私の感想～My Impression – ページ 54 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

82.Ozu Castle Part3

People in Ozu struggled to restore the Main Tower.

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Ozu Castle was abandoned and once used as a government office. However, the castle land was eventually sold and the castle buildings were demolished. Four turrets lastly remain as Owata Turret in the Second Enclosure, the Southern Corner Turret in the Third Enclosure, and the two ones in the Main Enclosure. People in Ozu were afraid to lose the castle ruins, so they turned them into a park with peach trees in the Meiji Era.

The remaining Owata Turret in the Second Enclosure

the remaining Southern Corner Turret in the Third Enclosure

The old photo of the Main Enclosure after being planted with peach trees, exhibited in the castle

After World War II, people in Ozu had been thinking about restoring the Main Tower in the original way, while many other Main Towers in Japan were restored in a modern way like Nagoya Castle. This was because many materials for the restoration remained, such as drawings, the frame model of the tower made when it was repaired, and several clear photos taken before it was scraped, which was a very rare case in Japan.

The Main Tower of Nagoya Castle, restored in a modern way

the frame model of the Main Tower of Ozu Castle, used for the restoration, from the signboard at the site

However, there was a big problem with the law. Japan’s Building Standard Act has very strict rules on wooden buildings which are over 13m tall. The original Main Tower of Ozu Castle was over 19m, which meant it couldn’t be restored. The good news came in the 1990’s, the wooden towers in the other castles of Shirakawa-Komine, Kakegawa and Shiroishi were allowed to be restored. Ozu Castle’s Main Tower is the tallest among other towers, but after a long negotiation with the officials, the tower’s restoration was completed in 2004.

The restored wooden three-leveled turret of Shirakawa-Komine Castle

The restored *wooden* Main Tower of Kakegawa Castle

The restored *wooden* Main Tower of Shirakawa-Komine Castle

The restored wooden Main Tower of Ozu Castle

My Impression

I think the Main Tower of Ozu Castle is the best one out of the restored Main Towers in Japan. This is because the tower and two remaining turrets both sides are in perfect harmony. In addition, I recommend seeing the castle from the riverside. River traffic was one of the main means of transportation, so the castle’s design was done considering the view from the riverside. You can see a beautiful completely restored appearance of the Main Tower and the collaboration with the turrets.

A view of Hijikawa River from the Main Enclosure

A view of the Main Tower and the Handrail Turret from around the river

How to get There

If you want to visit the castle by car, it is about 10 minutes away from Minami-Ozu IC on the Matsuyama Expressway. There is a parking lot for visitors in the city area near the castle.
By public transportation, it takes about 25 minutes on foot from the JR Iyo-Ozu Station.
If you go there from Tokyo or Osaka, I recommend traveling by plane or using an express bus.

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Ozu Castle Part1”
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82.大洲城　その３

大洲の人たちは苦労して天守を復元しました。

その後

明治維新後、大洲城は廃城となり、一時官庁（明治初頭の大洲藩、大洲県など）として使われました。しかしやがて城の敷地は売却され、城の建物は撤去されていきました（天守は1888年に解体）。最終的には４つの櫓だけが残りました。二の丸にある苧綿（おわた）櫓、三の丸にある南隅（みなみすみ）櫓、そして本丸にある２つの櫓です。大洲の人々は城跡が失われるのを恐れ、明治時代に公園とし桃の木を植えました。

第二次世界大戦後、大洲の人たちは天守をオリジナルと同じ工法で復元することを考えていました。一方、日本の他の天守は名古屋城のように現代の工法で再建されていました。オリジナルの工法にこだわった理由は、多くの復元のための材料が残っていたからです。図面や天守を修理したときに作った天守雛形、そして天守が解体される前に撮られた鮮明な写真などです。このような事例は日本ではとても稀なことでした。

しかし、このような天守復元には大きな法律の壁がありました。日本の建築基準法は、１３ｍを超える高さの木造建築物に対してとても厳しい内容となっているのです。大洲城のオリジナルの天守の高さは１９ｍを超えており、そのまま復元するのは不可能でした。ところが1990年代に状況が好転し、白河小峰城、掛川城、白石城といった他の城の天守や櫓の木造による復元が許可されたのです。大洲城の天守はそれらの中では最も背が高いものでしたが、当局との長い交渉の結果、2004年に天守が元の高さのまま木造で復元されたのです。

私の感想

大洲城の天守は、日本の復元天守の中では一番だと思います。この天守とその脇にある２基の現存櫓が、完璧な調和を保っているからです。それから、この城を川の方から見てみることもお勧めしたいです。河川交通はかつては主要な交通手段の一つでした。よってこの城は、川沿いからの見栄えを意識して設計されたのです。今でも、美しく完璧に復元された天守の外観と櫓とのコラボレーションを眺めることができます。

ここに行くには

車で行く場合は、松山自動車道の南大洲ICから約１０分かかります。城の近くの市街地にある観光駐車場を利用することができます。
公共交通機関を使う場合は、ＪＲ伊予大洲駅から歩いて約２５分かかります。
東京か大阪から来られる場合は、飛行機か高速バスを使われることをお勧めします。

リンク、参考情報

・大洲城公式サイト
・「大洲城下物語」愛媛県大洲市
・「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
・「週刊名城をゆく３４／宇和島城大洲城」小学館

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

83.Uwajima Castle Part3

Uwajima City is attracting people.

Features

Interior of Main Tower

You can enter the inside of the Main Tower. Its interior is basically made for living, not for fighting. For example, the first and second floors are divided into the central room and the defense passage around by paper screen doors called Shoji. The floor of the central room is boarded now, but was Tatami-matted in the past. Shoji and Tatami mat are typical items for traditional Japanese living room. There are not any loopholes for guns and machicolations other Main Towers usually had. That’s why this is called the Main Tower of peace time.

The central room of the 1st floor, there is the miniature model of the tower made in the Edo Period for repairing

However, it actually has minimum defense system that each lattice window has a gun rest and the floors are set properly to shoot the guns from the windows.

A set of lattice window and gun rest on the defense passage at the 2nd floor

The stairway to the 2nd floor, the ceiling of the 1st floor is high to set the 2nd floor properly

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, many of the castle buildings were demolished and the moats were filled. The former lord, Date Clan continued to maintain the few remaining buildings and the mountain until the clan donated them to Uwajima City in 1949. Unfortunately, the Main Gate was burned down by the Uwajima air raid in 1945. Only the Main Tower and the Nobori-tachi-mon Gate on the back route remain. The Main Tower has been designated as an Important Cultural Property since 1950.

The remaining Nobori-tachi-mon Gate *(licensed by Saigen Jiro via Wikimedia Commons)*

My Impression

Uwajima City is warm all the year around and has a lot of affordable delicious food. A writer, Akira Yoshimura who has written about Choei Takano and Ine Kusumoto, the first woman doctor in Japan who also visited Uwajima. He came to love Uwajima through the data collection for his the novels. He visited there over 40 times in his life. This city is likely to have both a local laid-back atmosphere and a tolerance to accept others. I feel the same way and would like to visit there many times.

Ine Kusumoto *(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 Seiyo-Uwa IC on the Matsuyama Expressway. There is a parking lot at the entrance of the castle.
By public transportation, it takes about 15 minutes on foot from the JR Uwajima Station.
If you go there from Tokyo or Osaka, I recommend traveling by plane or using an express bus.

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