私の感想～My Impression – ページ 24 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

57.Sasayama Castle Part3

This castle was built practically.

Features

Looking up to Stone Walls from Third Enclosure

The flat square Third Enclosure is outside of the Inner Moat and inside of the Outer Moat. If you walk around it, you will see the great stone walls of the main portion. In particular, the stone wall base for the Main Tower looks so nice, which is about 18m high, built using natural and rough processed stones, instructed by Ano-shu Group, a special stone guild at that time.

The map around the castle

The high stone walls of the main portion seen from the Third Enclosure

The outside view of the stone wall base for the Main Tower

Two individual Umadashi systems

You can also visit the two other entrance ruins of the Eastern and Southern Gates through the enclosure. It is unfortunate that both ruins have lost their Masugata systems, however, their Umadashi systems are still intact. The system for the Eastern Gate remains as a square park, over the narrow straight path among the Inner Moat. It is surrounded by stone walls and another moat in the front and the sides, so you can easily imagine how the system worked in the past.

The system became the Eastern Umadashi Park

The other one for the Southern Gate also has a square space and is surrounded by earthen walls, not by stone walls. This is actually the only remaining example of the Umadashi system build only using earthen walls.

Going to the southern Umadashi system through a narrow path

The earthen walls of the Umadashi system form the square space

If you have time, I recommend walking along the street of Okachimachi warriors’ residences with several remaining their houses which are open to the public, in the west of the castle ruins.

“The Anma Clan’s samurai residence historical museum” is one of the open warriors’ houses

My Impression

I think Sasayama Castle was quite practical for its purpose of construction. That’s why its Main Tower was actually not built. This castle was not so large as other major castles like Osaka, Nagoya and Himeji Castles, but was designed to be able to protect itself by few defenders. My first impression for the castle was that it could be a supply base. I imagine Sasayama Castle could have worked flexibly either when the Tokugawa Shogunate side would be offense or defense.

I think this Third Enclosure was able to accommodate some amount of soldiers and supplies

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car, it is about 10 minutes from Tannan-Sasayamaguchi IC on the Maizuru-Wakasa Expressway. There are several parking lots in and around the castle ruins.
By public transportation, you can take the Sinki Green bus bound for Sasayama-eigyosho from JR Sasayamaguchi Station and get off at the Nikaimachi bus stop. It takes about 5 minutes on foot to get there.
From Tokyo to Sasayamaguchi Station: Take the Tokaido Shinkansen super express, transfer to the Kyoto Line at Shin-Osaka Station and transfer to the Takarazuka Line at Osaka Station.

The parking lot in front of the Main Gate Ruins

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Sasayama Castle Part1”
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57.篠山城　その３

実用的に築かれた城

特徴、見どころ

三の丸から石垣を仰ぎ見る

平らで四角い形の三の丸は、内堀の外、かつ外堀の内側にあります。三の丸を歩いてみると、城の主要部を囲むすばらしい高石垣がよく見えます。特に、天守台石垣はとても良いです。自然石、あるいは粗く加工された石を使って、１８ｍもの高さに積み上げられています。当時の優れた石工集団である穴太衆（あのうしゅう）によって築かれたものです。

城周辺の地図

２つの個性的な現存馬出し

この三の丸には、大手門跡の他に二つの出入り口があります。東門跡と南門跡です。残念ながら両方とも桝形は残っていないのですが、馬出しの方は健在です。東門の方の馬出しは四角い形の公園として残っていて、内堀にかかる細くまっすぐな道を進んでいくと着きます。この馬出しは石垣に囲まれていて、前方と両側を内堀とは別の水堀にも囲まれています。よって、馬出しが過去にはどのように機能したのかよくわかると思います。

南門の方の馬出しにも四角い区画が残っていますが、こちらは石垣ではなく、土塁によって囲まれています。土塁だけを使って作られた馬出しの中では、唯一の現存事例となります。

お時間があるようでしたら、いくつかの現存建物がある御徒町（おかちまち）武家屋敷群を歩いて回ってはいかがでしょうか。城跡の西側にあって、これらの建物が一般公開されています。

私の感想

篠山城は、建設の目的からして、極めて実用的に築かれた城だと思います。そのために、天守が築かれなかったということにもなったのでしょう。この城は、大阪城、名古屋城、姫路城のようなメジャーな城に比べれば、それほど大きくはありません。しかし、その分少ない兵で守れるように設計されています。私がこの城を見たときの第一印象は、まるで兵站基地のようだと思いました。想像するに、篠山城は徳川幕府方が攻勢に出ても、守勢に回っても柔軟に機能を発揮できるようになっていたのではないでしょうか。

ここに行くには

車で行く場合：舞鶴若狭自動車道の丹南篠山口ICから約１０分かかります。城跡の中や周辺にいくつか駐車場があります。
公共交通機関を使う場合は、ＪＲ篠山口駅から篠山営業所行きの神姫グリーンバスに乗って、二階町バス停で降りてください。徒歩約５分で城跡に到着します。
東京から篠山口駅まで：東海道新幹線に乗って、新大阪駅で京都線に乗り換え、大阪駅で宝塚線に乗り換えてください。

リンク、参考情報

・篠山城大書院の公式ページ、withsasayama
・「史跡　篠山城跡大書院／市教育委員会・篠山城大書院編」丹波篠山市
・「よみがえる日本の城１９」学研
・「日本の城改訂版第１０号」デアゴスティーニジャパン
・「築城の名手　藤堂高虎／福井健二著」戒光祥出版

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

197.Shibushi Castle part3

Wonderful molding using natural terrain

Features

Nakanokuo, Pivot of Defense

Over the dry moat, the other major enclosures of Nakanokuo (the enclosure No.4 & 5) and Onokuo (the enclosure No.6 & 15) follow and are all divided by other dry moats crosswise. In particular, you should check out Nakanokuo (the enclosure No.5), over Nakanokuo (the enclosure No.4). To reach the enclosure, you need to go out of the Main Enclosure, go through the right lengthwise dry moat from the front, and enter the second crosswise dry moat. The bottom of the moat is not flat, but has two tiers, so you also need to climb to the upper tier.

The map around Uchijo portion, the red broken line is the route from the Main Enclosure to Nakaokuo (the enclosure No.5)

The second crosswise dry moat has two tiers

Then, you will face huge vertically cut cliff of the enclosure like a thick column and need to walk around to enter. If you were an enemy, you must have been attacked by the defenders from above until then. The entrance path is altered by thick earthen walls as well, just like a palace gate made of soil. This enclosure might have been pivotal to the defense in the castle.

The vertical cliff of Nakanokuo (the enclosure No.5) ‘s side

The earthen walls surrounding the enclosure

Looking down the bottom of the moat from the enclosure

The part of Nakaokuo (the enclosure No.5) of the miniature model exhibited in *Shibushi City Center for Archaeological operations*

Amazing Dry Moats

Both the lengthwise dry moats outside the plateau are amazing. The dry moat on the left side from the front (the western side) is called O-Horikiri or the Large Ditch. It is about 17m deep and was about 7m deeper than now according to the excavation. The collapsing volcanic ash has been filling the bottom of the moat naturally. However, it is still enough for us to understand how great the warrior’s work for the moat was.

The part of the Large Ditch of the miniature model

The dry moat on the right side is also surprising. The cut section of the outside enclosure is still vivid making us understand how hard their work was!

The Back Route of the castle goes beside the cut section and very narrow like the Main Route. It must have been made very defensive like the Main Route.

The part of the Back Route of the miniature model

Later History

After Shibushi Castle was abandoned, the foot of the mountain was used as the warriors’ residences called Shibushi Fumoto. Fumoto refers to a residence area for a unique defense system of the Satsuma Domain led by the Shimazu Clan, called Tojo or the Outer Castles, during the Edo Period. Unlike other domains letting their retainers live together in their home base, the Satsuma Domain sent many of its retainers to their local sites to protect the frontiers of its territory. Shibushi Fumoto was one of the most important among over 100 Fumoto of the domain. You can also walk around the Fumoto area at the same time as visiting Shibushi Castle Ruins. As for the castle ruins, they have been excavated and researched since 2003. As a result, they were designated as a National Historic Site in 2005.

The area around still has an atmosphere of Shibushi Fumoto

My Impression

I have never seen such a large and precise miniature model of a mountain castle like the one of Shibushi Castle (Uchijo portion) in Shibushi City Center for Archaeological operations before. I have certainly seen large and precise miniature models of more modern castles like Himeji Castle because they often had or still have many buildings such as the Main Tower, turrets and gates, and great structures such as stone walls. They would be easy to be copied for a model and the model can be popular with people. On the other hand, making models of a mountain castle should be difficult and may be less popular, so it could be rare, especially realistic ones. However, the miniature model of Shubushi Castle is one of the rarely seen models, worth to see by itself, and helps visitors understand what the real castle was very well.

*The miniature model of Uchijo, exhibited by Shibushi City Center for Archaeological operations*

How to get There

If you want to visit the castle ruins by car, it is about a 15 minute drive away from Shibushi IC on the Miyakonojo-Shibushi Road. There is a parking lot for visitors near the ruins. In addition, Shibushi City Center for Archaeological operations is about 3km away from the ruins and it also has a parking lot.
If you want to use public transportation, it takes about 20 minutes on foot to get there form JR Shibushi Station.
For visitors from Tokyo or Osaka: It may be a good idea to rent a car at Kagoshima or Miyazaki Airports after using a plane.

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