特徴～Features – ページ 132 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

76.Tokushima Castle Part2

The contrasting red and green stone walls with the quiet background of the mountain

Features

Rare and Beautiful Stone Walls

Now, the ruins of Tokushima Castle is open to the public as Tokushima Central Park which includes both the mountain and plain parts. Visitors typically go to the plain area first which is still surrounded by the stone walls and the Inner Moat. The stone walls of this castle are very rare and beautiful because they were piled up using stones with a dark-green striped pattern called chlorite‐schist. These stones are also known as Green stones of Awa. Moreover, some parts of stone walls included stones called piedmontite schist also known as Red Stones. The contrast of green and red in the stone walls looks more beautiful.

Leaflet|国土地理院

The aerial photo around the castle

The monument of the ruins of Tokushima Castle

The stone walls built using chlorite‐schist

The contrast of green and red in the stone walls

August Entrance of Castle

There are no original buildings of the castle, but only the front gate called Washi-no-mon which was restored in 1989. You can enter the center of the park behind the gate by crossing the Gejo Bridge and passing the ruins of Kuro-mon Gate. The remaining stone walls of the gate and the neighboring Taiko-yagura Turret looks great as they were recognized as the main gate. Inside the stone walls, there are several attractions worth seeing, such as the flower square, Tokushima Castle Museum, and the remaining Japanese Garden of the Main Hall which was designated as a National Scenic Beauty. You can also enjoy walking on the inside route which is surrounded by the stone walls.

You can enter the ruins of Koro-mon Gate after crossing the Gejo Bridge

Looking down the Gejo Bridge from the stone walls of Koro-mon Gate

Mountain with Silent atmosphere

You can visit the mountain part as well. The mountain is now called Shiro-yama or The Castle Mountain. The route to the top of the mountain has been developed with the modern stone stairways so that visitors can climb easily. The enclosures on the mountain became empty where the signposts show the names of the enclosures and what buildings there were such as the Main Tower on the Eastern Second Enclosure. From the Main Enclosure on the top, you will see a view of Tokushima City. The ruins of Yumi-yagura Turret in the enclosure was where the first Main Tower was built. The stone walls on the mountain look much older than on the plain area. This is probably because the mountain part was built earlier than the plain part. It seems that fewer people visit the mountain now, but you can still enjoy a quiet atmosphere there.

The stone walls at the entrance of the Western Second Enclosure

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

76.徳島城　その２

物静かな山を背後に、緑と赤の石垣のコントラストが楽しめます。

特徴、見どころ

珍しく、美しい石垣

現在、徳島城跡は徳島中央公園として一般に公開されており、山上と平地両方の部分が含まれています。観光客は、一般的には最初は石垣と内堀に囲まれた平地部分を訪れます。徳島城の石垣は、大変珍しく且つ美しいものです。緑泥片岩（りょくでいへんがん）と呼ばれる深緑色の縞模様がある石を使って積み上げられているからです。これらの石は「阿波の青石」としても知られています。その上に石垣の一部は、これも「赤石」として知られる紅簾片岩（こうれんへんがん）が使われています。石垣に映えるこの緑と赤のコントラストは、ひと際美しく見えます。

Leaflet|国土地理院

城周辺の航空写真

威厳ある城の入口

現存している城の建物はありませんが、城の正門である鷲の門が、1989年に復元されました。その門を後にしてから、下乗橋を渡って、黒門跡を通って、公園の中心部に入っていきます。黒門跡とその傍にある太鼓櫓跡の石垣は特に立派です。ここは大手門とされていたからです。石垣から内側の方には、花壇（お花見広場、バラ園など）、徳島城博物館、国の特別名勝に指定されている現存する御殿庭園など見どころがいくつもあります。石垣に囲まれた公園内の遊歩道を歩くだけでも楽しめます。

静かな雰囲気の山の上

山上部分に行ってみることもできます。この山は、現在は城山と呼ばれています。山頂への通路は現代的な石段が作られ、よく整備されているので、登っていくのはそれ程大変ではありません。山上の曲輪は空き地になっていますが、説明板を見ると、その曲輪の名前と、そこにどんな建物が建っていたのかがわかります。例えば、東二の丸には天守が築かれていました。頂上の本丸からは、徳島市街を眺めることができます。この曲輪にある弓櫓跡には、初代天守が建てられていました。山上部分の石垣は、平地部分のそれより、ずっと古いものに見えます。それは恐らく山上部分が平地部分より早く建設されたからでしょう。今日、山上部分を訪れる人は少ないように見えますが、静かな雰囲気を味わいたいのであれば、それもよいかもしれません。

「徳島城その３」に続きます。
「徳島城その１」に戻ります。

175.Shozui Castle Part2

The ruins have two parts of “Hall” and “Castle”.

Features

“Hall Ruins” and “Castle Ruins”

Now, the ruins of Shozui Castle have two parts. One of them is the larger part which was used as the hall for the Hosokawa Clan and the Miyoshi Clan. Therefore, people often call it “Shozui Hall ruins”. This area is basically an open space where a lot of relics are buried under the ground. The excavation is still ongoing with the site office. If some relics are found, they are investigated, studied, and finally buried again or taken to preserve them. After that, some exhibitions are built in the present way at the spot where the relics were found.

Leaflet|国土地理院

The aerial photo around the castle

Excavation and Exhibition are on going in Hall Ruins

For example, the replica of the water moats with some bridges were built at the same place and in a similar size to the original ones. Visitors can now see how the hall area was divided by these moats in the past. In addition, the rest house which looks like a hall was built where the relics of the original hall were found. Near the rest house, some trees and rocks were restored where the original Japanese rock garden was built. There are also many signboards which explain what were there and what happened to the castle.

An example of the signboards at the site

Castle Ruins remain as Temple

The other part is the one which was added as the final part for a battle in the final stage of the castle. It looks more likely to be castle ruins, so people also often call itself “Shozui Castle ruins”. However, this part is much smaller than the hall part with about 100 m square (vs 200 to 300 m square for the hall). This is probably because the castle part was built and used in a short time. There is Kensho-ji Temple on the ruins, which was established in the Edo Period, collecting the graves of the Miyoshi Clan. The water moats and some earthen walls surrounding the ruins still remain. The original earthen walls were 14m high from the bottom of the moat (2.5m above the water surface) according to the excavation.

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