特徴～Features – ページ 48 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

118.Oshi Castle Part2

Let’s walk with the location map laying over the previous and current city areas.

Features

Castle Ruins mostly being turned into City Area

Today, there are only few remaining items of the original Oshi Castle because most of its lands and moats were turned into a city area. Part of the earthen walls and the Inner Moat surrounding the Main Enclosure remains or was restored with the rebuilt Three-level Turret looking like a Main Tower. Part of the Outer Moat, little far from the Main Enclosure in the south, remains as the Water Castle Garden. The other moats were filled and the other enclosures were flattened for building modern buildings and transportation. However, if you use the location map laying over the previous and current city areas, which Gyoda City provided, you can walk by following the original routes to the center of the castle. Some stone monuments of the original buildings will guide you see where your own location is in the past.

Leaflet|国土地理院

The aerial map around the castle

The earthen walls and water moat of the Main Enclosure

The location map laying over the previous and current city areas, The water moats of the castle is light blue colored, from the signboard at the site

The part of the Main Gate in the miniature model of the castle, exhibited by the Gyoda City Local Museum

Starting from Main Gate Ruins

For example, if you want to go to the Main Enclosure from the Main Gate Ruins on the original route, you would need to pass five enclosures like an island through very narrow paths over the moats. You can now follow the present routes similar to the original ones, which are now among modern residential areas.

Leaflet, © OpenStreetMap contributors

The map around the castle, the broken red line shows the route from the Main Gate to the Main Enclosure, which is nearly original

For instance, the promenade of Oshi Castle Bus Terminal is the trace of one of the narrow paths, which is an unbelievable change.

The promenade of the bus terminal, which was the narrow path over the moat

The monument of Numahashi-mon Gate Ruins is over there

The part of Numahashi-mon Gate in the miniature model

You can also find the stone monument of the original Three-level Turret on the way, so you will understand the original one was in the different place from the rebuilt one in the Main Enclosure.

The monument of the ruins of the original three-level turret

The original three-level turret is in the blue circle, the current three-level turret is in the red circle, in the miniature model

Past and Present of Main and Second Enclosures

In fact, the Main Enclosure had been used as the Main Hall for Ieyasu Tokugawa, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, during his hunt tour at the marshland around the castle. This enclosure eventually became an empty space surrounded by its earthen walls and the Inner Moat even during the Edo Period. The Main Enclosure is now being used as the Gyoda City Local Museum including the rebuilt turret, which exhibits the history of the castle and the city, and has become the landmark of the city.

The part of the Main Enclosure in the miniature model

The rebuilt three-level turret in the Main Enclosure

The Main Hall for the lord of the Oshi Domain was built in the Second Enclosure across from the Main Enclosure, which is being used as Gyoda Secondary School.

*The part of the Second Enclosure in the miniature model*

The secondary school in the Second Enclosure

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

118.忍城　その２

「忍城今昔地図」を使って本丸まで歩いてみましょう。

特徴、見どころ

ほとんどが市街地となっている城跡

現在、オリジナルの忍城に関するものはあまりありません。ほとんどの城の用地や堀は、市街地になっているからです。本丸を囲む土塁と堀の一部が残るか復元されていて、そこには天守のように見える三階櫓が再建されています。また、外堀の一部が本丸から少し離れた南の方に水城公園として残っています。他の堀は埋められ、他の曲輪は崩されて、近代的建物や交通の便をよくするための道路が建設されました。しかし、行田市が発行している「忍城今昔地図」を使えば、城の中心部分へ向かうオリジナルの道を辿っていくことができます。その途上には城の建物があったことを示す石碑がいくつもあって、過去であったらどこにいるのかわかるようになっています。

Leaflet|国土地理院

城周辺の航空写真

大手門跡からスタート

例えば、大手門跡から本丸へオリジナルの道を通って行きたいとすると、城があった時代には堀を越えるとても細い通路を通って、島のような曲輪を５つも通り過ぎなければなりませんでした。そのオリジナルに近い現代の道を歩くことができますが、今では住宅地の中を通っていきます。

Leaflet, © OpenStreetMap contributors

城周辺の地図、赤破線が大手門から本丸までのオリジナルに近いルート

一例を挙げると、忍城バスターミナルの歩道はその細い通路の痕跡の一つなのですが、周りの様子は信じられない程変わっています。

また、道の途中にはオリジナルの三重櫓の石碑があるのですが、それによって三重櫓は元は、本丸に再建されたものとは別の場所にあったのだということがわかります。

本丸と二の丸の過去と現在

実は本丸には、徳川幕府の創始者である徳川家康が、城の周りの沼沢地で狩りをした際に泊った御殿がありました。その後本丸は、江戸時代の間であっても土塁と内堀に囲まれているだけの空き地になっていました（中には木が茂っていたそうです）。本丸は今は、その再建された櫓を含む行田郷土博物館となっていて、城と市の歴史を展示しているのと、市のランドマークにもなっています。

忍藩の藩主の御殿は本丸からひとつ隔たった二の丸にありました。そこは今では行田中学校になっています。

「忍城その３」に続きます。
「忍城その１」に戻ります。

195.Nobeoka Castle Part3

A pleasure of visiting castle and castle ruins is …

Features

Main Enclosure, Final Strongpoint of Castle

You can next walk on the stone steps beside the stone walls to the Main Enclosure. The route turns left, enters a square space surrounded by other stone walls and turn left again to enter. This square space is called Masugata for protecting the entrance of the enclosure, where the gate buildings were also built on the walls. The inside of the Main Enclosure is an empty square now like the Second Enclosure, so it has a good view point of the city area. It must also have been the final strongpoint of the castle, which could use the 1,000 Murder Stone Walls to repel enemies.

Walking on the stone steps to the Main Enclosure

The map around the castle

The top of the hill next to the Main Enclosure is the Main Tower Enclosure or Base which actually didn’t have the Main Tower. The enclosure is small which could rather have been used as a lookout. There is a bell tower which the keeper still rings the bell 6 times a day at designated times. It has been done for over 140 years since 1878 after the former Drum Turret was burned down during the Seinan War in 1877. It is simple thing, but it is very rare to continue to do so without any holidays. The Three-level Turret was built below the enclosure probably as the substitute of the Main Tower. However, it unfortunately burned down in 1682 and only its stone wall base remains now.

Bell Tower still announces Time

The bell tower in the Main Enclosure, quoted from the Nobeoka City website

The ruins of the Three-level Turret *(licensed by PIXTA)*

If you have time, I recommend visiting the western side of the Second Enclosure which was also surrounded by great stone walls. These stone walls were built for preventing enemies from attacking the castle and the Inner Moat was built outside of it as well. However, the outside area was turned into modern residences just across a narrow path. Therefore, you can see the great stone walls close by and an interesting contrast with many houses.

Stone Walls close to Residential Areas

Leaflet|国土地理院

The aerial photo around the castle, the stone walls of the Second Enclosure are close to residence areas

My Impression

I didn’t know about Mototane Takahashi who built the castle and the story of the 1,000 Murder Stone Walls at all before I visited the castle ruins. I think one of the pleasures of visiting castle ruins is that it will make you interested in what you really see and think much more than just reading about them or watching media.

How to get There

If you want to visit the castle ruins by car, it is about a 10 minute drive away from Nobeoka IC on the Higashi-Kyushu Expressway. There are several parking lots for visitors around the ruins.
If you want to use public transportation, it takes about 20 minutes on foot to get there form JR Nobeoka Station. You can also take the Miyazaki-kotsu bus bound for Kyushu-Hokenfukushi-Daigaku from the station and get off at the Shiyakusho-mae bus stop or take the Machinaka-junkan bus on the Uchimawari Line from the station and get off at the Kyuden-mae, Shiyakusho-nishi bus stop.
For visitors from Tokyo or Osaka: Get the JR Line at Miyazaki Airport after using a plane.

That’s all. Thank you.
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