特徴～Features – ページ 2 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

205.Matsuoyama Castle Part2

Features

Introduction

This article will describe how we visit the ruins of the encampments for the battle of Sekigahara (mainly of the Western Allies). We will finally go to the ruins of Matsuoyama Castle where Hideaki Kobayakawa was positioned. In addition, as for the encampments of the Western Allies, we will visit them not only based on the defacto theory but also based on the new theories. Ogaki Castle may be a good starting point because the battle happened just after Mitsunari Ishida left the castle. You can see some exhibitions of him and the Sekigahara Battle in its restored main tower which has become a historical museum. Sekigahara Station is just few minutes from Ogaki Station.

Tour to Encampments of Western Allies based on Defacto Theory

It will be easy for visitors to visit the encampments based on the defacto theory because there are lots of information boards (also written in English). “Sekigahara Historical Landmark Tour” map, provided by the Sekigahara tourist association secretariat, will also help you. The following link is available in English.
(https://www.sekigahara1600.com/download/file/20200109155151.pdf)
So, let us first go to the encampment of Mitsunari Ishida on Sasaoyama Mountain, based on the defacto theory.

It may be better to go towards the Battle Site Memorial before reaching the mountain because you can find it easily. You can see the mountain where the flag of Mitsunari’s encampment stands.

The Battle Site Memorial, The flag on the right is Ieyasu’s family crest, while the flag on the left is Mitsunari’s family crest

Sasaoyama Mountain seen from the Battle Site Memorial, Notice the tiny white flags on the mountain

If you reach the foot of the mountain, you will eventually see that it was the encampment of Shima Sakon who was Mitsunari’s senior vassal. In fact, there is no evidence which proves that the mountain was certainly their encampments. The current historical sites were designated by the officials during the Meiji Era, probably based on the local traditions of the Edo Period. However, the top of the mountain looks suitable for the stronghold. You can see a panoramic view from the top, including Nangusan Mountain on the left, where Hiroie Kikkawa was positioned, and Matsuoyama Mountain on the right, where Hideaki was positioned. If Mitsunari would have been on the top, he would have been able to see any suspicious actions by the lord.

The stone monument of Mitsnari’s encampment

The view from the mountain, The mountain on left is Nangusan and the mountain on the right is Matsouyama

Our next target will be the grave site of Yoshitsugu Otani, after passing the encampments of other lords of the Western Allies, such as Yoshihiro Shimazu, Yukinaga Konishi, and Hideie Ukita. You need to walk for few kilometers to reach the target. However, some soldiers who joined the battle testified that the lords were positioned together in the range of only few hundreds of meters. This is another mystery that his often debated by historians and experts.

You will eventually enter the Yamanaka area (which directly means “mountain area”), not like the Sekigahara field. There are actually some ruins of encampments, made by soil, which Yoshitsugu might have built. His grave is in the area, which is said that his retainer originally buried his head there. Takatora Todo, who had been his enemy, heard about it and developed the grave as we can see now. There are always offerings (such as flowers) in front of the grave, from his fans. This is probably because of his episodes in the battle. Yoshitsugu joined the Western Allies because of his friendship with Mitsunari but was defeated by the betrayal of Hideaki (according to the defacto theory).

Tour to the Encampments of the Western Allies based on New Theories

Let us next go to the encampment of Yoshitsugu Otani from his grave nearby.
His encampment has been designated based on the defacto theory while a new theory says it was, in fact, that of the Shimazu troops. By the way, there is the view spot of Matsuoyama Mountain near the encampment as well. You can see the flag of Hideaki’s encampment from that spot. I think the view is one of the reasons why Yoshitsugu’s encampment was designated nearby in the defacto theory. The theory says Yoshitsugu was positioned in order to better monitor the betrayal of Hideaki. On the other hand, in the new theory, Yoshitsugu was actually in the Sekigahara field, so another lord was expected to use the encampment instead of him.

The flag of the encampment of Hideaki Kobayakawa on Matsuoyama Mountain, seen from the view spot

We will next go to the encampment of Mitsunari Ishida, based on the new theory, after climbing down the mountain area. If you walk on the Old Nakasendo Road, you will eventually see a hill up ahead, which is the encampment, called “Jigai-ga-oka”. The hill is also a historical site of Jinshin War during the Ancient Time, called “Jigai-mine-no-sanbon-sugi” which means “The three cedars on Suicide Hill”. A tradition says as followed:
Prince Otomo was defeated by Prince Oama during the war and killed himself in another place. People around the hill, who loved him, got his head and buried in the hill. The three cedars are said to be the mark, which you can visit and see.

The three cedars on Suicide Hill, The two remaining cedar trees are not accessible however, because they have a chain fence around them

There is one more spot regarding both the Sekigahara Battle and the Jinshin War, after going on the road over Fujikogawa River. You can find Fuwanoseki Museum, which are the ruins of Fuwanoseki (which means Fuwa Gateway). The new theory says this spot was the encampment of Yoshitsugu Otani. In the Jinshin War, the gateway was the border between the forces of Otomo (the west) and Oama (the east). In the Sekigahara Battle, Sekigahara (which directly means “gateway field”) was that of the Western and Eastern Allies.

Fujikogawa River in the front and Fuwanoseki Museum on the hill in the back

The Fuwanoseki Museum as the ruins of Fuwa Gateway, which might have also been the encampment of Yoshitsugu Otani, The white flag says “Fuwa Gate” while the red flag says “Jinshin War”

We will get closer to Matsuoyama Mountain. There are lots of flags of the Kobayakawa Clan at its entrance. It has a nice atmosphere.

The entrance to Matsuoyama Mountain as the encampment of Hideaki Kobayakawa, The yellow flags show the family crest of Kobayakawa. The 4 flags on the left show two sickles crossing each other.

Going to Matsuoyama Mountain

Matsuoyama Mountain is 293m above sea level and about 200m above the foot of the mountain. If you drive your car, you can park it at the foot. The trail to the top is part of Tokai Natural Trail, which has been well developed. The number of Hideaki’s troops were said to be about 8,000 to 15,000. They were probably stationed from the foot all the way to the top. If the Toi-deppo story is true, the soldiers at the foot would have been able to hear it.

The starting point of the trail, Notice the basket of sticks which is free for visitors to use. Make sure you return it to the original basket after using it

Matsuoyama Castle is often called the encampment of Hideaki Kobayakawa, in fact, it was a full-scale castle. It had the main enclosure on the top and several other enclosures on its ridges. They were surrounded by earthen walls one by one and were divided by dry moats from each other. It also had ditches on the ridges and vertical moats on the slopes in order to prevent enemies from invading it. The castle was mostly fortified by the Western Allies just before the Sekigahara Battle. It was done using natural terrain and construction with soil.

The diorama of Matsuoyama Castle, exhibited by Sekigahara Town History
& Folklore Museum

The trail looks like a well-developed forest road before turning into a fork. There is a sign which says 850m to the top. As you get close to the top, the trail goes beside a ridge which was the eastern enclosure of the castle. If you were an enemy back then, you would have been attacked by the defenders above.

Turn right, at the flag, Notice the drain on the road. When it rains, the water flows down the mountain, and goes to the drains

The trail goes beside the eastern enclosure

You will eventually see several flags standing on the main enclosure of the top above. One of them is that of Hideaki Kobayakawa’s encampment, which you saw from the view spot of Matsuoyama Mountain. The view from the top is so nice that you will be encouraged to stop and stare for a while. It would have been the view of Kobayakawa according to the defacto theory.

The flag of the encampment of Hideaki Kobayakawa

The view of the Sekigahara field from the top of Matsuoyama Mountain, It would have been great if the town decided to cut the trees so that viewers could get a better view of Sekigahara Field

Is it a Castle or is it an Encampment?

Let us check out if Matsuoyama Castle is worth for a full-scale castle at the site. In fact, the opposite side of the trail we climbed looks more fortified, according to the pamphlet of Matsuoyama Castle. (unfortunately, the pamphlet is only available in Japanese)
We will enter the castle from the side.

The layout of the castle (from the pamphlet of Matsuoyama Castle), we first came from above

The path of the entrance gets narrower by being cut by the ditches on both sides. You will next pass an enclosure like a position, which is called the enclosure like Umadashi (the position which sticks out from the gate).

The path gets narrower again and wind towards the main enclosure. The entrance of the main enclosure is a square, surrounded by earthen walls, which is generally called Masugata. The route you walked on right now may be the front of the castle, where Hideaki might have also been at.

The path goes close to the main enclosure, Notice the wooden steps that were added later on by the town

The Masugata system at the entrance of the enclosure

You can also walk down to the dry moats surrounding the main enclosure, from the front of the Masugata system. You will see the vertical cliffs on the slopes of the enclosure, which were artificially cut for defense, on the way to the moats. The bottom of the moats looks spacious tough it is covered with trees and grass now. Historians speculate that it was used as passages or stations for soldiers. The moats also have earthen walls like normal enclosures have.

The vertical cliffs, Notice the narrow road partially covered in plants. On the right, is the artificially cut soil, in order ot make the slope steeper for the enemies

The earthen walls on the moat, Notice the sign in Japanese saying “altered earthen walls”

Finally, we will climb another enclosure on a hill, the opposite of the main enclosure. The top of the enclosure is leveled, probably in order to accommodate soldiers in the past. Overall, Matsuoyama Castle must have been a large basement for the Sekigahara Battle. I have confirmed that it was not only a simple encampment but also a full-scale castle.

My Impression

After visiting the Sekigahara area, I think it still has a mysterious vibe and can accept adventurous spirits with many theories. In addition, I also learned that the area has a long history including the gateway and battle between eastern and western Japan since the ancient time. In fact, the battle between them still continues today in the category of noodles. You can buy two types of instant noodles for eastern and western Japan there at the souvenir shop. Gifu Sekigahara Battlefield Memorial Museum is a very popular spot for visitors where you can learn about the battle and buy other souvenirs. You can also get Goshuin stamps (you can stamp a piece of paper to commemorate your experience) of the encampments you visited there; However, you will need to show the pictures to the counter staff as evidence.

The Gifu Sekigahara Battlefield Memorial Museum

The two types of instant noodles for eastern and western Japan, The left is the “western type” while the one on the right is the “eastern type”.

The Goshuin stamps for three encampments, The left is the grave of Otani, the center represents Matsuoyama Mountain, and finally the one the right is Sasaoyama

That’s all. Thank you.

Back to “Matsuoyama Castle Part1”

77.高松城　その２

前回ご説明した城跡開発の経緯から、高松駅は城跡のすぐ近くにあります。ビジターにとっては便利です。期せずして、高松城とってのアピールポイントになっていると思います。

特徴、見どころ

駅近のお城に行ってみよう

それでは高松駅から「玉藻公園」になっている城跡に向かいましょう。最初に歩いているのは、昔の中堀・西の丸辺りでしょうか。

公園の入口を示す石碑があるところは、かつては内堀と海岸の境目辺りでした。駅に近い公園西門は「刎橋口」と呼ばれました。

中に入ったところが二の丸で、先に進むと三の丸です。三の丸の北側には石垣が続いていて、かつては多門櫓が建っていました。石段を登ると海が見えて、海が近いことがわかります。かつては石垣の下が海岸でした。

更に進むと、次は北の丸です。ここはなんといっても月見櫓でしょう。通常、日曜日は中に入れるのですが、当方が訪問したときはそうでなくて残念でした。ちなみに当初は「月を見る」ではなく「着くのを見る」という名前だっだそうです。平和な時代になって、名前も風流になったのかもしれません。

月見櫓のとなりの水手御門は閉まっています。表側はどうなっているか後で見に行きましょう。

三の丸の中に戻ってみると、松平家が大正時代に建てた「被雲閣」があります。これも重要文化財に指定されました（２０１２年）。その庭園も国の名勝（２０１３年）になっています。もうお城のオリジナルと言っていいくらい年季が入っています。

天守への道

今度は、公園東門から入って、天守台まで行ってみましょう。こちら側がお城の大手口になります。ここでの見どころは艮櫓（うしとらやぐら）です。特に石落としが目立ちます。北東隅にあったものを、南東隅に移したので、９０度回転させて移築したそうです。しかし櫓台の形状がちがうので、石落としの一部がお城の中に向いてしまっています。だいぶ苦労したのでしょう。

大手門（旭門、公園の東門）の前の橋（旭橋）は斜めにかかっています。これは、敵に斜めに走らせて、城から側面攻撃できるようにするためだそうです。門の建物（高麗門）も現存しているものの一つです。

門は石垣に囲まれて、枡形を形成しています。石垣をくり抜いて作った「埋門（うずみもん）」があり、敵をここから奇襲するためと言われています。

桜の馬場を通って、お堀をまた渡ると、２０２２年に復元された桜御門があります（高さ約９ｍ、幅約１２ｍ）。オリジナルの図面はなかったのですが、写真・現地の痕跡・発掘調査・聞き取り調査などから復元したそうです。

門を入って左折すると、天守台が見えます。天守台だけでも際立っているように感じますが、もし高松城の天守が復元されたとしたら、現存または再建された天守の中では、８番目の高さになります（石垣除く）。

ここ（三の丸）から天守台にたどり着くには思ったより長い道のりです。内堀端を歩いて、二の丸の関門、鉄門（くろがねもん）跡を通ります。

天守があった本丸に行くには、鞘橋（さやばし）で内堀を渡ります。途中から屋根がついてこの名前になったそうです（それまでは「らんかん橋」）。かつての本丸は内堀に完全に囲まれていたので、唯一の通路でした。

本丸に入ります、ここも櫓群（地久櫓、中川櫓など）に囲まれていました。

いよいよ天守台石垣です、整備されているので、登ってみることができます。明治４年に城内見学会が開催されたときの、天守からの眺めの記録が残っています（「年々日記」）。現在の天守台からの眺めと比べてみましょう。

南の方は阿波讃岐の境なる山々たたなわりたるも（重なっているが）いと近く見え・・　　（年々日記）

東の方屋島は元よりわが志度の浦なども見ゆ。（年々日記）

北の方女木男木の二島は真下に、吉備の児島のよきほどに見ゆるもいわんかたなし。（年々日記）

天守が復元されたら、どんな景色が見えるのでしょうか。

海城らしさを求めて

今度は、公園西門から出て、海城らしさを追い求めましょう。

海に面した二の丸北側の石垣の上には、櫓（廉櫓（れんやぐら）・武櫓（ぶやぐら））がありました。この辺は昔の海岸ですが、人工的に水辺を作って、雰囲気を残しています。

水手御門の前も水辺になっています。これは海に乗り出すための門を再現しているのでしょう。海に開く門としては、唯一の現存例だそうです。

ここでも月見櫓を間近に見ることができますが、海を正面にして作られた櫓なので、こちら側に施された装飾が美しく見えます。

月見櫓の向こうにも、石垣が続いています。昔の海岸に沿っていたはずなので、追ってみましょう。

石垣は、現代のビルの合間に入っていきます。かつての東の丸の外側石垣で、この細い部分が史跡に指定されています。

そして、艮櫓跡に到達します。周りの様子はすっかり変わってしまいましたが、今でも存在感があります。土地の記憶にもなるのですから、大事にしてほしいと思います。

石垣はまだ続いています。香川県立ミュージアム辺りまででしょうか。

実はこのミュージアムにも、海城らしい展示があります。水手御殿からお殿様が出かけて、参勤交代で乗った「飛龍丸」の「御座の間」です。原寸大で復元されているのです。

また、高松市歴史資料館では、飛龍丸の５分の１スケールモデルが展示されています。船の部屋は、２階構成になっていて、上記の「御座の間」は一階部分にありました。しかし二階部分にももう一つの「御座の間」があって、天気や波がいいときには、お殿様はそちらに移って景色を楽しんだそうです。

城下の一部？栗林公園

栗林公園は国の特別名勝で、三名園にも勝ると言われているのですが、今回のご説明は、高松と城の歴史に関係するものに絞らせていただきます。

まず、公園の東門前に石橋がありますが、かつて外堀にかかっていた「常磐橋」です。随分短い橋に見えますが、外堀がだんだん埋め立てられて、最後のか細くなったときに使われていたものだそうです。

次には公園の中、商工奨励館の中庭にある「大禹謨（だいうぼ）」も見逃さないようにしましょう。それは、「讃岐のため池の父」西嶋八兵衛が、香東川改修記念に作った石碑で、かつての分岐点に置かれていました。その後、洪水で流されてしまったのが奇跡的に見つかり、今の場所に置かれているのです。

公園には、見事に手入れをされた松がたくさんあります。

しかし個人的には、公園の豊かな水が気になってしまいます。この辺りはかつて暴れ川が流れているような場所だったのですが、治水事業によって、こんなに風流で役に立つ場所に変えられたという経緯があるからです。

リンク、参考情報

・史跡高松城跡、玉藻公園　公式ウェブサイト
・香川県立ミュージアム
・高松市歴史資料館
・特別名勝　栗林公園、香川県観光協会公式ウェブサイト
・ビジネス香川コラム　シリーズ中世の讃岐武士
・高松経済新聞特集　かもねのたかまつ歴史小話
・南正邦の覚え書き
・「史跡　高松城跡／高松市」
・「高松　海城の物語／西成典久著」
・「史跡高松城跡保存活用計画／高松市（令和４年３月）」
・「よみがえる日本の城１３」学研
・「人物叢書　徳川光圀／鈴木暎一著」吉川弘文館
・「高松城天守　天守復元の取組」２０１８年７月高松市パンフレット
・「桜御門復元　歴史的建造物の復元」２０２２年７月高松市パンフレット
・「高松城天守の復元案について」高松市埋蔵文化財センター
・「むかしの高松　第２１号　特集　高松城を発掘する！その３」高松市教育委員会
・「栗林公園の歴史」香川県観光協会
・「高松水道の研究」神吉和夫氏論文
・「”讃岐の禹王”西嶋八兵衛」黒下年保氏論文
・「大禹謨発見のドラマ　高松・栗林公園と西嶋八兵衛」ミツカン機関誌「水の文化」４０号

「高松城その１」に戻ります。

これで終わります。ありがとうございました。

今回の内容を趣向を変えて、Youtube にも投稿しました。よろしかったらご覧ください。

20.Sakura Castle Part2

If you are at JR Sakura Station, the place, where the castle ruins are located, it may looks simple at first. However, if you go there by walking up on the slopes, you will be surprised to see the spacious area on the top. Visitors coming from other places may feel the same way, too.

Features

Introduction

If you are at JR Sakura Station, the place, where the castle ruins are located, it may look simple at first. However, if you go there by walking up on the slopes, you will be surprised to see the spacious area on the top. Visitors coming from other places may feel the same way, too.

The hill area, seen from JR Sakura Station

One of the slopes from the station to the hill, called “Yakushizaka”

From Main Gate to Main Enclosure

Let us go from the ruins of the main gate to the center of the castle. Unfortunately, only a part of the earthen walls remains today.

The old photo of the gate, from the signboard at the site

There were some large enclosures inside the gate, such as Higashi-so-kuruwa. They were turned into schools, parking lots, and a square. There is also Sakura Castle Park control center in front of the square, which shows some exhibitions of the castle. The square had the main hall for the lord and another one for the retirement residence of Masayoshi Hotta at the end of the Edo Period.

You will eventually reach the center of the castle, which has been turned into Sakura Castle Park. You will first see the remaining large dry moat. It looks beautiful, covered in grass, however, it must have been deeper and more fortified in the past.

You will next reach the ruins of the third gate, which was the first gate towards the center. The third enclosure is inside of the gate, and it was the residential area for the senior vassals in the past. You will find a mini crater in the enclosure. This is the trace of another dry moat, which has been filled. If you go further, you will see the statues of Townsend Harris and Masayoshi Hotta who tried to open Japan to the rest of the world.

The ruins of the third gate, The sign board will show you how the original enclosure would have looked like the past

The old photo of the gate, from the sign board at the site, The gate on the left leads to the resident of one of the senior vassals

The statues of Townsend Harris on the left and Masayoshi Hotta on the right

Then, you will reach the ruins of the second gate, the entrance of the second enclosure. The enclosure had had the first main hall for the lord before the one outside the third enclosure was built. There were also the rice warehouses in the back of the enclosure. You can still see its stone foundations there, too.

You will eventually reach the main enclosure after going across the dry moat of the enclosure. there are the ruins of the first gate.

The ruins of the first gate behind the earthen bridge over the moat

The old photo of the gate, from the sign board at the site, Notice the people standing in front of the gate. They are the generals

Climbing down from Main Enclosure

The main enclosure is all surrounded by earthen walls, so you may feel like you are being wrapped up. This area is the western edge of the plateau. There was the other main hall inside, however, it was rarely used just for ceremonies. This was because it was considered exclusive for the shoguns.

The miniature model of the main enclosure, exhibited by the Sakura Castle Park control center

You can walk on the earthen walls around the enclosure. If you walk from the first gate ruins on the earthen walls, you will pass by the ruins of Do-yagura (the copper turret). The turret had a mysterious tradition. It says that the turret was originally built by Dokan Ota, the founder of Edo Castle, called “Shoyoken”, and moved from the castle. However, we cannot confirm whether or not the turret was moved from Edo Castle. However, if it had remained, it would have become a National Treasure of Japan.

The old photo of the turret, from the signboard at the site, as you can see, carpenters were removing the roof tiles partially

The miniature model of the turret, exhibited by the Sakura Castle Park control center

If you go further, you will eventually reach the earthen base of the main tower.
The tower was directly built on the base and its outside walls leaned on the earthen walls of the enclosure. That was why people saw the tower three-leveled from the outside but four-leveled from the inside. The tower was used as the warehouse for weapons. It was unfortunately burned down after a thief robbed it of guns and left his lantern there.

The miniature model of the tower, exhibited by the Sakura Castle Park control center

There are the other ruins of the corner turret in the enclosure. The turret also has the tradition which says it originally came from Motosakura Castle. That may have been the reason why it deteriorated sooner than the others and was renovated during the Edo Period.

Let us next get out of the enclosure through the ruins of the back gate and climb down the slopes of the plateau. The slopes are steep which made the castle fortified. You will eventually see some trails on the mid slopes, which are the belt enclosures of the castle. The enclosures were said to have originally been dry moats and were changed to the trails by being filled naturally. If you look up the main enclosure, you will realize it is protected by the natural terrain even though it doesn’t have stone walls.

The miniature model of the gate, exhibited by the Sakura Castle Park control center

Climbing down the slopes of the plateau, please be careful when climbing down because it’s very steep

You will eventually arrive at the foot of the plateau and see the southern barbican enclosure. If you go around the enclosure, you will see it is still surrounded by water moats. It looks very defensive and cool! If you enter the enclosure as well, you will see the outside which you walked around on.

*The exterior of the southern barbican enclosure*

The inside of the southern barbican enclosure

The view from the inside of the enclosure

I recommend you to go back to the belt enclosure and walk on it to the other western barbican enclosure. The enclosure still has its earthen walls and water moats in good conditions. There is the only remaining building at its entrance, called Yakui-mon gate. However, No one knows for certain its original name and position, because it was moved multiple times from the current position that it is in now.

Looking at Umadashi system and Dry Moats

If you don’t mind, it may be better to walk around the plateau to another entrance from the north to the castle. It was called Tamachi-mon which was the back gate of the castle, on Atago slope. It is now the front gate of the National Museum of Japanese History. A large enclosure of the castle, called Shinoki-kuruwa has become the museum. The enclosure was originally used as Samurai residences and was turned into barracks for the Japanese Imperial Army before the museum. It has been used effectively because it is massive.

The miniature model of Shinoki Enclosure when it was used as the barracks for the Japanese Imperial Aemy, exhibited by the National Museum of Japanese History

The floor space of the museum is about 35,000 square meters big. It exhibits the Japanese histories by classifying 5 different periods. If you want to look through all of them, you may have to spend all day long. It may be better to split up your visits to fully see everything.

The entrance of the National Museum of Japanese History

The miniature model of Taga Castle, an ancient castle in the Tohoku Region, exhibited by the National Museum of Japanese History

The miniature model of the hall of the Asakura Clan in Ichijodani Castle, exhibited by the National Museum of Japanese History

Going back to the attractions of the castle, the Umadashi system has been restored near the museum. The system was a fortified square position in front of Shinoki Gate, which was surrounded by dry moats. The long side of the square is 121m long and the short side is 40m long, same as the original. The dry moats were originally 5.6m in depth but is only 3m in depth probably for safety reasons. The system is only connected by a narrow path to the gate. It was once filled by the Japanese Imperial Army before its restoration.

The Umadashi system in front of the Shinoki Gate Ruins

The Shinoki Gate Ruins have no buildings now, and its inside is the third enclosure. So, you can visit the second and main enclosures again. However, let us go to another place by walking down from the plateau again. It is a pond, called Uba-ga-ike, which means “The Pond of a Nursing Mother”. The name comes from a sad and unfortunate story. It says that one day, a nursing mother took the daughter of a senior vassal to the pond. However, she didn’t keep her eyes on the daughter, which lead to the daughter drowning in the pond She felt very sad and guilty about it, so, she decided to throw herself into the pond as well. For the castle, this pond divided the main gate and the back gate sides to force the defenders protect the castle quickly. It also became famous for Japanese iris and croaking sounds of frogs during the peaceful Edo Period.

The Uba-ga-ike Pond, Since the pond is covered in lotus leaves, it’s hard to see how deep it truly is

You can go back from the pond to the main gate ruins by passing through a path which was another dry moat. The path has a fork which still looks like the dry moat. If you go straight, you will eventually reach the entrance of the park near the gate ruins.

The former dry moat, which is used as the path, the fork on the right, which is the dry moat today, the fork on the left which leads to the main entrance

The fork on the right remains as a dry moat

Visiting Samurai Residences and Sakura Juntendo Memorial Building

Atter visiting the castle ruins, let us go to Sakura Samurai Residences. The residence area is in Miyakoji of Sakura City, which originally had middle-class warriors’ residences. However, the current area exhibits three different residences: one of the remaining one for middle class warriors, another one form high-class warriors and finally, the other one form low-class warriors. The last two residential areas were moved from other areas, making it accessible to the public for viewing.

Sakura Samurai Residences Street, Notice the samurai residential homes on the right

These residences were owned and maintained by the Sakura Domain like official residences. They were made differently by each warrior’s class. That was because of the class system as well as the budgetary restrictions of the domain. For example, the entrance of the high-class residence looks high in quality, but the others are simpler. The walls of the high class’s one used white plasters, while the others only used brown mud walls. The high and middle class’s ones used fine Tatami mats in their rooms, however the low class can only use simple mats without the edge decorations.

The low-class residence (its roof has been replaced with a modern style)

You should also try to walk along Hiyodori-zaka Slope near the residences, which was the commuting route to the castle. The route goes down on a trail, surrounded by bamboo trees, which looks exactly same as it used to.

We will finally go to Sakura Juntendo Memorial Building. It was originally built by Taizen Sato as his Rangaku (Dutch studies) school and clinic. Part of it opens to the public as a museum. The museum is about 2km away from the main gate ruins of the castle and was at the edge of the castle town. This is probably because Taizen was not an official doctor of the domain. A guide of the museum suggested to me another speculation. Taizen’s father was an agent in lawsuits who was against the policies of Tadakuni Mizuno, the top of the government. Therefore, Taizen might have had difficulties in his work in Edo City. He might also have been accommodated by Masayoshi Hotta. If it’s true, Sakura Juntendo was also like a place of refuge.

One of the exhibitions of the museum is the miniature model of the original buildings. You can see the buildings were so large. It is said that over one thousand students were there in total.

Another interesting exhibition is the original medical board which is hung on the top of the wall. The clinic mainly offered surgeries. However, the doctors didn’t use anesthesia because it was still dangerous at that time. Therefore, patients endured the pain because they wanted to get well after that.

The original medical menu, Notice the price of each procedures on the bottom of the medical board

The clinic is the origin of Juntendo University in Tokyo, one of Taizen’s successors who founded it. However, there is still the current Sakura Juntendo Clinic next to the museum. The spirits of Sakura are alive.

The plaque of Juntendo, It’s written in Chinese Characters (Kanji)

My Impression

Honestly, at first, I thought the castle park looked like a natural park. However, the more I looked around, the more my impressions changed. Currently it’s trendy for cities to revive castles across Japan. I think Sakura City does not need to ride the boom. This is because the city has already preserved the land of the castle as the park. The city can take enough time and be patient when developing it further. The important thing is preserving it as accurate as possible. In addition, you can still enjoy the castle ruins even without its visible buildings. So I highly recmmend you visit Sakura Catle in the future!

That’s all. Thank you.

Back to “Sakura Castle Part1”