This castle was protected by high stone walls using large stones and an elaborate defense system
Features
High Stone Walls still surround Castle Ruins
Today, the ruins of Matsusaka Castle have been developed into Matsusaka Park, which was the main portion of the castle on the hill. If you walk around the outside of the park, you may be surprised to see the high stone walls surrounding the park remain in good condition. The walls are piled using round natural stones which are large and uncountable. It is surprising that they were collected and piled so elaborately in a short time during the construction. In addition, the stone walls of the southeastern corner of the park were repaired using processed rectangular stones in the later stage of the castle’s history.
The stone walls seen outside of the parkThe stone walls of the lower tier of the Main Enclosure, which use large stonesThe repaired stone walls at the southeastern corner of the park
The aerial photo around the castle
Layout of Enclosures
The ruins have only the foundation with the stone walls without any buildings. However, you can still understand how the castle was protected by seeing these stone walls along the routes in the park. There are two entrances of the park, one is the Front Gate Ruins at the eastern side and the other one is the Back Gate Ruins at the southern side. Either of them lead to the Second Enclosure first. Towards the center of the castle, the lower tier of the Main Enclosure is higher than the Second Enclosure. The upper tier of the Main Enclosure is the highest. In addition, the Kitai and Inkyo Enclosures are at the lower part on the opposite side of the Second Enclosure.
The diorama of the castle’s enclosures with stone walls, exhibited by Matsusaka City Museum of History and FolkloreThe Front Gate RuinsThe Back Gate Ruins
Going to Second Enclosure from Front Gate Ruins
If you enter the Second Enclosure from the Front Gate Ruins surrounded by alternating stone walls, you will see the high stone walls of the lower tier of the Main Enclosure in front of you. To go to the center of the Second Enclosure, you have to turn left and pass one more ruined gate beside the Tsukimi Turret Ruins on the stone walls. If you were an enemy, you would be attacked from two directions. That means the routes inside the castle were made very defensive.
Entering the Front Gate RuinsThe stone walls of the Main Enclosure lower tier stand in front of youTurn left to go to the Second EnclosureThe high stone walls of the Tsukimi Turret RuinsThe route to the Second Enclosure from the Front Gate (the red arrow) and the counterattack from the castle (the blue arrows)
Going to Main Enclosure from Front Second Enclosure
The Second Enclosure had the Encampment of the Tokugawa Clan. It is now a square with a wisteria trellis where you can see a city view.
The present Second EnclosureThe signpost of the ruins of Tokugawa Clan’s encampmentA city view from the Second Enclosure
If you want to go inside further, you need to pass the Nakagomon Gate Ruins. This route is also surrounded by alternating stone walls and the ruins of a turret called Taiko-Yagura. After passing it, the lower tier is on the right and the upper tier is on the left of the Main Enclosure.
The Nakagomon Gate RuinsThe Taiko Turret RuinsLooking down The Nakagomon Gate Ruins from the Taiko Turret RuinsThe route to the Main Enclosure from the Second Enclosure (the red arrows) and the counterattack from the castle (the blue arrows)
Ujisato Gamo, a great isolated talent, built this castle.
Location and History
Matsusaka Castle was located in what is now Matsusaka City, Mie Prefecture, which was called Ise Province in the past. The castle was first built by Ujisato Gamo in 1588 and maintained by other clans later on. Ujisato was a warlord who is not well known, even to people in Japan, for his abilities and achievements. This is probably because he died young at 40 years old – his descendants also all died young, and the clan has become extinct. As a result, few records and traditions of Ujisato remained. He seemed to be a great isolated talent, like a comet.
The portrait of Ujisato Gamo, owned by Aizu Wakamatsu Library (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Ujisato Gamo came from Omi Province, which is now Shiga Prefecture. The clan originally served the Rokkaku Clan, a warlord at Kannonji Castle in the province during the Sengoku Period. When Nobunaga Oda, who would later be the ruler, invaded the province in 1568, the Gamo Clan surrendered to Nobunaga, sending their successor, Ujisato to him as a hostage. However, Nobunaga found Ujisato was particularly outstanding among the many hostages from other clans, and married Ujisato to his daughter. Ujisato became a relative of Nobunaga. After Nobunaga was killed in the Honnoji Incident in 1582, Ujisato supported Hideyoshi Toyotomi, the next ruler. In 1584, he was promoted by Hideyoshi to a lord with an earning of 120,000 koku (rice) in Ise Province. He first lived in Matsugashima Castle which the previous lord had built, but decided to build his new home base which would be Matsusaka 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)The Portrait of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, attributed to Mitsunobu Kano, owned by Kodaiji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The range of Ise Province and the location of the castle
Ujisato builds Castle and Town emulating Rulers
Ujisato built the main portion of the new castle on a hill near the previous one. Several enclosures were built on the hill, all surrounded by high stone walls. It was done by inviting a guild of craftsmen called Ano-shu from Omi Province, Ujisato’s hometown. This portion was strictly protected by these walls with alternating gates and some turrets along complex routes. The upper tier of the Main Enclosure on the top had the three-level Main Tower. The Third Enclosure was built around the hill, which was used as warriors’ houses. The water moat surrounded them. Ujisato also built the castle town beside the castle by bringing in merchants from his hometown, which was famous for the “Omi Merchant”. Overall, he built the castle and town in the ways his masters, Nobunaga and Hideyoshi developed their towns, with his own ideas and experiences. He finally named the castle Matsusaka, which combined a good word “Matsu” or Pine, and “saka”, part of the name of his current master, Hideyoshi’s Osaka Castle.
The remaining high stone walls of Matsusaka CastlePart of the map of old Matsusaka Castle in Ise Province, exhibited by the National Archives of Japan
In 1590, just after Hideyoshi’s unification of Japan, Ujisato was promoted and moved again to the Aizu area in the Tohoku Region to control the region. His territory finally reached an earning of 910,000 koku, which meant he became one of the greatest lords in Japan. He renovated a castle by building high stone walls and the Main Tower like Matsusaka Castle. The castle was renamed Wakamatsu Castle by him. It is also said that he advised a local lord, Nobunao Nanbu to build a castle with high stone walls, which was completed after his death, called Morioka Castle. These two castles are very rare ones, all built with high stone walls, in the region. Ujisato was also known as a tea ceremony master, poet, and Christian. However, he unfortunately died of illness in 1595.
The present Wakamatsu CastleThe remaining stone walls of Morioka Castle
It is difficult for other lords to maintain Castle
After Ujisato left the castle, which was subsequently inherited by the Hattori, Furuta, and Tokugawa Clans, respectively. The first two clans had smaller territories than Ujisato, so they could not afford to maintain the castle. The Tokugawa Clan, one of the three branches of the Tokugawa family, also could not do so, because the clan was based in Wakayama Castle. The stone walls of Matsusaka Castle were somehow repaired, but the buildings of it eventually deteriorated. For example, the Main Tower collapsed due to a windstorm in 1644 but was not restored. The Back Gate had only a thatched roof at the end of the Edo Period. On the other hand, the castle town prospered in the period. The merchants of the town were known as the “Ise Merchant”. For instance, the founder of the kimono shop Echigoya, which is present Mitsukoshi department store, Takatoshi Mitsui came from the town.
The old photo of the Back Gate which had a thatched roof, exhibited by Matsusaka City Museum of History and FolkloreEchigoya in “Suruga Town” from the series “100 Famous Views of Edo” attributed to Hiroshige Utagawa in the Edo Period (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimeidia Commons)
You should also check out the back part of the castle.
Features
After passing Nakanomaru Enclosure, you will see Kyogoku-maru Enclosure where Nobunaga’s retainer, Hideyoshi, first captured in the castle. Komaru Enclosure where Nagamasa’s father, Hisamasa, lived as a retreat is close behind the Kyogoku-maru Enclosure. That’s probably why he was defeated soon in the battle.
The map around the castle
Nakanomaru EnclosureKyogoku-maru EnclosureKomaru Enclosure
Finally, Sanno-maru Enclosure is at the highest point of the ridge. You can see the largest and greatest remaining stone walls in the castle at the eastern side of the enclosure. It has four tiers, two more than the Main Enclosure. Some historians speculate that it is the actual Main Enclosure as those of other castles were usually the strongest and highest. In fact, almost all the names of the enclosures were defined after the actual period.
Sanno-maru EnclosureGoing to the large Stone WallsThe large Stone WallsThe imaginary of the Sanno-maru Enclosure, from the signboard at the site
Later History
After Odani Castle fell in 1573, Hideyoshi was given this castle by Nobunaga and lived there for a while. However, Hideyoshi built Nagahama Castle beside Biwa Lake in 1575 using some materials of Odani Castle. After he moved to the new castle, Odani Castle was eventually abandoned. The mountain the castle was built on became publicly owned until it was sold to local governments and private section in 1915. Then, local people started to preserve the castle ruins. As a result, the ruins were designated as a National Historic Site in 1937. Nagahama City, which now owns the ruins, is considering how to preserve them as well as letting people enjoy them.
The present Nagahama Castle (licensed by 663highland via Wikimedia Commons)The stone walls of Odani Castle which have collapsed
My Impression
In fact, the ruins of Odani Castle cover a much larger than I visited. The site also has many other attractions such as the branch Ozuku Castle, some ruins of another ridge of the mountain, and the hall ruins on the valley called Shimizudani sandwiched by the ridges. It would take a whole day to see all of them. I am looking forward to doing this someday.
The restored map of the whole ruins, from the signboard at the site
How to get There
If you want to visit the castle by car, it is about 5 minutes away from Odanijo Smart IC on the Hokuriku Expressway. There are parking lots at the foot or the mid slope of the mountain. By public transportation, it takes about 30 minutes on foot from the JR Kawake Station. To get to Kawake Station from Tokyo: Take the Tokaido Shinkansen super express and transfer to the Hokuriku Line at Maibara Station.
