内容～Content – ページ 222 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

34.Nanao Castle Part2

The main portion of the castle is still outstanding.

Features

From Parking lot to Main portion of Castle

Today, you can access the main portion of the ruins of Nanao Castle directly by car. The ruins, however, don’t have castle buildings now, but their foundation remains intact. There is a parking lot on one of the enclosures under the Cho Residence. You can walk on the well developed trail to the Main Enclosure from the parking lot.

The map around the castle

You can also see the large deep ditch called Horikiri between the Main Enclosure and the Cho Residence followed by the vertically cut cliff called Kirigishi of the Main Enclosure along the trail. They are, however, artificial.

The large deep ditch between the Main Enclosure and the Cho Residence

The vertically cut cliff under the Main Enclosure

You will first reach the Chodo-maru which was the place where weapons were prepared under the Sakura Riding Ground. The original Main Route also reached the Chodo-maru in the past.

The imaginary drawing of Chodo-maru (from the signboard at the site)

Wonderful stone walls

Next, you will see the large five-tier stone walls piled up naturally called Nozura-zumi when you walk up to the Sakura Riding Ground. The stone walls look beautiful because of the moss that covers it. They were built by Toshiie Maeda and are one of the highlights of the castle.

The five-tier stone walls Toshiie Maeda built

From the front of the Sakura Riding Ground, you can go straight to the Main Enclosure through the Yusa Residence. However, this route was not original. It was said to have been built when the Shiroyama Shrine was established on the enclosure about 80 years ago. Thanks to that, you can also see the great three-tier stone walls of the enclosure which is close by.

The entrance of the Sakura Riding Ground

The three-tier stone walls of the Main Enclosure

Main Enclosure was well protected

The enclosure was protected well by the stone walls and the vertically cut cliff in the past. The original route zigzagged and went around the back of the enclosure, guarded by the other square space called Soto-Masugata which was put on the outside of the enclosure.

The stone walls and vertically cut cliff protecting the Main Enclosure

The square space outside the original entrance of the Main Enclosure

The inside of the Main Enclosure is basically empty and the monument of the castle remains standing. The shrine is on the ruins of the Main Tower. The tower is thought to have a cypress bark roof or shingled roof, because no roof tiles were ever found during the excavation. The view from the enclosure is amazing. If the weather is nice, you will be able to see the whole view of Nanao City along the Nanao Bay and Noto Peninsula.

The monument stands an the Main Enclosure

The Shiroyama Shrine on the ruins of the Main Tower

To be continued in “Nanao Castle Part3”
Back to “Nanao Castle Part1”

34.七尾城　その２

城の主要部はいまだに際立っています。

特徴、見どころ

駐車場から城の主要部へ

現在、車を使えば七尾城跡の主要部分に直接乗り入れることができます。城跡には今は城の建物はありませんが、城の基礎部分は健在です。長屋敷の下にある曲輪が駐車場になっています。駐車場からは、よく整備された道を歩いて、本丸の方に行くことができます。

城周辺の地図

そのときには道すがら、本丸と長屋敷の間を隔てる大きく深い堀切や、本丸にある切岸と呼ばれる垂直に切り落とされた崖も見ることができます。これらは人工的に加工されたものです。

最初に、桜馬場の下にある調度丸（ちょうどまる）に着きます。ここは武具が準備されている場所でした。もとあった大手道もまた調度丸に着くようになっていました。

素晴らしい石垣群

次は桜馬場に登っていく途中に、大規模な五段積みの石垣が見えてきます。野面積みと呼ばれる自然石を積み上げる方法で作られています。表面が苔に覆われていてとても美しく見えます。前田利家により築かれたもので、この城の呼び物の一つです。

桜馬場の正面からは、遊佐屋敷を通ってまっすぐ本丸に行くことができます。しかしこの道は元からあったものではなく、約８０年前に本丸に城山神社が創建されたときに作られたと言われています。そのおかげで、本丸の立派な三段の石垣を間近に見ることもできるわけです。

よく防御されていた本丸

本丸は、過去にはこの石垣と垂直に切り立った崖により、よく守られていました。元の本丸への道は、曲がりくねって裏側の方から回り込んでいました。そして、本丸の外側に配置された外桝形と呼ばれる四角い空間によって、防御されていました。

本丸の内部は、基本的には空になっていますが、城の記念碑が立っています。神社は天守跡にあります。天守は檜皮葺きか杮葺きであったと考えられています。発掘によっても瓦が発見されなかったからです。本丸からの眺めは素晴らしいです。もし天気がよければ、七尾湾と能登半島を含む七尾市の全景を見渡すことができます。

「七尾城その３」に続きます。
「七尾城その１」に戻ります。

34.Nanao Castle Part1

A famous large mountain castle in Hokuriku Region

Location and History

Capital of Noto Province

Nanao Castle was a large mountain castle located in Noto Province, what is now the modern part of the northern Ishikawa Prefecture, the Hokuriku Region. The castle was built on about 300m high mountain ridges and the name “Nanao” originates from the number of the ridges which is seven. The Hatakeyama Clan was a relative of the Ashikaga Shogunate in the Middle Ages. One of the groups of the Hatakeyama Clan was sent to Noto Province as the governor of the province in 1408. Since then, the clan developed Nanao Castle. The castle became the capital of the province with the castle town prospering at the foot of the mountain. A great painter by the name of Tohaku Hasegawa came from this town in the middle 16th Century. He left a portrait of a warlord which was said to be that of famous Shingen Takeda from its impression, but it is now said to be one of the lords of the Hatakeyama Clan.

The location of the castle

The relief map around the castle

The portrait of a warlord who may have been a lord of the Hatakeyama Clan, attributed to Tohaku Hasegawa, owned by Seikei-in Temple, Mt. Koya (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Hatakeyama Clan governed it with senior vassals

The Hatakeyama Clan governed Noto Province and Nanao Castle for about 170 years together with their senior vassals such as the Yusa Clan, the Cho Clan and the Nukui Clan. They often cooperated with each other to defend attacks from the invaders, but they often had to deal with internal conflicts. It was both a strength and weakness for them. The structure of the castle also reflected the formation of the lord and the senior vassals. The main portion of the castle was on the highest one of the seven ridges called Matsuo-yama. There you will be able to see the Main Enclosure on the top, the Yusa Residence, the Sakura Riding Ground, the Nukui Residence, and the Second Enclosure in line with the ridge. The Cho Residence and the Third Enclosure were on the both sides of the main portion divided by the large deep ditches. As shown in the names of the enclosures, the senior vassals had their own enclosures for their residences, which showed the balance of their power.

The imaginary drawing of Nanao Castle (from the signboard at the site)

The imaginary drawing of the main portion of Nanao Castle (exhibited by Nanao Castle History Museum)

Uesugi and Oda Clans battled over Castle

Around Noto Province in the late 16th Century, the two great warlords were dominating, Nobunaga Oda in the west of the Province and Kenshin Uesugi in the east. Kenshin decided to attack Nanao Castle in 1576 despite the lord of the castle being a child who was supported by the senior vassals. Kenshin was said to be the strongest warlord, and he only needed to siege the castle without the need for an aggressive attack. The siege lasted for about two months, and the young lord was unfortunately killed by the epidemic. The senior vassals had different opinions. On one side, the Cho Clan wanted to ask Nobunaga for help, however, the Yusa Clan did not feel the same way. Nobunaga finally sent his reinforcement to the castle, and the Yusa Clan managed to defeat the Cho Clan and supported Kenshin. Eventually, the castle finally belonged to Kenshin.

The portrait of Kenshin Uesugi, owned by the Uesugi Shrine (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

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)

Despite the victory, Kenshin died just six months later, and as a result, Nanao Castle was eventually occupied by Nobunaga. Nobunaga gave Noto Province and Nanao Castle to his retainer, Toshiie Maeda in 1581. Toshiie built the Three-layer Main Tower on the Main Enclosure and large scale stone walls which was the front side of the castle. On the other hand, Toshiie also built his new home base called Ko-Maruyama Castle near Nanao Port for the convenience of the government and ease of transportation. Nevertheless, the reason why he continued to improve Nanao Castle was thought to be for the new Main Tower. Furthermore, the stone walls showed his authority and it symbolized the lord of the castle has changed in that area. The castle was eventually abandoned in 1589.

The portrait of Toshiie Maeda, private owned (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The stone walls which Toshiie Maeda built

To be continued in “Nanao Castle Part2”