特徴～Features – ページ 128 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

177.Hiketa Castle Part2

The great stone walls of the castle, the great view from the castle

Features

Becoming hiking trail now

Now, the ruins of Hiketa Castle has also become a hiking trail. There are two trails to the top of the mountain called the Tanoura Campsite side route and the Hiketa Port side route. If you drive to the castle ruins, it’s better for you to park beside the Tanoura Campsite side route.

The map around the castle

The location map of Hiketa Castle Ruins at the site

The trail is steep, but the top area is relatively flat. That meant it was a good point for a mountain castle as it was difficult to attack but easy to defend. You will first find the Northern Enclosure which has no stone walls. It was thought that the enclosure remained the same as what it had been before the Ikoma Clan came. However, the clan didn’t use it as their castle.

The entrance of the Tanoura Campsite side route

You can see the trail is very steep from above

Great stone walls of Northern Second Enclosure

You will now see the apex of the castle, the doubled tier stone walls which surrounded the Northern Second Enclosure. The upper tier is 2 to 3m high and the lower tier is 5 to 6m high. So together, they are almost 10m high in total. Though the upper one is unfortunately covered to prevent it from collapsing, even just seeing the lower one is great.

Approaching the Northern Second Enclosure

The upper tier of the stone walls of the Northern Second Enclosure

The lower tier of the stone walls of the Northern Second Enclosure

These stone walls are originally form the Ikoma Clan’s period which can’t be seen in other castles like Takamatsu and Marugame Castles. This is because both castles were improved and developed by other lords after the Ikoma Clan. Only the remaining old stone walls at the foot of Marugame Castle might have been built by the Ikoma Clan.

It was said that this enclosure had the Main Hall for the lord and there was the Main Gate under the enclosure. That is the reason why the great stone walls were built to show the authority of the lord to the visitors. Finally, the original Main Route to the Main Gate is not being used now.

The inside of the Northern Second Enclosure

Great view from Main Enclosure

From the Northern Second Enclosure, other enclosures spread into two directions which look like the letter U. One of them is the Main Enclosure in the south. It is long and narrow and faces the Hiketa Port. It also has some remaining stone walls and the ruins of the base for a Main Tower. Therefore, the enclosure would have stood out in the past. You can see a good view of the port and Hiketa town from the enclosure. That meant people in Hiketa would have looked up at the buildings and stone walls clearly in the past.

The remaining stone walls of the Main Enclosure

A view of Hiketa Port seen from around the base for the tower

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

177.引田城　その２

素晴らしい城の石垣と、城からの眺め

特徴、見どころ

現在はハイキングコースに

現在、引田城跡はハイキングコースにもなっています。山上へは２つのコースがあり、田の浦キャンプ場側登山口と引田港側登山口です。もし城跡に車で行かれるのでしたら、田の浦キャンプ場側登山口にある駐車場を使った方がよいでしょう。

城周辺の地図

山道は急ですが、山の上は比較的平らです。これは攻めにくく守り易い地形なので、山城を作るにはちょうど良かったでしょう。最初は北曲輪を通りますが、ここには石垣はありません。よって、生駒氏がここに来る前と同じ状態で残っていると考えられています。つまり、生駒氏はここを使わなかったわけです。

素晴らしい北二の丸の石垣

次には、もうこの城のクライマックス、北二の丸の二段積みの石垣が見えてきます。上段は２～３ｍ、下段は５～６ｍの高さがあります。合計では１０ｍ近くあることになります。上段の方は崩落を防ぐためにカバーがかけられていますが、下段の方を見るだけでも素晴らしいと感じます。

これらの石垣は生駒氏の時代に由来しますが、高松城や丸亀城では同じ時代のものは見ることはできません。これら２つの城は生駒氏以後の他の大名により改装されたり、拡張されたりしたからです。丸亀城の山麓に残っている古い石垣のみが、生駒氏によって築かれたかもしれない程度です。

この北二の丸には城主の御殿があったと言われており、曲輪下には大手門がありました。そのために豪華な石垣がここに築かれ、訪問者に城主の権威を見せていたのでしょう。大手門へ至る大手道は、現在は使われていません。

素晴らしい本丸からの景色

北二の丸からは、他の曲輪は馬蹄形状に二つの方向に分かれています。一つは南にある本丸です。本丸は細長い形をしていて引田港に面しています。ここには石垣がいくらか残っていて、天守台の跡もあります。過去にはかなり目立っていたのでしょう。ここからは引田の街並みと港がよく見えます。城があった頃には引田の人々は城の建物と石垣を見上げていたのでしょう。

「引田城その３」に続きます。
「引田城その１」に戻ります。

78.Marugame Castle Part3

I wish the Main Tower could get out of lonesome state.

Features

High stone walls even in Back of Castle

Going back to the Third Enclosure, you can also get out of the back entrance of the enclosure. You may be surprised to see the high stone walls again even at the back side of the castle. In fact, the present back side was the front of the castle until it was changed in 1660. As a result, the castle has been all covered with the stone walls.

The back entrance of the Third Enclosure

Finally, you can see the unique stone walls in the castle, with some natural stones that were piled up and are called Nozura-zumi, at the foot of the mountain. They are built in an older method than the others in this castle. Therefore, it is said that they might have originally been built by the Ikoma Clan, the first lord of the castle.

The stone walls piled up with natural stones at the foot of the mountain

The contrast of the different types of stone walls

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, all the buildings except for the remaining ones such as the Main Tower and the Main Gate were demolished or burned. The Japanese Army used the castle site until World War II. The outside of the Inner Moat was turned into the city area. On the other hand, Marugame City opened a park on the top of the mountain in 1919. The Main Tower and the buildings of the Main Gate were designated as Important Cultural Properties by 1957. Marugame City always struggle to preserve the ruins such as the stone walls because they have been sometimes damaged from harsh weather. The City is also considering to restore some turrets and walls on the top of the mountain after investigation and study.

My Impression

I was really moved by the great high stone walls when I was standing in front of the castle. Views from the top of the mountain were great, too. However, I honestly felt that the Main Tower was good, but looked somehow lonesome. If some turrets and walls around the tower were restored, the castle could get its original aspect like Akashi Castle. In addition, the city is also known for Sanuki Udon noodles. There are a lot of Udon noodle restaurants around the castle. That will make your trip more comfortable.

The Sanuki-Fuji that can be seen from the Main Enclosure

The Main Tower seen from the Second Enclosure

Akashi Castle, its mud walls between the remaining turrets were recently restored

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car:
It is about 20 minutes away from Sakaide IC or Zentsuji IC on the Takamatsu Expressway. There are some parking lots in and around the park.
if you go there by train, it’s about 10 minutes walk from Marugame Station.
To get to Marugame Station from Tokyo or Osaka: Take the Tokaido or Sanyo Shinkansen super express and transfer at Okayama Station to the Seto-Ohashi Line. If you take a limited express train bound for Matsuyama or Kochi, you will directly arrive at Marugame Station. If you take a train called the Marine Liner bound for Takamatsu, you will need to transfer again at Sakaide Station to the Yosan Line.

The Marine Liner *(licensed by Sui-setz via Wikimedia Commons)*

Links and References

・The Prize Project of Marugame Castle’s Yagura and Hanshu Goten Reconstruction Deployment Plan, Marugame City

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