立地と歴史～Location and History – ページ 90 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

149.Komakiyama Castle Part1

The castle had a very short life but rich history.

Location and History

Nobunaga’s Foothold

Komakiyama Castle was located on an 86m high mountain called Komakiyama, on Nobi Plain in Owari Province, what is now the western part of Aichi Prefecture. The mountain had no castle until Nobunaga Oda built a castle on it in 1563. The reason for it was that he wanted to move his home base from Kiyosu Castle in now Nagoya City to this castle. He aimed to capture Inabayama Castle, what is now Gifu City, which the Saito Clan owned at that time. Komakiyama was much closer to Inabayama than Kiyosu. However, it was very rare for warlords and their retainers to move their home to another. They always continued to live in places where their ancestors had been.

The location of the castle

The portrait of Nobunaga Oda, attributed to Soshu Kano, owned by Chokoji Temple, in the late 16th century (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Three Distinct Features

Komakiyama Castle by Nobunaga had three distinct features. First, the Main Enclosure or Honmaru on the top was surrounded by stone walls made using huge stones. Some of the stones were carried from another mountain. At that time, building stone walls for castles was rare, and there was likely no other case like Komakiyama. It was one of the earliest examples of using stone walls as a show of authority.

The remaining stone walls on the mountain

Secondly, the castle had two residences for the lord, one was on the mountain, the other was at the foot. Other warlords who had a mountain castle also often had two residences. They usually lived in the one on the foot and used the one on the mountain when a battle happened. However, in the case of Nobunaga, he seemed to live in his residence on the mountain. He might have considered the mountain as a special place. Another similar example can be seen in Gifu Castle, his next home base.

Lastly, the Main Route went straight from the foot to the mid-slope of the mountain like Azuchi Castle, his last home base. It was abnormal for other warlords to have such a route on the mountain, because it was not defensive. The reason is still unsure, but it must have depended on Nobunaga’s idea. In addition, its castle town was built in an advanced way in an area where nothing existed prior. The town was divided orderly to accommodate warriors, merchants, and craftsmen separately. Such a way to develop castle town is commonly seen in those in the next century.

The miniature model of the castle town distribution at the site

Ieyasu’s Stronghold

The life of the castle by Nobunaga was just four years, as he was successful in capturing Inabayama Castle in 1567. He moved his home base again to Inabayama castle and renamed it Gifu Castle. Komakiyama Castle was abandoned right away. In 1584, the castle was reused by Ieyasu Tokugawa when he fought with the ruler Hideyoshi Toyotomi in the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute. Ieyasu reinforced earthen walls and dry moats surrounding the castle to establish a stronghold there against Hideyoshi at Inuyama Castle. This battle resulted in a dead heat and Ieyasu showed his great presence towards the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate later.

*The Portrait of Ieyasu Tokugawa, attributed to Tanyu Kano, owned by Osaka Castle Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

To be continued in “Komakiyama Castle Part2”

149.小牧山城　その１

とても短いが中身の濃い歴史を持つ城です。

立地と歴史

信長の橋頭保

小牧山城は、現在の愛知県西部、濃尾平野にある標高85ｍの小牧山の上にありました。この山には織田信長が1563年に築城するまで城はありませんでした。この築城の理由は、信長が現在の名古屋市にあった清州城からこの城に本拠地を移そうとしたことにあります。信長は現在の岐阜市にありその当時は斎藤氏がいた稲葉山城を手に入れようとしていたのです。小牧山は清州より稲葉山のずっと近くにありました。しかし、戦国大名やその家臣たちにとって、拠点を他に移すことはとても稀でした。先祖が住んでいた場所に住み続けることが普通だったのです。

城の位置

織田信長肖像画、狩野宗秀作、長興寺蔵、１６世紀後半 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

３つの特徴

信長による小牧山城は３つの際立った特徴がありました。一つ目は、頂上にある本丸は巨石を使って築かれた石垣によって囲まれていました。いくつかの巨石は他の山から運ばれてきました。当時は城に石垣を築くことは稀で、小牧山のような使い方は他にはなかったようです。権威を示すために石垣を使う最も早い事例でした。

二つ目ですが、この城は２つの城主のための館があり、１つは山上に、もう１つは山麓にありました。２つの館を持っていたのは、他の山城を持つ戦国大名も同様でした。彼らは通常麓にある方に住み、戦が起こったときに山の上の方を使いました。ところが、信長の場合は山の上にある館に住んでいたようなのです。彼はこの山を特別な場所として意識していたのかもしれません。彼の次の本拠地となる岐阜城でも似たような事例が見られます。

最後に、山麓から山の中腹に大手道が、安土城のようにまっすぐ伸びていたことです。他の戦国大名にとっては、山にこのような道を作るのは異常なことでした。防御に不利だからです。なせこのような作り方をしたのかは今だ不明ですが、信長の発想によることは間違いないでしょう。更には、城下町が以前なにもなかった所に先進的な方法で作られました。町は武士、商人、職人が住む場所が整然と分けられていました。このような城下町の作り方は、通常は次の世紀に見られるものです。

家康の本陣

信長によるこの城があったのはわずか４年間でした。1567年に信長が稲葉山城を獲得できたためです。彼は再び本拠地を稲葉山城に移し、岐阜城と名を改めました。小牧山城は直ちに廃城となります。1584年、この城は徳川家康が天下人の豊臣秀吉と小牧長久手の戦いを行ったときに再利用されました。家康は、ここを本陣として犬山城にいた秀吉に対抗するために、城を取り囲む囲む土塁と空堀を作り、強化しました。この戦いは引き分けに終わり、家康は存在感を示し、後に徳川幕府の創始者となるのです。

*徳川家康肖像画、加納探幽筆、大阪城天守閣蔵 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons*)

「小牧山城その２」に続きます。

39.Gifu Castle Part1

The castle for Nobunaga Oda to unify the nation by force

Location and History

Castle protected by Mt. Kinkazan and Nagara-gawa River

If you go from Nagoya City to Gifu City, the prefectural capital of Gifu Pref. through the Nobi Plain, the first high mountain you will see is Mt. Kinkazan with the Main Tower on the top. This is Gifu Castle. It may have been very common for warriors to build their castle on such an outstanding spot. The Nagara-gawa River also flows on the north and west of the castle as a part of the natural terrain and served as a defense mechanism for the castle.

The location of the castle

*Mt. Kinkazan (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Nobunaga Oda declares Unify Nation by Force

It is said that the Nikaido Clan first built the castle in the 13th Century, but the details are uncertain. In the mid 16th Century, the Saito Clan improved the castle which until then, was called Inabayama Castle. In 1567, Nobunaga Oda took over the castle from the Saito Clan, and moved his home base from Komakiyama Castle to this castle. At the same time, he renamed the castle Gifu Castle, which comes from the hometown’s name of an ancient Chinese Dynasty, Shou. He also started using his seal of “Tenka-Fubu” or Unify the Nation by Force for his documents. This was seen as Nobunaga’s declaration of his intention for the unification of Japan.

The *seal of Unify the Nation by Force (licensed by 百楽兎 via Wikimedia Commons)*

However, even according to the excavations, it is still not entirely sure what the top of the mountain looked like and if there was a Main Tower or not. Some gates and stone walls were built, but the natural terrain on the mountain was not modified so much. Some historians speculate this is because the mountain was originally a sanctuary spot where its rocky terrain itself could be the object of worship. There was actually an Inaba Shrine on the mountain before the Saito Clan improved the castle. Nobunaga lived on the top of the mountain with his family and relatives, and usually didn’t allow other people to climb on the mountain.

The miniature model of the top of Mt. Kinkazan (Gifu Castle Museum)

Featured Nobunaga’s Palace Residence

On the other hand, at the western foot of the mountain called Keyakitdani, Nobunaga’s residence, which was like a luxurious palace, was built. The residence had four stories covering the terraced terrain with golden foiled roof tiles. The foundation of the residence was built with stone walls, in particular, and its entrance was decorated by huge stone walls. The back of the residence had deluxe artificial gardens also with huge stones. The way of building the castle is said to have led to the next way for building the Azuchi Castle later.

The imaginary drawing of Nobunaga’s residence *(Gifu Castle Museum)*

After Nobunaga died, his relatives continued to govern the castle. In 1600, when Hidenobu Oda, Nobunaga’s grandchild was the lord of the castle, the battle of Sekigahara happened. Hidenobu supported the Western Army led by Mitsunari Ishida, while the Eastern Army under the Tokugawa Shogunate attacked Gifu Castle. Hidenobu was defeated and it is said that the buildings Nobunaga built were burned down during the battle.

The portrait of Hidenobu Oda, owned by Raikoji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

To be continued in “Gifu Castle Part2”