立地と歴史～Location and History – ページ 88 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

58.Akashi Castle Part1

The castle made the Shogunate governance stable.

Location and History

Node of Land and Sea Transportation

Akashi City is located in the southern part of Hyogo Prefecture alongside Seto Island Sea. The city is connected to Kinki and Chugoku Regions, as an important point for land transport. The area is also close to Awaji and Shikoku Islands, where people got on board ships to the islands in the past. People can go across the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge to get to the islands now.

The location of the castle

*The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge (licensed by Tysto via Wikimedia Commons)*

Castle to monitor Lords in western Japan

In 1615, Tokugawa Shogunate defeated the largest rival, Toyotomi Clan. It also ordered other lords to have no other castles than one castle where they lived (Law of One Castle per Province).
Its governance got stable, but it was never satisfied with that. The Shogun, Hidetada Tokugawa told one of the hereditary feudal lords, Tadazane Ogasawara to build a new castle around the Akashi area.

The portrait of Hidetada Tokugawa, owned by Saifuku-ji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The portrait of Tadazane Ogasawara, owned by Fukuju-ji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The purpose of the castle was to monitor the non-hereditary feudal lords in western Japan, who would be against the Shogunate. Himeji Castle was already being used for that purpose, but the Shogunate thought it was not enough. The new castle was named “Akashi Castle”. Akashi Castle was built using natural terrain such as the edge of the hill and the plain areas. The hilly area in the north had the main portion of the castle such as the Main Enclosure and the Second Enclosure, which provided much defense. The area originally had a natural pond called Ko-no-ike which was also used as a moat. The plain area in the south had the Main Hall for the lord and the houses for the retainers. The area was guarded by gates such as the Main Gate, and the water moats surrounding the area tripled.

The relief map around the castle

Part of the illustration of Akashi Castle in Harina Province, exhibited by the National Archives of Japan

Castle was built by Rush work

The construction for the castle was rapidly completed within one year in 1619. This was due to the construction using moved buildings and waste materials from abandoned castles by the Law of One Castle per Province. Four three-story turrets were built in each corner of the Main Enclosure. These turrets were connected by the plaster walls which surrounded the enclosure. The large stone wall base for a Main Tower was also built, but the Main Tower itself was never built. The main portion of the castle including the Main Enclosure was covered by the high stone walls.

The two out of the four three-story turrets remain

After the completion of the castle, Tadazane was promoted to be the lord of Kokura Castle in 1632, getting more earnings than when he was at Akashi Castle. For about 50 years after that, several lords governed the castle before the Matsudaira Clan came to the castle in 1682. The clan governed the castle until the end of the Edo Period. No war happened during that time, but they often had to repair the buildings which were not new ones when the castle was first built.

To be continued in “Akashi Castle Part2”

58.明石城　その１

幕府統治安定のための城

立地と歴史

陸上海上交通の結節点

明石市は、瀬戸内海に沿った兵庫県南部にあります。近畿地方と中国地方を結ぶ、陸上交通の重要地点です。この地域はまた淡路島と四国に近く、過去には人々はここから船に乗って島の方に渡っていきました。現在では明石海峡大橋を渡って行くことができます。

城の位置

明石海峡大橋 *(licensed by Tysto via Wikimedia Commons)*

西日本の大名を監視するために築城

1615年、徳川幕府は最大の敵対者であった豊臣氏を滅ぼしました。また、他の大名にはその大名が住んでいる一つの城しか持ってはいけない旨を命令しました（一国一城令）。幕府の統治は安定しましたが、決して満足しませんでした。将軍である徳川秀忠は、譜代大名の一人、小笠原忠真に明石地域周辺に新しい城を築くよう命じました。

徳川秀忠肖像画、西福寺蔵 *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

小笠原忠真肖像画、福聚寺蔵 *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

その城の目的は、幕府に反抗するかもしれない西日本の外様大名を監視することでした。姫路城が既にその目的のために存在していましたが、幕府はそれだけでは不十分と考えたのです。その新しい城は「明石城」と名付けられました。明石城は、丘陵地帯の端や平坦地といった自然の地形を生かして築かれました。北側の丘陵地帯には、本丸や二の丸といった城の中心部が置かれ、防御が強化されました。この一帯にはもともと剛ノ池という自然の池があり、これも堀として使われました。南側の平坦地は大手門のような門によって守られ、三重の堀が辺りを囲んでいました。

城周辺の起伏地図

突貫工事により完成

この城の工事は、1619年に始まりその年のうちに突貫で完成しました。これは一国一城令により廃城となった他の城から建物を移築したり、廃材を活用したことによります。本丸の隅には４基の三重櫓が建てられました。それらの櫓は漆喰壁によって連結され、本丸を囲んでいました。大きな天守台も作られたのですが、天守そのももが建てられることはありませんでした。本丸を含む城の主要部分は高石垣により覆われていました。

城の完成後、1632年に忠真は、明石城にいたときよりも多くの石高で小倉城主として栄転しました。その後約５０年間は、城主の氏族は何回も変わりました。1682年に松平氏がこの城に来て以来、幕末まで統治することになります。この間、戦は起こりませんでしたが、建物は頻繁に修理が必要でした。城を最初に作ったときでもその建物は新築でなかったからです。

「明石城その２」に続きます。

145.Kokokuji Castle Part1

Is this castle a symbol of peace or of battles?

Location and History

Kokokuji Castle was located in what is now Numazu City, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area of the city was in Suruga Province (now central part of Shizuoka Pref.) which many warlords tried to take over in the 16 Century during the Sengoku Period.

The location of the castle and the range of Suruga Province

The castle was on the southern edge of the hilly terrain of Ashitaka-yama Mountain. There was a marshland to the south, east and west of the castle which was as natural hazard that helped to protect the castle. The castle was built using the natural terrain of the mountain and marshland. The castle was also an important point for transportation. A road at the foot of the mountain called the Nekata Road passed beside the castle. In addition, the Takeda Road close to the castle ran from the Nekata Road to the Tokaido Road at the seaside.

A relief map around the castle

The two roads are still connected to the castle ruins

The castle mainly consisted of three enclosures on the hill in a terraced manner. The Main Enclosure was at the highest, and there was a large deep dry moat behind the enclosure to prevent enemies’ attacks from the north. The castle even had ports on both sides for ships on the marsh.

Part of the illustration of Shinkokuji Castle in Suruga Province, exhibited by the National Diet Library (It is supposed to be Kokokuji Castle)

The castle itself might have been simple but is well known for its history. This is because some history books say that Kokokuji Castle was the first castle for a famous warlord, Soun Hojo to govern. He was one of the earliest warlords in the late 15 Century who supported the Imagawa Clan in Suruga Province. He was given the castle by the clan in 1487. His success story starts at this castle, and he went on to capture a part of the Kanto Region. His descendants followed in his footsteps to capture the other parts of the Kanto Region.

*The replica of the portrait of Soun Hojo, owned by Odawara Castle (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

However, there is no other evidence of the castle existing at the same time as Soun. The first appearance of the castle in a public document can only be traced back to 1549. At that time, Yoshimoto Imagawa ordered that the Kokoku-ji Temple be moved to another location to make space for building a new castle there. What is the truth about the matter? A historian gives us an interesting hypothesis that the castle was a temple called Kokoku-ji when Soun owned it. Kokoku-ji is originally a name of temple (“ji” means temple in Japanese). Kokokuji Castle is thought to be named after the Kokoku-ji Temple.

The statue of Yoshimoto Imagawa at Okehazama Battlefield Park (*taken by HiC from photoAC)*

The historian suggests another speculation about why the castle was built. A period of peace once came to the area around Suruga Province with Imgawa, Hojo, and Takeda Clans when the castle was built. Castles were basically built for battles, but Kokokuji Castle might have been built for the meeting with the three clans or as a symbol of peace. It is said that the three clans had a conference for their alliance at the Zentokuji-Temple. The temple may have been Kokokuji Caste.

*The portrait of Shingen Takeda, the lord of the Takeda Clan at that time, owned by Jimyo-in Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons*)

Unfortunately, the alliance broke in 1568, while Kokokuji Castle was involved in war. The lords of the castle were rapidly changed several times from the Imagawa Clan to the Hojo, Takeda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa Clans. As the number of the lords increased, the range of the castle seemed to become larger. In 1601, Yasukage Amano under Tokugawa became the last lord of the castle and the founder of the Kokokuji Domain. He governed the area well, but he ran away from the castle because of trouble between his citizens and others. The castle was finally abandoned when the domain was abolished in 1607.

Yasukage Amano from the *Battle of Komaki-Nagakute folding screens (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

To be continued in “Kokokuji Castle Part2”