特徴～Features – ページ 51 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

198.Chiran Castle Part2

You can experience a castle on the Shirasu Plateau.

Features

Walking down to Maintain Castle

Today, the ruins of Chiran Castle are accessible either from the Chiran Samurai Residences side at the foot the plateau or from the former Chiran Airport (where Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots is located) side on the plateau. If you choose the latter route, you may get an interesting experience.

The map around the castle, the blue broken line is the route from Chiran Samurai Residences to the castle, and the red broken line is the route from the former Chiran Airport to the castle

When you want to go to a mountain (or hill) castle, you will usually go up or at least go on flat ground close to the castle. However, in the case of the route from the plateau to Chiran Castle, you will go down towards the castle and eventually reach the bottom of the deep dry moats. This is because of the special location and the construction method of this castle on the edge of the plateau. You will also look up at the tall enclosures looking like mountains from the ruins’ entrance which is actually the moat’s bottom.

Arriving at the past bottom of the moat, the plateau in on the right

The enclosures on the plateau look very tall

Walking on Bottom of Deep Dry Moat

The dry moat is still about 20m deep which was filled in naturally by the collapsing volcanic ash since the period of the castle being active. Visitors first need to walk on the bottom of the moat which was also used as a path in the past. If you walk on the bottom from the entrance, two of the four primary enclosures, the Main and Kuranjo Enclosures are on the right, and the other two enclosures, Imanjo and Yunbajo Enclosures are on the left, as the signposts at the site show.

The map around the castle including the four primary enclosures

The bottom of the dry moat (licensed by PIXTA)

the signpost for Imanjo and Yunbajo Enclosures at the site (licensed by PIXTA)

Protected Route to Enclosure

For example, if you want to go to the Imanjo Enclosure, you need to turn left and go up the path to it. However, the path doesn’t go directly to its entrance. Attackers first need to reach the wall of the enclosure and go along the side to reach it. That means the defenders of the castle would attack enemies from above before they reach the entrance. The entrance also had the defensive Masugata system. The inside of the enclosure is a flat square which has no buildings now, but you can see the earthen square shape of Masugata and earthen walls around.

The layout drawing of Chiran Castle, quoted by Minami-Kyushu City, the route to Imanjo Enclosure (the red arrow) and the counterattack from the enclosure (the blue arrow)

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

198.知覧城　その２

シラス台地の城を体感

特徴、見どころ

山城に行くのに下っていく

現在知覧城跡は、台地の麓にある知覧武家屋敷群の側からも、台地上の旧知覧飛行場（現在は知覧特攻平和会館がある所）の側からも行くことができます。もし後者の方を選択した場合には、面白い体験ができるかと思います。

城周辺の地図、青破線は武家屋敷から城へのルート、赤破線は旧知覧飛行場から城へのルート

一般的に山城（丘城）に行く場合には、通常は登って行くか、少なくとも城に近づくまでは平らなところを進んでいきます。ところが、台地から知覧城までにいくルートにおいては、城に向かっていくにつれ道が下っていき、いつの間にか深い空堀の底に到達するのです。これは、この城が台地の端に築かれたという特殊な立地と、築城法によるものです。また、城跡の入口で堀底にあたるところからは、正に山のようにそびえる曲輪群を見上げることになります。

深い空堀の底を歩く

堀の深さは今でも約２０ｍありますが、城が現役だった時代からは崩れた火山灰により自然に埋められてきてしまっています。ビジターはまず、堀底を歩いていく必要がありますが、過去においても通路として使われていました。入口から堀底を進んでいくと、４つの主要曲輪のうちの２つ、本丸と蔵ノ城（くらんじょう）が右側に、残りの２つ、今城（いまんじょう）と弓場城（ゆんばじょう）が左側に見えてきます。現地にもそのように書いてある案内板があります。

城周辺の地図、４つの主要曲輪

防御が施された曲輪への通路

例えば、今城の方に行く場合には、左の方に曲がり、その曲輪に向かう通路を辿っていきます。しかしその通路は曲輪の入口に単純にダイレクトには通じていません。この曲輪を攻撃すると想定した場合、通路は曲輪の壁部分にぶつかり、壁に沿って回り込んで入口に到達します。つまり、城の守備兵は攻撃側が入口に着く前に頭上から反撃できるわけです。入口にはまた、防御力が強い桝形構造になっていました。曲輪の中は現在では建物がなく、広場になっていますが、土造りの桝形の形や、曲輪を囲む土塁を見学することができます。

南九州市ホームページの知覧城縄張り図に、今城への攻撃想定ルート（赤矢印）と反撃想定方向（青矢印）を追記

「知覧城その３」に続きます。
「知覧城その１」に戻ります。

97.Kagoshima Castle Part3

The last place where Samurais and Castles existed

Features

Melancholy Saigo Caves

Finally, please consider visiting the Saigo Caves which was the last place of Takamori Saigo and the Seinan War. This place is on the way to car road between the city area and the top of the mountain. Therefore, you can choose the timing of your visit either when you go to or return from the top. This is also another popular historical spot but there are just several caves in a line on the cliff. You may feel sad seeing them and imagining Saigo or his soldiers having to choose them as the last place, not a castle-like place.

The relief map around the castle

Later History

In the Seinan War, the remaining castle buildings of the Second Enclosure were also burned down. After that, the castle ruins at the foot of the mountain were used as schools like Kagoshima University. After the university moved to another location, the Reimeikan museum opened in the Main Enclosure in 1983. As for a historical site, the mountain part was first designated as a National Historic Site in 1931. In addition, the foot part is being added to the site based on the achievement of the recent excavation. Kagoshima Prefecture is also considering to restore other structures at Main Enclosure such as turrets and moats in the future.

The Reimeikan museum seen from the trail to Shiroyama Mountain

The illuminated Main Enclosure of Kagoshima Castle

My Impression

When I saw the Saigo Caves, I felt like Saigo had been in a guerrilla warfare. If he had fought in a final battle of the Sengoku Period, he would have stayed in a castle building such as the Main Tower, like the Toyotomi Clan used to do at Osaka Castle in the summer campaign of the siege of Osaka in 1615, or on the top of a mountain, like Masashige Kusunoki used to do at Chihaya Castle in the siege of Chihaya in 1333. However, the situation and technology had completely changed from those periods. I think Seinan War proved the end of the warriors as well as the end of Japanese castles.

The summer campaign of the siege of Osaka folding screens, owned by Osaka Castle Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The illustration of Siege of Chihaya, attributed to Yoshikazu Utagawa, in the Edo Period, owned by Minatogawa Shrine (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

How to get There

If you want to visit the castle ruins by car, it is about a 20 minute drive away from Kagoshima-kita IC on the Kyushu Expressway. There are several parking lots around the castle ruins. You can also use the parking lot of Reimeikan if you enter the museum.
If you want to use public transportation, you can take the Kagoshima City-view Bus from Kagoshima-chuo Station and get off at the Satsuma-gishihimae bus stop or take the city tram bound for Kagoshima-ekimae from the station and get off at the Shiyakusho-mae stop.
From Fukuoka to Kagoshima-chuo Station: Take the Kyushu Shinkansen super express.
From Tokyo to Kagoshima-chuo Station: Take the express bus from Kagoshima Airport after using a plane.

The Shiyakusho-mae stop of the city tram

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