48.Matsusaka Castle Part3

The Main Tower Base even uses a stone sarcophagus.

Features

Main Enclosure, Center of Castle

The lower tier had many turrets as the pivot for defense. Though there are no buildings now, you can look down on the routes below the stone walls of the tier clearly.

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Kane-no-yagura Turret
Leaflet, © OpenStreetMap contributors
The map around the castle

The ruins of Kane-no-yagura Turret at the lower tier of the Main Enclosure
A view of Matsusaka City Museum of History and Folklore from the ruins of Kane-no-maru Turret
The ruins of Tsukimi Turret at the lower tier of the Main Enclosure
A view of the Second Enclosure from the ruins of Tsukimi Turret

The upper tier had turrets, residences, and the Main Tower. The stone wall base for the tower remains in its original condition from when Ujisato Gamo first built the castle. It looks very old and you can see part of it is made using a stone sarcophagus. This shows the stones for the castle construction were collected rapidly. You can also see a nice city view with mountains behind, as this is the highest point of the castle.

The entrance of the upper tier of the Main Enclosure
The inside of the upper tier of the Main Enclosure
The stone wall base for the Main Tower
The stone sarcophagus used for the stone walls (in the front)
A view from the upper tier of the Main Enclosure

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Matsusaka Castle was abandoned and the castle buildings were demolished or burned. The main portion of the castle was turned into Matsusaka Park in 1881, while the other has become a city area. Matsusaka City, the former castle town, renovated the stone walls of the castle for as long as 16 years between 1988 and 2003. The city has also been researching the ruins as well. They were finally designated as a National Historic Site in 2011.

The stone wall base for the Main Tower

My Impression

Before my visit to Matsusaka Castle Ruins, I didn’t know much about Ujisato Gamo and the castle. In fact, I was still wondering why the local city has castle ruins with such great stone walls while visiting. However, after learning about who he was and the history of the castle, I understood the reason. I hope that Matsusaka City will maintain the castle ruins and the memory of Ujisato forever because the city would not be there without hin.

The stone walls of the upper tier of the Main Enclosure

How to get There

If you want to visit the ruins by car, it is about a 15-minute drive away from Matsusaka IC on the Ise Expressway. There is a parking lot for visitors beside the park.
If you want to use public transportation, It takes about 15 minutes on foot from Matsusaka Station to get there.
To get to Matsusaka Station from Tokyo: Take the Tokaido Shinkansen super express, transfer to the JR Mie rapid train or the Kintetsu-Nagoya Line on Kintetsu Railway at Nagoya Station.

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Matsusaka Castle Part1”
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48.Matsusaka Castle Part2

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 park
The stone walls of the lower tier of the Main Enclosure, which use large stones
The repaired stone walls at the southeastern corner of the park

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Front Gate
Leaflet|国土地理院
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 Folklore
The Front Gate Ruins
The 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 Ruins
The stone walls of the Main Enclosure lower tier stand in front of you
Turn left to go to the Second Enclosure
The high stone walls of the Tsukimi Turret Ruins
The 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 Enclosure
The signpost of the ruins of Tokugawa Clan’s encampment
A 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 Ruins
The Taiko Turret Ruins
Looking down The Nakagomon Gate Ruins from the Taiko Turret Ruins
The route to the Main Enclosure from the Second Enclosure (the red arrows) and the counterattack from the castle (the blue arrows)

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

48.Matsusaka Castle Part1

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)

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Matsusaka Castle
Leaflet, © OpenStreetMap contributors
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 Castle
Part 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 Castle
The 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 Folklore
Echigoya 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)

To be continued in “Matsusaka Castle Part2”

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