water moat is located on that side. You can see the great high stone walls with a height of 15m. The stone walls of this side are constituted of piled, aligned square cut stones, in a method called Nuno-zumi. This method is newer than the one used in the rest of the castle, so it is thought that they were built by the Arima Clan.

The high stone walls of the southern side

The three three-story turrets; Tatsumi(Southeast), Taiko(Drum) and Hitsujisaru(Southwest) Turrets used to stand on the stone walls. In particular, the Tatsumi Turret was the largest, which meant it was the symbol and the substitute of the Main Tower of the castle.

The stone walls under the Tatsumi Turret Ruins

Inside of Main Enclosure

You can enter the enclosure through the ruins of the Kabuki-gomon Gate, on the paved route turning left. The route used to pass by a defensive square space called Masugata, but it is not visible clearly since the route was paved.

In the enclosure, there is the Arima Memorial Museum which exhibits the legacy of the Arima Clan, which the Sasayama Shrine isn’t a part of. The museum is on the ruins of the Hitsujisatu and Nishishita(West) Turrets. On or beside the ruins of the other turrets, there are several monuments about the local history. For example, there is the monument for remembering the sufferers of the incident in 1871 on the ruins of the Taiko Turret, where you can see its great stone walls close nearby.

the monument for remembering the sufferers of the incident on the Taiko Turret Ruins, on the right of the picture (licensed by そらみみ via Wikimedia Commons)

A view of the high stone walls from the Taiko Turret Ruins

There is also the monument for the 56th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army beside the ruins of the Ushitora(Northeast) Turret, where you can see the Chikugo River.

The Older Stone Walls of Eastern side

You can also enjoy a great view of the stone walls at the eastern side of the enclosure. The surface of the stone walls is made of piled roughly processed stones with small stones filling the gaps. This method is called Uchikomi-hagi. On the other hand, their corners are made of piled processed rectangular stones alternately, following the method called Sangi-zumi. These methods are older than the one used at the southern side, so these stone walls might have been built by the Mori or Tanaka Clans.

The stone walls at a corner, made of piled processed rectangular stones alternately

There is another entrance with stone steps on this side, beside the ruins of the Tsukimi(Moon watching) Turret. It might had also been the front gate as this side had originally been the front side of the enclosure. You can see the Kurume University playground from the turret ruins, which was once a water moat of the castle.

The entrance of the eastern side beside the Tsukimi Turret Ruins

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