その後～Later History – ページ 31 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

79.Imabari Castle Part3

This castle is beautiful and firmly built.

Features

Walking outside Inner Moat after getting out of Back Gate

The castle park also has the back gate called Yamazato-mon which was restored in 1990. To get out of the castle area, you have to go down a few stone steps, pass another Korai-mon style gate, and go across a narrow earthen bridge. The earthen bridge was originally wooden made which would have been fallen if a battle happened. The area around the gate is sunken, on the other hand, the area over the bridge extends upward.

Leaflet|国土地理院

The aerial photo around the castle

Seeing Yamazato-Yagura Turret connecting the gate from outside of the Inner Moat

The Korai-mon style gate and the earthen bridge

After you go out of the park, you can try walking around the Inner Moat. The moat is about 50 to 70m wide and the stone walls inside are 9 to 13m tall. They look like a floating fortress!

Seeing the castle from the Second Enclosure side

Imabari Port, Source of Inner Moat

After looking around, you can check out how the sea water gets inside the Inner Moat of the castle. You can also see the water reservoir near the main entrance of the park. If you go along the waterway towards the source, you will reach the Imabari Port which was the castle port. It was located at the edge of the Middle Moat in the past. Because of that source, the surface level of the Inner Moat is changing depending on the tide.

The water reservoir at the Inner Moat side

The water reservoir at Imabari Port side

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Imabari Castle was abandoned and all the castle buildings were eventually demolished or burned. The Main Enclosure was turned into the Fukiage Shrine in 1872 before the Fukiage Park was established including the Second Enclosure in 1914. That’s why the main portion of the castle inside the Inner Moat still remains, while the outside of the moat was all turned into the city area. Since the castle ruins were designated as a Prefectural Historic Site of Ehime in 1953, Imabari City has been developing and restoring them as a historical park as mentioned above.

The main portion of the castle as the park

Bugu-Yagura Turret, the other restored turret

My Impression

After walking around the Inner Moat to see the great view of the moat and the high stone walls, I noticed Imabari Castle was quite practical. Why did Takatora Todo make the Inner Moat around 50m wide and the stone walls around 10m high? I speculate that the defenders on the stone walls were able to hit the attackers outside the Inner Moat effectively by guns and arrows. On the other hand, the guns and arrows from the attackers could not be useful. I think Takatora built this castle that way. Imabari Castle was beautiful as well as so strong.

The height of the stone walls and the width of the Inner Moat may have been the best to protect the castle

A view of the castle from the Imitation Main Tower

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car, it is about 15 minutes from Imabari-Kita IC on the Nishi-Seto Expressway or about 20 minutes from Imabari-Yunoura IC on the Imabari-Komatsu Expressway. There is a parking lot beside the main entrance of the park.
By public transportation, you can take the Setouchi Bus bound for Imabari-Eigyosho from Imabari Station and get off at the Imabari-jo-mae bus stop or it takes about 30 minutes on foot from the station to get there.
From Tokyo or Osaka to Imabari Station: I recommend traveling by plane and when you get there you can take the bus or train to get to Imabari station.

The parking lot beside the main entrance of the park

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Imabari Castle Part1”
Back to “Imabari Castle Part2”

79.今治城　その３

この城は美しく且つ強固に作られています。

特徴、見どころ

裏門から出て内堀外を散策

城がある公園には山里門と呼ばれる裏門もあり、現在のものは1990年に復元されました。城から出るためには、そこから石段を下り、高麗門をくぐって狭い土橋を渡っていきます。この橋はもともとは木橋で、戦いが起こったときには落とせるようになっていました。この門の周辺は引っ込んでいて、その一方で橋の向こう側は突出した形になっています。

Leaflet|国土地理院

城周辺の航空写真

公園を出てからは、内堀の外側を歩いて回ってみましょう。堀の幅は５０～７０ｍあり、内側の石垣は９～１３ｍの高さがあります。まるで水に浮かぶ城のように見えます。

内堀の水源、今治港

城を見回った後は、城の内堀にどのように海水が引かれているのか見てみましょう。公園の正面入口の近くに、取水口が見えます。そこから水路に沿って水源の方に歩いて行きます。そして、城内の港（船入）であった今治港に至ります。かつての城の中堀の端に該当します。海水を水源としていることから、内堀の水面の高さは、潮の満ち引きによって変動します。

その後

明治維新後、今治城は廃城となり城の全ての建物はやがて撤去されるか、火事で燃えてしまいました。本丸には1872年に吹揚神社が設立され、1914年には二の丸部分も含めて吹揚公園が開園しました。そのために内堀の中の城の主要部分が残っているのです。一方で、内堀の外側は全て市街地となりました。1953年に城跡が愛媛県の史跡に指定されて以来、今治市は、これまで述べた通り城跡の整備と復元を進めています。

私の感想

内堀周辺を歩き、堀と高石垣の素晴らしい景色を眺めてみて、今治城は極めて実用的にできていることに気付きました。なぜ藤堂高虎は内堀を約５０ｍの広さに、石垣を約１０ｍの高さに作ったのでしょうか。私は、石垣の上の守備兵が内堀の外側にいる攻撃兵に対し、銃と矢両方で効率的に反撃できるようになっていると思いました。一方で、攻撃側の銃や矢は役に立たないような距離と高さです。高虎はこのように城を設計したのではないでしょうか。今治城は美しいだけではなく、相当に強力だったのです。

ここに行くには

車で行く場合：西瀬戸自動車道の今治北ICから約１５分かかります。または、今治小松自動車道の今治湯ノ浦ICから約２０分のところです。公園の正面口の横に駐車場があります。
公共交通機関を使う場合は、今治駅から今治営業所行きの瀬戸内バスに乗り、今治城前バス停で降りてください。駅から歩いた場合には約３０分かかります。
東京または大阪から今治駅まで：飛行機を使い、そこからバスか電車に乗って現地に行かれた方がよいでしょう。

リンク、参考情報

・今治城、今治市文化振興課
・「今治城の謎／土井中照著」メイドインしまなみ事務局
・「第１２回高虎サミット　今治城・今治市村上海賊ミュージアム特別展総合図録」高虎サミットin今治実行委員会
・「よみがえる日本の城１０」学研
・「築城の名手　藤堂高虎／福井健二著」戒光祥出版
・「日本の城改訂版第６、５５、８６号」デアゴスティーニジャパン

これで終わります。ありがとうございました。
「今治城その１」に戻ります。
「今治城その２」に戻ります。

72.Yoshida-Koriyama Castle Part2

You can realize the Mori Clan’s long history by walking along the tour route.

Later History

After Yoshida-Koriyama Castle was abandoned, the Asano Clan managed to own its area during the Edo Period. This was because the Mori Clan’s territory had been reduced due to the their lost in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. The Asano Clan destroyed the stone walls of the castle after the Shimabara Rebellion in 1637. The Tokugawa Shogunate ordered the lords in western Japan to do it so that even abandoned castles would not be reused by other rebels.

The destroyed stone walls of the Third Enclosure

By contrast, the grave of Motonari Mori, which was built at part of the castle by his grandchild, Terumoto Mori, has been maintained. The Asano Clan allowed the lord and warriors of the Choshu Domain by the Mori Clan to pay a visit to the grave. As a result, warriors of other domains also visited it as the holy spot for a great warlord. After the Meiji Restoration, the grave was developed further, gathering the graves of other ancestors of the Mori Clan probably because the Choshu Domain was one of the victorious clans of the restoration. The castle ruins have been designated as a National Historic Site since 1940.

The grave of Motonari Mori in the castle

Features

Going to Entrance of Castle Ruins

Today, if you drive to the area around the ruins of Yoshida-Koriyama Castle, you will find some names of the local area like Katsura and Fukuhara. They are the origins of the Mori Clan’s senior vassals until the end of the Edo Period. History fans might be excited to just see them.

The map around Yoshida Town, Akitakada City

There is the tour route which is recommended by officials. Its starting point is the shrine gateway of Motonari’s grave, beside the parking lot at the foot of the mountain. If you walk along the approach towards the grave for a while, you will reach it. This may be the most developed place in the castle ruins as the holy spot. There is also Toshunji Temple Ruins which was established by Terumoto there and eventually moved to Hiroshima, Hagi and Yamaguchi with the lords of the Mori Clan.

The map around the castle

Trail on Ridge of Mountain

You can climb the trail to the top of the mountain from there, on one of its six ridges. It is basically a long trek which takes about 30 minutes to reach the top. You may find some ditches dividing the enclosures or wild animals like deer. Be careful not to provoke them.

Enclosures on Top of Mountain

You will eventually arrive at the ruins of Okurayashiki or the Storehouses below the top. The top consists of three tiered enclosures of the Main, Second and Third. The six ridges spread from the top which also have so many enclosures.

The topographical map of the mountain top, from the signboard at the site, adding the red letters

You will find countless stones collapsed which lie around the Storehouses Ruins. It is thought that this was caused by the Asano Clan following the shogunate’s instruction after the Shimabara Rebellion. These stones have been left there for nearly 400 years. However, if you walk around the wall of the Third Enclosure, you will notice some stone walls remaining as they were.

The *collapsed* stones lying around the Storehouses Ruins

Some remaining stone walls of the Third Enclosure

You can also walk around some enclosures on the six ridges such as Tsurii or the Deep Well, Umaya or the Stable, and Kamaya or the Kitchen. There will be a sign warning visitors not to enter that unstable area. Please make you don’t enter that area since it’s very unstable and could cause the land to collapse. Watch your steps as they are reclaiming to nature.

Sone ridges are not allowed to enter as of October 2022

To be continued in “Yoshida-Koriyama Castle Part3”
Back to “Yoshida-Koriyama Castle Part1”