私の感想～My Impression – ページ 64 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

37.Ichijodani Castle Part3

A great medieval city was discovered.

Later History

After Ichijodani was burned, farmers used the ruins as fields. Some items of the ruins such as the Asakura Clan Hall Ruins have been well known among people, but they didn’t think such a large city was sleeping under the fields. The excavation of the ruins started in 1967. The excavation team first found garden ruins followed by foundations for many buildings, and household items from the Sengoku Period. The ruins were designated as a National Special Historic Site in 1971. Since then, over 1.7 million items have been discovered from the ruins. The restored streets and residences opened in 1984, which was considered as the first example of similar facilities in Japan.

The entrance of the restored streets and residences

My Impression

Takakage Asakura, the first lord of the clan, left his teachings to his descendants. The teachings say you should adopt your vassals by capacity and loyalty. You must not buy expensive swords, horses, and hawks without reason. You shouldn’t invite entertainers from outside paying high fees. I’m not sure if Yoshikage Asakura, the last lord of the clan, followed his ancestor’s teachings. However, I think the prosperity of Ichijodani might have caused Yoshikage’s misfortune.

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car:
It is about 10 minutes away from Fukui IC on Hokuriku Expressway.
There are several parking lots along the ruins.
By public transportation, it takes about 10 minutes walking from JR Ichijodani Station to the ruins of the Outbound Fortress Entrance, the edge of the whole ruins.
To get to Ichijodani Station from Tokyo: Take the Hokuriku Shinkansen super express, transfer to the limited express on the Hokuriku Line at Kanazawa Station, and transfer to the Kuzuryu Line at Fukui Station.
From Osaka: Take the Thunderbird limited express and transfer to the Kuzuryu Line at Fukui Station.

The signpost of the ruins in front of the Outbound Fortress Entrance

Links and References

・Ichijodani Asakura Family Site Museum

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

37.一乗谷城　その３

すばらしい中世都市が発見されました。

その後

一乗谷が燃えてしまった後、農民がその跡地を農地として使いました。朝倉氏館跡のようないくつかの遺跡は、人々の間でずっとよく知られていました。しかし、農地の下であのような大きな都市が眠り続けているとは思っていなかったのです。遺跡の発掘は1967年に始まりました。最初の頃に庭園跡が見つかり、その後多くの建物の基礎や、戦国時代の日用品が次々と発見されました。遺跡は1971年に国の特別史跡に指定されました。それ以来、１７０万点を超える品々が見つかっているのです。復原町並が1984年にオープンしましたが、このような復元のやり方として日本で最初の事例とされています。

私の感想

朝倉氏の最初の当主であった朝倉孝景は、子孫に対して遺訓を残しました（「朝倉孝景条々」「英林壁書」として知られています）。その中で孝景は、
・重臣は能力と忠誠心により採用しなければならない（朝倉家に於ては宿老を定むべからず。その身の器用忠節によりて申し付くべき事）
・理由もなく高価な武具、馬、鷹などを買い求めてはならない（名作之刀さのみ被好間敷候、等）
・高額な報酬を支払って、外部から芸能人を呼び寄せてはならない（京都より四座の猿楽細々呼下し、見物このまれまじく候）
と述べています。最後の当主であった朝倉義景が、これら先祖が残した教えを守っていたかはわかりません。しかし、一乗谷の繁栄がかえって義景の不幸を招いてしまったのではないかとも思うのです。

ここに行くには

車で行く場合：
北陸自動車道の福井ICから約１０分かかります。
遺跡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一乗谷駅から遺跡全体の端にあたる下城戸跡まで、歩いて約１０分かかります。
東京から一乗谷駅まで：北陸新幹線に乗って、金沢駅で北陸線の特急に乗り換え、福井駅で九頭竜線に再度乗り換えてください。
大阪からは：特急サンダーバード号に乗って、福井駅で九頭竜線に乗り換えてください。

リンク、参考情報

・一乗谷朝倉氏遺跡資料館
・「戦国朝倉　遺跡からのレポート／吉川博和著」DoCompany出版
・「復原　一乗谷」一乗谷朝倉氏遺跡資料館

これで終わります。ありがとうございました。
「一乗谷城その１」に戻ります。
「一乗谷城その２」に戻ります。

138.Echizen-Ohno Castle Part3

Will you be able to see the castle in the sky?

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, all the buildings of Echizen-Ohno Castle were demolished. The mountain of the castle was turned into Kameyama Park. After World War II, some castle buildings including Tenshu were rebuilt.

The rebuilt Main Tower on the stone walls at Kameyama Park

Ohno City, which now owns the castle, promotes it as “Castle in the Sky” like Takeda Castle. The meaning of Castle in the Sky is when clouds spread below the mountain, the castle on the mountain looks like its floating in the sky. If this happens while you are at Echizen-Ohno Castle, you can take a photo of the castle in the sky from Inuyama Mountain where you can see the whole view of the castle. The city also says this situation is most likely to occur in October and November. However, according to the records, the chance to see the castle in the sky happens about 10 days per a year.

The “Castle in the Sky” can be seen at Echizen-Ohno Castle (licensed by Keisuke MAEDA via Wikimedia Commons)

The “Castle in the Sky” can be seen at Takeda Castle (licensed by abok via Wikimedia Commons)

My Impression

I visited Echizen-Ohno Castle to see the castle in the sky on a day in November. The castle was open from early in the morning during the month to make it possible for visitors to see if the castle in the sky situation happens.

The entrance of the Southern Route in the early morning

When I looked up from the top floor of the Tenshu building, the sky around the castle was very clear. Inuyama Mountain, from which you could see the castle in the sky, was rather cloudy. I realized that staying just one night is not enough. Even if the weather conditions for the castle in the sky are ideal, you cannot always see it. You may need to spend several days to see it.

If you stay for only one night in the town, you can at least take a beautiful photo of the illuminated Echizen-Ohno Castle.

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car:
It is about 30 minutes away from Fukui IC on Hokuriku Expressway.
There is a parking lot near the entrance of the Southern Route to the castle.
By public transportation, it takes about 40 minutes walking from JR Echizen-Ohno Station.
To get to Echizen-Ohno Station from Tokyo: Take the Hokuriku Shinkansen super express, transfer to the limited express on the Hokuriku Line at Kanazawa Station, and transfer to the Kuzuryu Line at Fukui Station.
From Osaka: Take the Thunderbird limited express and transfer to the Kuzuryu Line at Fukui Station.

Links and References

・Echizen Ohno Castle Official Site

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Echizen-Ohno Castle Part1”
Back to “Echizen-Ohno Castle Part2”