English – ページ 104 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

77.Takamatsu Castle Part2

A glimpse of Sea Castle remains.

Features

To Inside of Castle with seeing Ushitora Turret

Now, the ruins of Takamatsu Castle have become Tamamo Park (tamamo is an old Japanese word which means something like “beautiful algae”.) The range of the park is inside the inner moat and part of the middle moat of the castle. The park has several entrances, but if you drive to the ruins of the park, you can park in front of the main gate called Asahi-mon. From the parking lot, you will see a great view of the remaining three-story turret called Ushitora-Yagura with the background of some modern buildings. The turret was actually moved from the Eastern Enclosure to the present position in 1967.

The aerial photo around the castle

Ushitora-Yagura Turret that can be seen from the parking lot

You can enter the gate after walking on the Asahi-bashi Bridge over the middle moat. You will also go through a square space surrounded by large stone walls called Masugata, which was built for defense.

Entering the Main Gate after crossing the Asahi-bashi Bridge

Going Third, Second Enclosures, and Main Tower Base in Main Enclosure

The inside of the gate is the riding ground enclosure or Sakura-no-Baba which is now planted with lots of cherry trees. Then, you go across the earthen bridge to enter the ruins of the Sakura-mon Gate and the third enclosure. However, as of February 2022, the gate is under construction and scheduled to be restored by the spring of 2022, so you will have to use the temporary path.

The earthen bridge to the Third Enclosure

The Sakura-mon Gate under the restoration

The third enclosure still has a traditional hall, called Hiunkaku, which is not original to the castle, but was built as the house for the former lord, the Matsudaira Clan, in modern times. It is now owned by Takamatsu City and used for ceremonies and events. The enclosure also has a Japanese garden you can enjoy looking around.

The Japanese garden in the Third Enclosure

You can go further from the third enclosure to the second enclosure and the main enclosure with the stone wall base for the Main Tower. The only way to get to the main enclosure is by crossing the restored roofed wooden bridge called saya-bashi.

From the Second Enclosure to the Main Enclosure

You can also go on the top of the base and see a good city view, and inside of the base which was recently repaired. In fact, the city is considering restoring the main tower.

The inside of the base for the Main Tower

Tsukimi Turret beside Sea in old days

I recommend you also visit the northern side of the park, which was the sea in the past. You will see the other remaining three-story turret called Tsukimi-Yagura with the remaining Mizunote-mon Gate and the Watari-Yagura Turret. The Mizunote-mon Gate was open to the sea and is the only remaining such gate. The Tsukimi-Yagura Turret is also very beautiful with many decorations. You can imagine them standing out beside the sea in the past.

Tsukimi-Yagura Turret, Mizunote-mon Gate and Watari-Yagura Turret

This area in front of the turrets and gate was in the sea

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

77.Takamatsu Castle Part1

One of the three greatest sea castles in Japan

Location and History

Chikamasa Ikoma built Castle based on experience

Takamatsu Castle, one of the greatest sea castles in Japan, was located in Sanuki Province which is now Kagawa Prefecture. The name of the prefectural capital, Takamatsu City, actually originates from this castle. Chikamasa Ikoma, who was a warrior in the 16th Century during the Sengoku Period, first built the castle. Chikamasa took part in many battles such as those at Nagashino Castle, Ishiyama Honganji Temple (former Osaka Castle), and Bicchu-Takamatsu Castle under the ruler Hideyoshi Toyotomi. Chikamasa contributed to the unification of the country by Hideyoshi who gave Chikamasa Sanuki Province in 1587.

The location of the castle

The portrait of Chikamasa Ikoma, owned by Kokenji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The present Osaka Castle, which was once Ishiyama Honganji Temple

Chikamasa at first used the existing Hiketa Castle, but he decided to build a new castle as his home base. From his experiences, his concerns about the castle were:
・whether it would be able to get naval support during battles.
・whether it would be able to withstand gun attacks.
・whether it would be able to survive a long siege.
In the end, he devised Takamatsu Castle, which was completed in 1590.

Castle surrounded by Sea and Triples Moats

Takamatsu Castle was built facing the Seto Inland Sea to the north, making it possible to ship directly to the sea. The castle was also surrounded by water moats tripled in the other directions, to which the sea supplied water. The main enclosure which had the three-layer main tower was isolated in the inner moat, connecting to the second enclosure with only a wooden bridge called saya-bashi. The third enclosure was next to the second enclosure, which had the gate opening to the sea. The enclosure also had the main hall for the lord of the castle. Such a castle was classified not only as a plain castle, but also a sea castle. It would be impossible for enemies to completely besiege this castle with technology at that time.

The folding screen of Takamatsu Castle and the castle town, owned by Kagawa Prefectural Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Matsudaira Clan followed and developed Castle

The Ikoma Clan was allowed to maintain their territory of Sanuki Province for a while by supporting the Tokugawa Shogunate in the battle of Sekigahara in 1600. However, the clan was forcibly moved by the shogunate in 1640 due to their internal strife. After that, the Shogun’s relative, Yorishige Matsudaira was sent to Takamatsu Castle as a replacement for the Ikoma Clan. Though lords were basically not allowed to renovate their castles at that time, he developed and improved Takamatsu Castle by rebuilding the main tower and adding the northern and eastern enclosures. This was because he was also responsible for monitoring non-hereditary feudal lords in Shikoku Island, who might have been against the shogunate.

The old photo of the Main Tower Yorishige rebuilt

Part of the whole illustration of Old Takamatsu Castle, the illustration drawn after Yorishige developed the castle, from the signboard at the site

The Matsudaira Clan governed the castle and the area around as the Takamatsu Domain until the end of the Edo Period. In the peaceful time of the Edo Period, the beautiful view of the castle became a famous attraction for people. A guide book at the time says that the castle looks as if it is a floating castle on the waves from the Seto Inland Sea. The castle has also been said to be one of the three greatest sea castles in Japan.

The miniature model of Takamatsu Castle and the castle town, exhibited by Tamamo Park Museum

To be continued in “Takamatsu Castle Part2”

177.Hiketa Castle Part3

The reason why the stone walls exist today

Features

Eastern Enclosure as Lookout

The other one is the Eastern Enclosure which was used as a lookout point. You can actually see a great view of Harima Sea from the enclosure. The primary function of this site was the lookout point. The warriors would have had to watch see transportation in the past. This enclosure was covered with something like rocks which might have been the leftover of the original stone wall.

Harima Sea seen from the Eastern Enclosure

Several meters down the enclosure is the Hiketa-hana light station. It was first built in 1954 which helped lead ships to safety.

Later History

After Hiketa Castle was abandoned, the Takamatsu Domain owned the ruins of the castle. They planted trees while the castle town was eventually turned into a port town and it prospered during the Edo Period. About 100 years ago during the Taisho Era, the ruins of the castle were developed as the Shiro-yama Park built with a hiking trail as well as observation platform. Higashi-Kagawa City which owns the castle ruins started to excavate them back in 2010 and found out the castle was very important in governing the area around. As a result, the ruins were designated as a National Historic Site back in 2020.

The ruins of the observation platform built in the Taisho Era

A view seen from the *ruins of the observation platform*

My Impression

I think that the ruins of Hiketa Castle are very good educational materials for visitors who want to learn what people at that time thought about castles with stone walls and other new structures. They would have felt things would change and a new era would come, otherwise, such stone walls would not have been built on such a mountain castle which basically did not need stone walls to protect it. That’s why the castle ruins which remain now is so valuable.

The remaining stone walls of the Main Enclosure

The remaining stone walls of the *Northern Second Enclosure*

On the other hand, I also think the ruins still have some other things to be improved on. For example, the latest official brochure doesn’t match what the signposts say at the site in several points. Visitors may get confused. I also hope that the original Main Route will be restored in the future, open to visitors.

“The Southern Enclosure” this signpost says isn’t written in the official brochure

In addition, the Hiketa Town still has old rows of merchants’ houses. They are another good place to visit. You can also buy souvenirs there such as local soy sauces and sweets made from refined sugar called Wasanbon.

The old rows of merchants’ houses at the Hiketa Town *(licensed by 663highland via Wikimedia Commons)*

Assorted sweets made from refined sugar called Wasanbon

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car:
It is about 10 minutes away from Hiketa IC on the Takamatsu Expressway.
You can park beside the Tanoura Campsite or Hiketa Port.
By train, it is about 30 minutes away from JR Hiketa Station on foot.
To get to Hiketa Station from Tokyo or Osaka: Take the Tokaido or Sanyo Shinkansen super express and transfer at Okayama Station to the Seto-Ohashi Line. Take a train called the Marine Liner bound for Takamatsu, then transfer again at Takamatsu Station to the Kotoku Line.

That’s all. Thank you.
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