特徴～Features – ページ 91 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

47.Iga-Ueno Castle Part2

You may tremble when you stand by the top of the high stone walls.

Features

Fron City Area to Official Residence Ruins

Today, Iga-Ueno Castle is part of Ueno Park, which is located in roughly the Main Enclosure. Other enclosures including the Second Enclosure were turned into a suburban area. If you visit the castle from Ueno-shi Station nearby, the area around the station is the former Second Enclosure. For example, you can only see the signpost of the Eastern Main Gate near the station.

The map around the castle

The route straight from the station to the park was the former Eastern Inner Moat of the castle. Then, you can enter the eastern part of the park where Sadatsugu Tsutsui originally built the castle. However, only the signpost for the first Main Tower remains from Tsutsui’s rule. There are mainly the ruins of the official residence surrounded by stone walls from the Edo Period.

The road which was the Eastern Inner Moat

The eastern part of the park or the Main Enclosure

The Main Tower Ruins from Tsutsui’s rule (licensed by ブレイズマン via Wikimedia Commons)

The stone walls surrounding the residence

Rebuilt Main Tower with lots of Exhibitions

You can see the Rebult Main Tower on the remaining stone wall base for the second Main Tower in the western part of the park. The Rebuilt Tower is not original to the castle, and much smaller for the base probably because of budget limitations. However, it was made of wood in 1935 of the Showa Era, and has a traditional Japanese style. It exhibits lots of items about the castle and Takatora Todo, who improved it. You will even see a figure of a Ninja sticking to beams under the ceiling of the building.

The figure of a Ninja sticking to the beams

One of Greatest High Stone Walls in Japan

The highlight of this castle is definitely the remaining high stone walls with the Western Inner Moat at the western side of the park. These stone walls, which are 29.5m high, were said to be the highest single ones in all the castles of Japan. However, when researchers measured them, it was found that the highest stone walls are the ones of the Osaka Castle Main Enclosure’s eastern side, which are 32m high. (The stone walls of Osaka Castle were rebuilt by the Tokugawa Shogunate after those of Iga-Ueno Castle were built and the shogunate beat the Toyotomi Clan). People didn’t know about this because 6m of the lower part is below the surface of the water in the moat. By contrast, the 29.5m of Iga-Ueno Castle’s wall is all above the water’s surface. This may be the reason why people thought it was the highest, but it is still the highest based on appearance.

The high stone walls of the Osaka Castle Main Enclosure’s eastern side (taken by kimtoru from photoAC)

You can get close to the top of the stone walls to look down on them. However, make sure you watch your step very much because there are no guardrails. There are only some signposts that say “Danger” or “Caution” in Japanese, cones, and ropes.

The signpost which says “Danger” in Japanese

*The signpost which says* “Caution” in Japanese

It is dangerous to walk over the corns and ropes

If you stand on the edge of the stone walls carefully and look down, you may tremble, but will see how tall and well-built they are. In fact, the 29.5m is the length from the bottom to the top of the leaning stone walls. Their vertical height is 20.6m, but it’s more than high enough to be impressed by Takatora’s great work.

Getting closer to the edge of the stone walls

Looking down the stone walls from the edge

You may feel weak at the knees looking down the walls

To be continued in “Iga-Ueno Castle Part3”
Back to “Iga-Ueno Castle Part1”

47.伊賀上野城　その２

足がすくむような高石垣

特徴、見どころ

市街地から城代屋敷跡へ

現在、伊賀上野城は上野公園の一部となっていて、大体城の本丸が今の公園に該当します。二の丸を含む他の曲輪は、市街地になっています。もし近くにある上野市駅からこの城を訪れるのでしたら、その駅周辺はかつては二の丸の範囲内でした。例えば駅の近くには、ここに東大手門があったことを示す標柱のみが立っています。

城周辺の地図

駅から公園にまっすぐ伸びる道は、かつては城の東内堀でした。そして、公園の東側に入って行きますが、そこは筒井定次が最初に城を築いた場所でした。しかし現在は、そこに筒井時代の初代天守があったという標柱があるだけです。そこでは主に、江戸時代の石垣に囲まれた城代屋敷跡を見ることができます。

筒井時代の天守跡 (licensed by ブレイズマン via Wikimedia Commons)

復興天守と豊富な展示

公園の西側に行ってみると、二代目天守のための現存天守台石垣の上に復興天守が乗っているのが見えます。復興天守はオリジナルではなく、恐らくは予算不足のために天守台の大きさに比して、随分小さく作られています。しかし、昭和時代の1935年に建てられた伝統的な和式の木造建築です。その内部には、城や、城を改築した藤堂高虎に関する多くの展示物があります。天井下の梁にはアトラクションとして忍者のフィギアも張り付いています。

日本有数の高石垣

この城のハイライトは、間違いなく公園の西側面に西内堀とともにある、現存高石垣でしょう。この石垣は29.5ｍの高さがあり、日本の全ての城の中で一番高いと言われてきました。ところが調査の結果、日本一の高さの石垣は、大坂城本丸東側にあるものと判明したのです。それは32ｍの高さです（大坂城の現在の石垣は、伊賀上野城の石垣が築かれ、そして徳川幕府が豊臣氏を滅ぼした後に、幕府により再建されたものです）。その大坂城の石垣は下部の６ｍの部分が堀水の水面下に隠れていて、調査するまでは本当の高さが知られていなかったのです。対照的に伊賀上野城の29.5ｍの石垣は、ほとんどが堀の水面上に見えています。そのためにずっと日本一と言われていたのではないかと推察します。しかし見た目上はまだ日本一ということでもよいのではないでしょうか。

大坂城本丸東側の高石垣 *(taken by kimtoru from photoAC)*

その高石垣の頂上部分に近づいて行って、下を見下ろすこともできます。しかし、安全柵などはありませんので、十分に気を付けてください。そこには、「危険」「注意」と書いた看板や、ロープが張られたコーンがあるだけです（ロープを超えていくことは止めましょう）。

注意しながら石垣の端に立ち、見下ろしてみると、足がすくむような高さです。しかし、その高石垣が巧みに築かれていることも実際に見ることでわかります。ちなみに、その29.5ｍというのは、傾きがある石垣の底から頂上までの長さです。垂直上の高さは20.6ｍとのことです。それでも、高虎の素晴らしい仕事ぶりを実感するには十分な高さです。

「伊賀上野城その３」に続きます。
「伊賀上野城その１」に戻ります。

157.Hachimanyama Castle Part3

A dictator’s willful behavior is to be rewarded someday.

Features

Hidetsugu’s Residence Ruins at Foot

There are also the ruins of Hidetsugu’s residence at the foot of the mountain. If you are in the Barbican Enclosure, you can use the recently developed trail to go down to the ruins. Of course, you can also visit them from the city area. Hidetsugu’s residence was the elevated point of the warriors’ residential area. Its foundation, surrounded by huge stone walls, remains and looks so great. Some roof tiles covered with golden leaf were found at this site, which proved Hidetsugu lived there.

The map around the castle

The trail going down from the Barbican Enclosure

The stone walls, using huge stones, remained

Later History

The life of Hachimanyama Castle was only 10 years while its former castle town have been prospering as a commercial city for a long time. The castle ruins have become a popular tourist spot since the cable car was first launched in 1962. On the other hand, because of the mountain’s steep terrain, landslides sometime happen which could destroy the ruins such as in 1967. Omi-Hachiman City, which owns the ruins, preserves and researches them, preparing the development of the place as a historical site.

The remaining stone walls on the mountain

My Impression

Was Hidetsugu only a victim of the incident in 1595? I think no. Yoshimitsu Mogami, a great lord at Yamagata Castle, lost his daughter who just reach Kyoto to be Hidetsugu’s wife because of the execution. He was very angry and decided to leave the Toyotomi Clan. Many other nobles and lords, who communicated with Hidetsugu, asked Ieyasu Tokugawa (who would become the final ruler after Hideyoshi’s death) for help in order to avoid punishment. Hideyoshi’s willful behavior resulted in the destruction of his clan including his beloved son, Hideyori, in the summer campaign of the siege of Osaka, attacked by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1615.

Yoshiaki Mogami from Battle of Hasedo Standing Screen (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The portrait of Hideyori Toyotomi, owned by Yogenin Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

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

How to get There

If you want to visit the castle by car, it is about 30 minutes away from Gamo smart IC on the Meshin Expressway. There is a parking lot beside the cable car platform.
By public transportation, you can take the Omi-Tetsudo Bus bound for Chomeiji from JR Omi-Hachiman Station and get off at the Osugicho bus stop. It takes about 5 minutes to get there.
Or it may be a good idea to use a rental bicycle from the station.
To get to Omi-Hachiman Station from Tokyo: Take the Tokaido Shinkansen super express and transfer to the Biwako Line at Maibara Station or Kyoto Station.

The parking lot beside the cable car platform

That’s all. Thank you.
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