English – ページ 5 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

173.Nitakayama Castle Part2

Features

Defensive system using Natural Terrain

Today, the ruins of Nitakayama Castle have been well developed for visitors as a hiking course. The course is the same or similar to the original main route of the castle. If you go on a path from the entrance of the route, you will find the path going beside a ridge on the right. There is a shrine called Kojinsha on the ridge, but it was said to be a barbican enclosure to protect the route from enemies.

The map around the castle

The route goes beside the ridge on the right

After you see a large direction board, you will continue to walk the route beside another ridge on the left. The ridge was used as Kane-no-dan (meaning the bell　enclosure) to control the route. This enclosure was said to be one of the oldest parts in the castle, which might have been used as a branch of Takayama Castle, the former home of the Kobayakawa Clan.

The bell enclosure is on the ridge on the left

The bell enclosure on the location map in the direction board, marked by the red circle

The route next goes on a bridge over a river on the valley, to another ridge. The bridge might have been destroyed when a battle happened. The route goes beside the three-tiered ridge on the right, which were protected by guard houses similar to barracks. As you saw so far, the route was built strongly by using only natural terrain.

The road goes over the river on the valley

The ruins of the guard houses are on the right

*The guard house ruins on the location map in the direction board, marked by the red circle*

Takakage Kobayakawa hosted his father there

You will soon reach a spacious area on the middle of the mountain, called “Kyoshinji-Temple Ruins”. This temple was built in 1577 by Takakage Kobayakawa, the lord of the castle, to pray for the repose of his father, Motonari’s soul after his death. The temple was moved to another place near Mihara Castle after Nitakayama Castle was abandoned. You can still see lots of fragments of roof tiles and some remaining stones or rocks on the ground, which the temple left. In addition, the record of Motonari’s stay in this castle in 1561 says that there was a temple in the castle, where Takakage’s brother, Takamoto stayed in, and which had the same or similar name as the one mentioned above. Therefore, Historians speculate that there was also the Kaisho building, where their ceremonies were held, in this site at that time.

You can see lots of fragments of roof tiles

Some stones or rocks, used for the temple, remain

*The Kyoshinji Temple Ruins on the location map in the direction board, marked by the red circle*

You can go further to the top area of the castle via a zigzagged path. You will eventually be at Naka-no-maru (meaning the central enclosure) which is placed between the main enclosure on the right (or the east) and the western enclosure on the left (or the west). This enclosure seemed to have been a pivot point of the castle. The western enclosure was built to monitor and control another route to the castle from this direction. This route is gentler than the main route you used, so many artificial vertical moats were built on the slope to prevent enemies from invading the castle easily. However, you still need to hire a guide to see them clearly because the western area has still not been developed for general visitors.

*The central enclosure on the location map in the direction board, marked by the red circle*

Main Enclosure with few remaining Stone Walls

You will finally walk up to the main enclosure which was surrounded by stone walls using huge stones or rocks. Most of them were removed and brought to Mihara Castle when Nitakayama Castle was abandoned. However, you can still see a few remaining stone walls on its base, so you may imagine what the original stone walls looked like. The entrance of the enclosure has been built as a defensive square space, called Masugata, where the main gate building was also constructed. It was said that the building was moved to the current Koshinji Temple (now called Sokoji) as its gate. The inside of the main enclosure is an empty space, where only stone foundations remain at its corner. These foundations were probably used for the main hall or the pavilion where Takakage hosted his father.

The few remaining stone walls on the base

Walking up to the entrance of the main enclosure

The entrance seen from the inside, the square shape of the entrance slightly remains

The stone foundations in the main enclosure

To be continued in “Nitakayama Castle Part3”
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173.Nitakayama Castle Part1

Ni-takayama Mountain, where Nitakayama Castle was built, is located on the western riverside of Nuta River while there is another mountain called Takayama across the river. The Kobayakawa Clan fist built their castle on Takayama, not on Ni-takayama. Takakage Kobayakawa who was its lord during the Sengoku Period moved his clan’s home to Ni-takayama.

Location and History

Kobayakawa Clan first builds Castle on Takayama Mountain

Nitakayama Castle was built and used by a great warlord, Takakage Kobayakawa on Ni-takayama Mountain along Nuta River in modern day Mihara City, Hiroshima Prefecture. The Ni-takayama (meaning the new high mountain, 198m above the sea level) is located on the western riverside of Nuta River while there is another mountain called Takayama (the high mountain, 190m high) across the river. These make a good contrast binding the river, so they are sometimes called Osu-takayama (the male mountain) as Ni-takayama and Mesu-takayama (the female mountain) as Takayama. The reason why Ni-takayama is called “male” seems to be because it is steeper than the other called “female”. In fact, the Kobayakawa Clan, Takakage’s ancestors fist built their castle on Takayama Mountain, not on Ni-takayama. Takakage moved his clan’s home to Ni-takayama for various reasons.

The range of Mihara City and the location of the castles

The relief map around the castle

The Kobayakawa Clan originally came from the Kanto Region when they served the Kamakura Shogunate during the 13th Century. The Shogunate gave them Nuta Manor after it defeated the Heike Family and Takehara Manor after the Jokyu War due to their contributions to the shogunate. The clan was eventually split into two, the Nuta-Kabayakawa Clan and the Takehara-Kobayakawa Clan. Takayama Castle was built by the Nuta-Kobayakawa Clan on the Takayama Mountain as their home, but it’s not known when it was built. Both clans sometimes were in opposition of each other but usually they cooperated with each other to increase their power. They gained the force of the warriors who could battle in Geiyo Islands, which would be called Kobayakawa Navy. Their relatives became their senior vassal families, such as the Mukunashi Clan for the Nuta-Kobayakawa Clan, to support their lords.

The family crest of the Kobayakawa Clan, called “HIdari-Mitsudomoe” (*licensed by BraneJ via Wikimedia Commons)*

The location of Kimura Castle, the home of the Takehara-Kobayakawa Clan

However, the situation became worse in the 16th Century during the Sengoku Period when many battles happened. Their province, called Aki (the western part of Hiroshima Pref.), was divided by about 30 small lords like the Kobayakawa Clans at that time. That’s why it was targeted by other great warlords, such as the Ouchi Clan from the west and the Amago Clan from the north. For example, Takayama Castle was temporarily occupied by the Ouchi Clan in 1539 and was attacked by the Amago Clan in 1543. In addition, the lords of both Kobayakawa Clans all died young which caused a lot of crisis for the clans.

*The portrait of Yoshitaka Ouchi, the lord of the clan at that time, owned by Ryufukuji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

*The portrait of Haruhisa Amago, the lord of the clan at that time, owned by Yamaguchi Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Takakage Kobayakawa coming from Mori Clan builds Nitakayama Castle

Motonari Mori, who would become the greatest warlord in the Chugoku Region, came out as a savior (or a fund raiser for someone). He had also been a small lord of the province but eventually became the leader of the small lords. In 1543, Motonari had his son, Takakage adopted by the Takehara-Kobayakawa Clan with no successor. He also consulted with the senior vassals of the Nuta-Kobayakaya Clan to make Takakage the successor of the clan as well. In 1552, they prohibited the current young and blind lord from taking over the clan. As a result, Takakage combined both Kobayakawa Clans. The first thing he did after the unification was to leave Takayama Castle and build Nitakayama Castle nearby.

*The portrait of Motonari Mori, owned by Mori Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

*The portrait of Takakage Kobayakawa, owned by Beisanji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

The reasons why he did so are thought as the following; First, moving their castle would radically change the public sentiment. It would also make the retainers gather around the castle to live, which could establish a new hierarchy for Takakage. Second, the mountain, where Nitakayama Castle was built, was steeper and rockier than that of Takayama Castle (that’s why the mountains are also called “male” and “female”.), so it would be stronger. Finally, the foot of the mountain was along the river, which would be convenient for the Kobayakawa Clan to use for water transportation on the Nuta River to Seto Inland Sea.

Nitakayama Mountain on the left and Takayama Mountain on the right, seen from the riverside of the Nuta River

Castle works as Cultural Center as well

A record of the clan says Motonari stayed in Nitakayama Castle for 10 days in 1561. Takakage invited his father to celebrate becoming the governor of Mutsu Province in 1560. They held ceremonies and parties with their retainers, families and servants in the castle during that time. According to the record, there was a building used for hosting guests, called “Kaisho”, on the middle slope of the mountain. They enjoyed seeing “Noh” plays from its reception room and played “Kemari” football at its garden. Historians speculate that there was also a public ceremony hall, called “Shuden”, and kitchens, which were usually a set with the Kaisho building at that time. Motonari and Takakage also joined a Renga poem party at a pavilion on the top. Takakage also held a reading party of Taiheiki historical epic and a tea ceremony. That meant the castle had a library and a tearoom. Overall, the site was not only a castle for battles, but also a cultural center of the surrounding area.

The ruins of Koshinji Temple Ruins, which once had the Kaisho building, at the middle slope of Nitakayama Mountain

Takakage was not only a son of a great father, but also a great warlord himself. After Motonari died, he continued supporting his parents’ home, the Mori Clan to survive during the unification of Japan by Hideyoshi Toyotomi. Hideyoshi relied on Takakage and his Kobayakawa Navy to complete his unification and his attempt to invade China and Korea. Takakage finally became an independent lord with large territories and was a member of Counsel of Five Elders under Hideyoshi’s government. Meanwhile, he built Mihara Castle in the estuary of the Nuta River as a naval base. As time passed, the castle continued growing. When he retired in 1596, he set Mihara Castle as his home while Nitakayama Castle was eventually abandoned. Its waste materials, such as those of stone walls, were brought over and reused for Mihara Castle.

To be continued in “Nitakayama Castle Part2”

13.Shirakawa-Komine Castle Part3

Go along the former Oshu Road to the north until you get near Abukuma River, and look back to the left, you will see another great scenery. It is 180m long stone walls on a hill along the river, called Komine Castle Eastern Stone Walls.

Features

Walking around Main Enclosure

If you want to see other attractions of the castle, you can get out of the main enclosure through the ruins of Sakura-no-mon (meaning the cherry gate) to walk around the stone walls of the enclosure on the belt enclosure, the lower tier of the main portion. The ruins of Tsukimi-Yagura (meaning the moon viewing turret) are in front of the gate ruins of the enclosure, which look very strong with their remaining stone wall base.

The map around the main enclosure

The ruins of Tsukimi Turret seen from the second enclosure below

The belt enclosure surrounds the western and northern sides of the main enclosure. You can feel relaxed by walking on the belt enclosure, while enjoying looking at the great, long and high stone walls of the main enclosure. These stone walls look well-maintained. However, they collapsed heavily during Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 and were repaired by Shirakawa City for the following eight years (completed in 2019).

The great stone walls of the main enclosure

The explanation board of the stone walls being destroyed by the earthquake and repaired later on

You will eventually reach the other gate ruins of the belt enclosure, called Ya (arrow)-no-mon. You can see a great view of the three-level turret at the northeastern edge of the main enclosure on the right. However, if you were an enemy, the defenders would attack you through the turret’s machicolations and loopholes facing you.

Going to Outside of Castle

Another recommendation for you is to visit the former third enclosure, which is the east of the main portion. It has turned into the city area mainly including public facilities. There is only one remaining castle building among the area, the Taiko-Yagura Turret, which was originally used beside the Taiko-mon Gate in the second enclosure. It was moved to a private sector, converted to a tea room, and finally moved to the current position where it has been since 1930.

The map around the castle

If you go further to the east until the National Route 294 (the former Oshu Road), go along the road to the north until you get near Abukuma River, and look back to the left, you will see another great scenery. It is 180m long stone walls on a hill along the river, called Komine Castle Eastern Stone Walls. In fact, they were recently discovered when the pine trees on the hill were cut down for the bypass road constructions. They must have been built to protect the castle from the threats from the north. These stone walls connect to the back gate of the castle, which opens to the north, but you can’t go directly to the gate due to the construction site between them.

Looking the stone walls from the bridge over the Abukuma River

No entry is allowed around the stone walls due to the constructions

My Impression

While visiting the well-remaining structures and restored buildings of Shirakawa-Komine Castle, I felt the strong intentions of Nagashige Niwa, the builder of them, to protect the castle from possible enemies from the north. He must have been one of the few lords to do it properly and quickly. I also think that the history during the Boshin War lets us to know that such a strong castle had a weak point and could not survive without enough soldiers and proper instructions

The three-level turret seen from Abukuma River, north of the castle

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car, it is about a 10-minute drive away from Shirakawa-Chuo Smart IC on the Tohoku Expressway.
There is a parking lot in the park.
By public transportation, the castle is very near the JR Shirakawa station. You can even see the nice view of the three-level turret from the platform.
From Tokyo to the station: Get the Tohoku Shinkansen super express and transfer to the Tohoku Line at Shin-Shirakawa Station. The destination will be the next station.

The castle ruins seen from the platform of the station

That’s all. Thank you.
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