立地と歴史～Location and History – ページ 86 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

22.Hachioji Castle Part1

A completed version of a mountain castle in Japan

Location and History

One of main Branch Castles of Hojo Clan

Hachioji Castle was a large mountain castle located in what is now Hachioji City, the western part of Tokyo Metropolitan, the Kanto Region. In the late 16th Century during the Sengoku Period, the Hojo Clan owned most of the region. The clan was based in Odawara Castle located at the southwest corner of the region, while they built the network of branch castles in the region to maintain their territory. Hachioji Castle was one of the main branch castles for the clan.

The location of the castle

The castle was first built by Ujiteru Hojo at latest in 1584, replacing Takiyama Castle located about 10km northeast of Hachioji Castle. There were several reasons for the replacement, one of which was that the Hojo Clan wanted to have a much stronger castle. The tension between Hojo and the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi was increasing at that time, so Hojo hurried to improve the castle. They put as much of their power and technology as they could into this castle.

Three Parts

Hachioji Castle consisted of three parts. The first one is called the Nekoya Area which was used for residences of retainers and craftsmen around the entrance of the castle. This area is alongside the Shiroyama River in a valley terrain.

The second part is called the Residence on the Foot Area where the Main Hall for the lord of the castle was built. This area is also alongside the river and the back of the Nekoya Area but was strictly protected. Visitors had to go across the river to enter the Main Gate, go the Main Route, and go across the river again over the Movable Bridge in front of the Main Hall. The bridge would be removed when a battle happened. The entrance of the hall was zigzagged, and its foundation was covered with terraced stone walls. The hall was made up of several buildings including the formal ones called “Shuden” or the Palace, and “Kaisho” or the Club. It also had a pond garden to host visitors. A lot of items such as utensils, weapons, and imported porcelains were found by the excavation.

The restored or developed Residence on the Foot Area

The last part is the Fortress on the Mountain Area which would be used when a battle happened. The Main Enclosure is on the 445m high top of the mountain (about 200m higher than the foot, which itself is a 200m above ground). Many other enclosures were built around the Main Enclosure and the ridges are used for the trails between the top and the foot of the mountain. In particular, lots of stone walls covered these enclosures and trails. In addition, not only the front of the Main Enclosure, but also the back of it was also protected strictly by small forts and ridges covered with stone walls. Such structures for a mountain castle were very rare, so the castle can be seen a completed version of mountain castles in Japan.

The ruins of the Fortress on the Mountain Area

Captured by Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s troop in One day

However, the castle was taken over by Hideyoshi’s troops in one day. On June 23, 1590, at least 35,000 soldiers attacked the castle, while the number of the defenders was only 3,000 including farmers and women. The lord, Ujiteru wasn’t there because he was at Odawara Castle. In addition, Hideyoshi ordered his troops to charge and capture the castle. The castle was too large for the 3,000 people to prevent from the bare-knuckled attack. There has been a sad story that many women threw themselves into the waterfall basin of the river before the castle fell.

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

The waterfall of Go-Shuden *(licensed by じゃんもどき via Wikimedia Commons)*

To be continued in “Hachioji Castle Part2”

22.八王子城　その１

日本の山城の集大成

立地と歴史

北条氏の主要な支城の一つ

八王子城は、関東地方の現在の東京都西部、八王子市にあった大きな山城です。戦国時代の１６世紀後半には北条氏がこの地方の大半を手に入れていました。北条氏は関東地方の南西隅にあった小田原城を本拠地とする一方、領土を維持するためにこの地方に支城網を構築していました。八王子城は、その主な支城の一つでした。

城の位置

この城は、遅くとも1584年までに、八王子城から約10ｋｍ北東にあった滝山城を置き換える形で、北条氏照によって築かれました。置き換えの理由はいくつかあるのですが、その一つは北条氏がもっと強力な城を築きたいと思ったことです。当時、北条と天下人の豊臣秀吉との緊張が高まっていました。そこで、北条は八王子築城を急ぎ、できる限りの労力と技術をこの城に注ぎ込んだのです。

本丸と中の丸をつなぐ曳橋～The movable bridge between Honmaru and Nakanomaru — 滝山城跡

３つのパート

八王子城は３つのパートによって構成されていました。一つ目は、根古屋地区と呼ばれ、城の入口周辺に家臣や職人のための住居がありました。この地区は谷あいを流れていた城山川に沿っていました。

二つ目のパートは、城主の御殿が築かれた山麓居館地区です。この地区も川に沿っていて根古屋地区の後方にありましたが、厳重に防御されていました。訪問者は大手門に入るのに川を渡り、大手道を進み、そして御殿の手前にある曳橋を再び渡らなければなりませんでした。この橋は戦いが起きたとき、外されるようになっていました。御殿の入口はジグザグの通路になっていて、土台は階段状の石垣に覆われていました。御殿はいくつかの建物から成り、公的な建物であった主殿や会所などがありました。発掘により、什器、武器、輸入磁器などの品物が発見されています。

最後のパートは山上要害地区といい、戦いが起こったときに使われました。本丸は標高445ｍの山頂にありました（山麓から約200ｍの高さ）。その他多くの曲輪が本丸周辺にあり、山の峰々は山麓から頂上までに至る通路のために使われていました。特に、多くの石垣がこれらの曲輪や通路を覆っていました。更には、本丸の手前だけはなく、その背後も小型の堡塁群と石垣に覆われた峰々により厳重に守られていました。山城にこのような構造があるのは大変珍しく、そのため、この城は日本の山城の集大成と言えるのです。

豊臣秀吉軍により一日で落城

ところが、この城は秀吉の手勢によりわずか一日で落城してしまいます。1590年6月23日、少なくとも35,000人の兵士が城を攻撃したのです。一方、守備兵の数は農民や女性を含めてわずか3,000人でした。城主の氏照はそのとき小田原城にいて、ここにはいませんでした。更には、秀吉は配下の兵士に、城を力攻めにし、占領することを命じました。なりふり構わぬ攻撃を3,000人で防ぐには、この城は大きすぎたのです。城が落ちる前、多くの女性が川の滝つぼに自ら身を投げたという悲しい話も伝わっています。

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

御主殿の滝 *(licensed by じゃんもどき via Wikimedia Commons)*

「八王子城その２」に続きます。

121.Motosakura Castle Part1

The castle of the Chiba Clan, an illustrious clan in Kanto Region

Location and History

Chiba Clan built it in 15th Century

Motosakura Castle was a large castle which was located in Shimosa Province (what is now the northern part of Chiba Prefecture). A warlord, Suketane from the Chiba Clan, first built the castle at latest in 1484 on a hilly area called Masakado-yama. The area was surrounded by Inba-numa Lake, and only open to the Shimosa Road on flat land in the southern direction. This meant the area was defensive and convenient for water and land transport.

The map around the castle in the early Meiji Era, Inba-numa Lake was still near the castle

The Chiba Clan’s family crest, Gessei or Moon and Star *(licensed by Los688 via Wikimedia Commons)*

Central portion, Inner Compounds.

When the castle was first built, the warlords in the Kanto Region were split into two groups, the western group and the eastern group. The western group was led by the shogunal deputy for the Kanto Region, the Uesugi Clan, and the eastern group was led by the head of the Kanto government in Koga, the Ashikaga Clan. The Chiba Clan was included in the eastern group and the Motosakura Castle was also an important site which connected Koga in Shimosa Province to the other provinces in Boso Peninsula inside the group. The clan built several enclosures in the central portion of the castle called the Inner Compounds.

The location of the castle

The Main Enclosure called Shiro-yama had the Main Hall for the lord of the castle. The hall had a set of two formal buildings called Shuden and Kaisho, because the clan was the governor of the province. The Okuno-yama enclosure, which had the Myoken Shrine where the clan went for worship, is next to the main enclosure on the west. The Okuno-yama enclosure was connected to the Main Enclosure by a wooden bridge . The next one is the Kura-ato Enclosure which had warehouses. The westmost one is the Settei-yama Enclosure which was used for guesthouses. In addition to these enclosures, the Higashi-yama Enclosure was set to protect them, and the Tokoji-byo Enclosure, which had temples, faced Inba-numa Lake.

The enclosures of the Inner Compound (from the signboard at the site)

Outer Compounds were built against Satomi Clan

In the middle of the 16th Century, the situation of the Kanto Region changed. The Hojo Clan captured most of the region, then the Chiba Clan decided to support Hojo by adopting a son from them. However, the Satomi Clan in Boso Peninsula (the south of Honsakura Castle) was against Hojo. As a result, the Chiba Clan had to reinforce the defense of the castle on the south.

The location of Motosakura Castle and the home base of the Satomi Clan

The clan built large enclosures outside the Inner Compounds, called the Outer Compounds such as Araue, Negoya, and Mukai-Negoya. They were surrounded by thick earthen walls and had the sticking out defensive positions called Umadashi, which were built using Hojo’s techniques. In addition, the Settai-yama Enclosure became the pivot of the defense because it was the connecting point between the Inner Compounds and the Outer Compounds. The range of the castle finally reached 39,000 square meters.

The whole image of the castle including the Outer Compound *(from the signboard at the site)*

However, The Chiba Clan was fired by the ruler Hieyoshi Toyotomi in 1590, as their master Hojo Clan was also defeated by Hideyoshi. After that, Motosakura Castle was sometimes used by several clans. The castle was finally abandoned in 1615.

To be continued in “Motosakura Castle Part2”