立地と歴史～Location and History – ページ 26 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

56.Takeda Castle Part1

Masahiro Saimura, who completed Takeda Castle, only earned 22 thousand koku of rice, which meant he could not afford to build great stone walls at the castle. It is considered that the construction of castle was backed up by Hideyoshi.

Location and History

Famous for Castle in Sky

Takeda Castle was located on Torafusu-yama or the Sitting-Tiger Mountain (at 354m above the sea level) in Tajima Province which is now the northern part of Hyogo Prefecture. The ruins of Takeda Castle recently became very popular among not only history fans but also general tourists as a Castle in the Sky. The ruins don’t have any buildings but their great stone walls remain on the high mountain, which look like they are floating on a sea of clouds when there are certain weather conditions in the morning in autumn to winter. It is also called the Machu Picchu in Japan. The Castle in the Sky is an attraction in the present time and you need to go further away from the castle ruins to see it. However, the nickname also came from the castle’s history and location.

A photo of Takeda Castle in the Sky, from the signboard at the site

Yamana Clan first builds Castle

Tajima Province is not popular among the present generation because the province was small and finally merged to become Hyogo Prefecture. However, it was very important in the past because of its location. In many years of the Middle Ages, the Yamana Clan owned several provinces in the northern part of the Chugoku Region or also called the Sanin Area. Tajima Province was the eastern edge of Yamana’s territory and had borders with Harima and Tanba Provinces. That’s why the Yamana Clan first built Takeda Castle around the 15th Century as a base of offence and defense. At that time, building castles on a high mountain was popular for lords to protect themselves. These castles including Takeda Castle were all made of soil, at that time, they didn’t use stone walls.

The range of Tajima province and the location of the castle

The situation became more complex in the 16th Century during the Sengoku Period when many battles happened. The power of the Yamana Clan decreased while other lords outside Tajima Province wanted to get more territory. For example, in 1571, Suketoyo Yamana, the lord of the clan invaded Tanba Province, however, it was counterattacked and Takeda Castle was temporarily captured by Naomasa Ogino from Kuroi Castle of Tanba in 1575. Suketomo thought he would also ask for help from the strongest warlord, such as Nobunaga Oda and the Mori Clan depending on the situation to maintain his territory. However, when Nobunaga sent troops led by Hidenaga (Toyotomi) Hashiba who was the little brother of Hideyoshi Hashiba, the later ruler of Japan, to Tajima Province in 1577, Nobunaga gained control of Takeda Castle (it is uncertain if it was caused by a battle or a surrender). After Nobunaga died in 1582, when Hideyoshi became the ruler, he ordered Hidenaga to stay and improved Takeda Castle. It could be because Ikuno Silver Mine was there, which made the owner very rich, near the castle. It is thought that building the stone walls on the top started then. The improvement was followed by Masahiro Saimura, another retainer of Hideyoshi, when Hidenaga moved to Wakayama Castle in 1585.

The family crest of the Yamana Clan *(licensed by Houunji 1642 via Wikimedia Commons)*

*The illustration of Naomasa, from the signboard at the site* of Kuroi Castle Ruins

*The portrait of Hidenaga Toyotomi, owned by Shungakuin Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Masahiro Saimaura completes Castle

Masahiro was originally called Hirohide Akamatsu, a local lord in Tatsuno Castle, Harima Province. He surrendered to Hideyoshi when Hideyoshi invaded Harima Province in 1577, however, Hideyoshi took away his castle so that he had to become Hideyoshi’s retainer. Masahiro worked hard for Hideyoshi to get his original territory back some day. As a result, Hideyoshi gave Masahiro a territory, not in Tatsuno, but with Takeda Castle. Masahiro’s territory only earned 22 thousand koku of rice, which meant he could not afford to build great stone walls at Takeda Castle. It is considered that the construction of castle was backed up by Hideyoshi. Masahiro continued to contribute to Hideyoshi, such as joining the invasion of Korea, ordered by Hideyoshi. It is said that some gate structures of Takeda Castle were reflected by those of Japanese Castles in Korea, built for the invasion.

The family crest of the Akamatsu Clan *(licensed by KfskzsuRPkwt via Wikimedia Commons)*

The Portrait of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, attributed to Mitsunobu Kano, owned by Kodaiji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The great stone walls of Takeda Castle on the mountain

Takeda Castle was built on the mountain with three ridges; long ones in the north and the south, and a short one in the southwest. The Main Enclosure was on the top and had the Main Tower, but its details are unknown. Each ridge had several enclosures including a large one which could accommodate soldiers and supplies. The edge of the ridges was open to the outside, but was also protected strictly by a defensive gate. They were all surrounded by great stone walls, piled using natural or roughly processed stones in a method called Nozura-zumi. A professional stone-piling guild was called in to do this. One of the advanced things of this castle’s layout was that it included bypass routes between the three ridges. The defenders could move from one to another smoothly so that they were able to respond to enemies’ attacks flexibly.

The aerial photo around the castle

The stone wall base for the Main Tower of Takeda Castle

Abrupt ending of Masahiro and Castle

Masahiro usually lived in his Main Hall at the foot while developing the castle town. He was also interested in Chinese studies and communicated with domestic Confucians and a high-class Korean official. It is said that he also built a shrine to Confucianism in the castle on the mountain. However, the lives of he and his castle suddenly ended. In the crucial battle between the East Squad led by Ieyasu Tokugawa and the West Squad led by Mitsunari Ishida which happened in 1600, Masahiro joined the West Squad. When Masahiro heard about Mitsunari being defeated by Ieyasu at Sekigahara field, he switched to support the East Squad. He burned the castle town around Tottori Castle where another lord supporting the West Squad lived, to show his loyalty to Ieyasu. However, Ieyasu’s decision was to force Masahiro to kill himself by performing Harakiri to put the responsibility of the burning on him. This was an incomprehensible conclusion, but some historians speculate that Ieyasu and his Tokugawa Shogunate also wanted to secure Ikuno Silver Mine by removing possible rebels like Masahiro.

The ruins of Akamatsu Hachiman Shine at Tottori, where Masahiro was worshiped

To be continued in “Takeda Castle Part2”

56.竹田城　その１

竹田城を完成させた斎村政広の領地は２万２千石で、城の豪華な石垣を築き維持していくには少なすぎる石高でした。よって、この城の建設には豊臣秀吉のバックアップがあったものとされています。

立地と歴史

天空の城として有名に

竹田城は、現在の兵庫県北部にあたる但馬国の虎臥山（とらふすやま、標高３５４ｍ）にあった城です。竹田城跡は最近、歴史ファンだけではなく一般の観光客の間でも、「天空の城」として大変な人気となっています。城跡には建物は何もありませんが、素晴らしい石垣が高い山の上に残っていて、秋から冬にかけての朝に気候条件が整えば、雲海の上に浮かんでいるように見えるのです。日本のマチュピチュなどとも称されています。天空の城は現代になって新たにできた観光地であり、城跡そのものからはずっと離れた場所に行って見学することになります。しかし、この呼称は城の歴史や立地から生まれたものとも言えるでしょう。

山名氏が最初に築城

但馬国は現代の人々にはあまり馴染みがありません。この国は小さく、最終的には兵庫県に統合されてしまったからです。しかし、過去においてはその立地からとても重要視されていました。中世の多くの期間に渡って、山名氏が山陰地域とも呼ばれる中国地方北部のいくつもの国を領有していました。但馬国は山名氏の領国の東端にあり、播磨国と丹波国と国境を接していました。そのため、山名氏が攻守の要の基地として、１５世紀頃に竹田城を最初に築いたのです。その当時は、領主たちが身を守るために高い山の上に城を築くことがよく行われていました。竹田城を含むこれらの城は、その時点ではすべて土造りで、石垣は築かれていませんでした。

但馬国の範囲と城の位置

多くの戦いが起きた戦国時代の１６世紀には状況はもっと複雑化します。山名氏の力が衰える一方、但馬国外の他の領主たちはより多くの領土を欲したからです。例えば1571年には、山名氏の当主、山名祐豊（すけとよ）は丹波国に攻め込みますが、逆に反撃を受けてしまい、1575年には丹波国の黒井城主、荻野直正に一時竹田城を占領されてしまいました。祐豊は自身の領地を守るために、状況に応じて織田信長や毛利氏のような最強と思う戦国大名に助けを求めるつもりでした。ところが信長は1577年に、後に天下人となる羽柴秀吉の弟である羽柴（豊臣）秀長に軍勢を預け、但馬国に派遣したのです。これによって信長は竹田城を支配下に置きました（そのとき戦いが起こったのか、降伏によって開城したか不確かです）。1582年に信長が亡くなり、秀吉が天下人になると、弟の秀長に竹田城に留まり、改修するよう命じました。城の周辺に莫大な収益をもたらす生野銀山があったことが関係していたようです。山頂に石垣が築かれ始めたのは、この頃のことと考えられます。やがて1585年に秀長が和歌山城に移されると、城の改修は、秀吉の別の家臣である斎村政広に引き継がれます。

山名氏の家紋、五七桐に七葉根笹 *(licensed by Houunji 1642 via Wikimedia Commons)*

豊臣秀長肖像画、春岳院蔵 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

斎村政広が城を完成

政広はもともと赤松広秀という名前で、播磨国の龍野城にいた地方領主でした。1577年に秀吉が播磨国に侵攻したとき、政広は秀吉に降伏したのですが、城を取り上げられ、秀吉の家臣とされました。政広は元の城を返してもらうため、秀吉の下で一生懸命働きました。その結果、秀吉は政広に領地を与えたのですが、龍野ではなく、竹田城がある地でした。政広の領地は２万２千石で、竹田城の豪華な石垣を築き維持していくのには、少なすぎる石高でした。よって、この城の建設には秀吉のバックアップがあったものとされています。政広は秀吉への貢献を続け、秀吉の命により朝鮮侵攻にも従軍しました。竹田城のいくつかの門の構造には、朝鮮で築かれた倭城の影響が表れていると言われています。

赤松氏の家紋、二つ引き両に右三つ巴 *(licensed by KfskzsuRPkwt via Wikimedia Commons)*

豊臣秀吉肖像画、加納光信筆、高台寺蔵 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

竹田城が築かれた山は３つの峰から成り立っていて、北方と南方の峰は長く、西方の峰は短くなっています。頂上部分には本丸が築かれ、天守もあったのですが、その詳細は分かっていません。それぞれの峰にはいくつも曲輪がありましたが、その内の大きな曲輪では兵士の駐屯や物資の備蓄ができるようになっていました。峰の端部分は外部との出入口となっていましたが、虎口によって厳重に守られていました。城は総石垣造りであり、野面積みと呼ばれる、自然石か粗く加工された石を使って積まれました。石積み専門の職人集団が招かれてこの仕事を行いました。この城の縄張りで進んでいる点の一つは、３つの峰の間をバイパスを使って移動できることです。守備兵は、ある峰から別の峰へとスムーズに動けることで、敵の攻撃に柔軟に対応することができたのです。

城周辺の航空写真

政広と竹田城のあっけない最期

政広は普段は山麓にある御殿に住んでいて、その間城下町も整備しました。彼は儒教にも関心があり、国内の儒学者たちや朝鮮の高官と交流を重ねました。山上の城にも儒学の聖堂を建てたとも言われています。ところが、政広と竹田城の時代は突然終わってしまいます。1600年に徳川家康率いる東軍と石田三成率いる西軍との間で天下分け目の戦いが起こりました。政広は西軍に属していたのですが、関ヶ原において三成が家康に敗れたと聞くと、東軍に鞍替えします。彼は、家康に対する忠誠を示すために、他の西軍に属した大名がいた鳥取城の城下町を焼き打ちしました。しかし家康の裁定は、焼き打ちの責任を取らせるということで、政広に切腹を命じるものでした。これは理解に苦しむ決定内容ですが、家康と彼の徳川幕府が生野銀山を確保するために、政広のような謀反を起こすかもしれない人物を排除しようとしたのだと、歴史家は解釈しています。

「竹田城その２」に続きます。

158.Fukuchiyama Castle Part1

Mitsuhide Akechi spent 5 years to get Tanba Province back. What he did after the conquer of the province was to build Fukuchiyama Castle.

Location and History

Mysterious younger age of Mitsuhide Akechi

Fukuchiyama Castle was located in the northern part of Tanba Province which is modern day part of Kyoto Prefecture. Tanba Province is not popular for the present generation because the province was not large and finally merged to Kyoto and Hyogo Prefectures. However, it was very important in the past because of its location just behind north of Kyoto, the capital of Japan. Especially, in unquiet times like the Sengoku Period, it was a critical area for Kyoto. That’s why the shoguns and rulers of Kyoto always tried to have the province governed by them directly or by their senior vassals. Nobunaga Oda, the ruler during the 1570’s to the 1580’s, did the same way as others by sending his senior vassal, Mitsuhide Akechi, who built Fukuchiyama Castle.

The range of Tanba Province and the location of the castle

*The Portrait of Mitsuhide Akechi, owned by Hontokuji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Mitsuhide is a mysterious person to many history fans. It is still uncertain where he came from though his family name, “Akechi” is said a member of the Toki Clan, one of the noble Minamoto families. One of the few certain things about his younger age was that he was a relative of Nohime, Nobunaga’s legal wife. He became a vassal of a prospective shogun, Yoshiaki Ashikaga, when they met in Ichijodani of Echizen Province. It was a turn of fate that Mitsuhide introduced Yoshiaki and Nobunaga to each other before they went to Kyoto in 1568 to become the Shogun and the Ruler. He was not only a well-connected person, but also an excellent politician and an intelligent general so he eventually joined Nobunaga, an avatar of the merit system.

The sttue of Nohime at Kiyosu Park in Kiyosu City

The statue of Nobunaga Oda at Kiyosu Park

*The gate of the Ichijodani Asakura Clan Hall Ruins*

*The seated statue of Yoshiaki Ashikaga, owned by Tojiin Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Mitsuhide builds Fukuchiyama Castle after Invasion of Tanba Province

Mitsuhide was ordered by Nobunaga to invade Tanba Province in 1575, which was divided by many local lords such as the Naito Clan in Yagi Castle, the Hatano Clan in Yagami Castle, and the Akai Clan in Kuroi Castle. Moreover, they had been against Nobunaga since he banished Yoshiaki from Kyoto in 1573. At first, everything was going good so far, where Hideharu Hatano became Mitsuhide’s supporter. However, when he began to siege Kuroi Castle, wherein a strong general, Naomasa Akai stayed, Hideharu switched side. Mitsuhide was defeated and had to withdraw. As a result, he spent 5 years to get the province back by building new castles like Kameyama Castle, hence making the Hatano Clan surrender again – waiting for Naomasa’s death and captured Kuroi Castle in the end. What Mitsuhide did after the conquer of Tanba Province was to build Fukuchiyama Castle in 1579.

*The portrait of Hideharu Hatano, from the database of Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Yagami Castle Ruins seen from Sasayama Castle Ruins

*The illustration of Naomasa, from the signboard at* Kuroi Castle Ruins

The castle was originally called Yokoyama Castle, which a local Lord built and was located on the edge of the hill in the Fukuchiyama Basin where the Lord was able to overlook the area around. It was also surrounded by rivers, which meant it was defensive. Mitsuhide renovated the castle by introducing current advanced techniques of castle construction like high stone walls and building the Main Tower to show Nobunaga’s authority. Other than that, Mitsuhide governed the area well for the people’s lives by providing tax exemptions and building banks beside the rivers to avoid flood. People in Fukuchiyama City still remember them. Mitsuhide placed his son-in-law -Hidemitsu- at the castle while he stayed in the Kameyama Castle near Kyoto.

The miniature model of Fukuchiyama Castle, exhibited by the current Main Tower of the castle

The restored Main Tower of Fukuchiyama Castle

*The old photo of the Main Tower of Kamayama Castle (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Castle becomes Homebase of Fukuchiyama Domain after Honnoji Incident

The most mysterious thing about Mitsuhide is why he killed Nobunaga who is staying in Kyoto in the Honnoji Incident on the 2nd of June by the lunar calendar of 1582. Mitsuhide with about 13 thousand soldiers, which was ordered by Nobunaga to help Hideyoshi Hashiba, another senior vassal, who invaded the Chugoku Region, made a surprise attack on Nobunaga who was staying in Honnoji Temple with few attendants. That meant Nobunaga had fully relied on Mitsuhide. Mitsuhide was also beaten by Hideyoshi who made an incredible quick return from the Chugoku Region, only 11 days after the incident. No colleagues helped Mitsuhide. That also meant his action had not been planned. It is one of the biggest mysteries in Japanese history, seeking the reason for his rebellion as he did without giving any reasons.

*The picture of the Honnoji Incident, attributed to Nobukazu Yousai, in 1896 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Fukuchiyama Castle was ruled by several relatives of Hideyoshi who became the next ruler and changed his family name to Toyotomi. After the Tokugawa Shogunate got the power in the 17th Century, several family-lineage feudal lords such as the Arima and Kuchiki Clans governed the castle and the area around as the Fukuchiyama Domain. This meant that the Fukuchiyama area was still important for the Rulers and Shoguns. The Arima Clan completed the castle in the beginning of the 17th Century and the Kuchiki Clan owned the castle from the late 17th Century to the end of the Edo Period.

The illustration of Fukuchiyama Castle in Tanba Province, exhibited by the National Archives of Japan

To be continued in “Fukushiyama Castle Part2”