English – ページ 73 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

142.Naegi Castle Part1

A rare castle which was built and maintained on the rocky mountain

Location and History

Castle monitoring Nakasendo Road

The Nakasendo Road is known for being one of the major roads in Japan and was designated as one of the Five Major Roads in the Edo Period. In particular, the road was the most useful one when large amount of troops moved between western and eastern Japan before the period. The area of what is now Nakatsugawa City in the eastern part of Gifu Prefecture had Nakatsugawa Post Town in a basin at the center with the road going to mountain areas in the east. That’s why the warlords in the Sengoku Period wanted to own the area to monitor this important spot on the road. Naegi Castle was built on Takamori Mountain beside Kiso River which was sandwiched by the castle and the town. That meant the castle was the most suitable for monitoring what happened on Nakasendo Road.

The location of the castle

The relief map around the castle

”Nakatsugawa” from the series “Kiso-kaido Road” attributed to Hiroshige Utagawa in the Edo Period (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Toyama Clan builds and somehow maintains Castle till end

In the 16th Century during the Sengoku Period, The Toyama Clan was one of the local warlord families in the area, which was called the eastern Mino Province. It is said that the clan first built the castle in the first part of the16th Century as a branch castle of their home base, Iwamura Castle. However, the clan was affected by other larger warlords such as the Takeda and Oda Clans which also wanted to own the area. For example, both the Takeda and Oda Clans battled each other between 1572 and 1582, gaining and losing this castle.

The Portrait of Katsuyori Takeda, the lord of the clan at that time, owned by Koyasan Jimyoin (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The portrait of Nobunaga Oda, the lord of the clan at that time, attributed to Soshu Kano, owned by Chokoji Temple, in the late 16th century (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

After the declines of both, the Mori Clan, under the ruler Hideyoshi Toyotomi captured the castle. Tomomasa Toyama, with his father Tomotada, the lord of the castle at that time, had to escape from the castle to Ieyasu Tokugawa at Hamamatsu Castle. In 1600 when the Battle of Sekigawara occurred, Tomomasa succeeded in getting Naegi Castle back with Ieyasu’s approval. After Ieyasu established the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Toyama Clan governed the castle again as the Naegi Domain until the end of the Edo Period.

The portrait of Tomomasa Toyama, the founder of the Naegi Domain, owned by Naegi Toyama Historical Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Castle on Rocky Mountain, Main Tower on Huge Rock

Naegi Castle had a very special location as far as permanent castles in Japan go. The mountain the castle is located on has a rocky terrain and steep cliffs. It was good for the defenders to make very difficult to attack, but if the lord of the castle wanted to develop it, there would be few spaces to do so. Generally, buildings or inter routes of castles were built on stone walls surrounding natural terrain or stone wall bases at that time. However, in the case of Naegi Castle, it was difficult to cut the rocky surface for buildings or routes. As a result, they were built on bases mixed with natural rocks and stone walls or filled valleys. Even if more buildings were needed, they were built on natural rocks directly. For example, the Main Tower of the castle was built on the huge rock on the top of the mountain.

The base of the Large Turret of Naegi Castle, which is mixed with natural rocks and stone walls

The huge rock as the base of the Main Tower of Naegi Castle

Traditionally, when Japanese people wanted to build a building on natural rocks, they used a method called Kake-zukuri. The method is to build the foundation by combining many columns and horizontal beams like lattices on a steep rock or cliff. Buildings using this method have still been seen in some old shrines and temples like Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto. It is said the reason for using this method is that the mountains themselves, which have the rocks or cliffs, are the objects of worship. When many castles were built during the Sengoku and the first part of the Edo Period, the method was applied to castles. Naegi Castle is a good example, and another case in Sendai Castle is known.

The Main Hall of Kiyomizu-dera Temple, built using the Kake-zukuri method

The Naegi Domain earned only 10 thousand koku of rice which was a minimum amount for an independent lord. Because of this, their castle buildings had wood shingle roofing and wood siding or mud walls, not roof tiles and plaster walls which were too expensive for them. However, they built and maintained these buildings under such severe conditions even during the long lasting peace of the Edo Period. This was because staying there to be ready for any emergency was their most important duty.

The imaginary drawing of Naegi Castle, from the signboard at the site

To be continued in “Naegi Castle Part2”

16.Minowa Castle Part3

If you were a general, which way you would prefer?

Features

Remaining Stone Walls along Main Route

You can also walk on the Main Route up from the western side of the hill or down from the Second Enclosure. The route goes through the Third Enclosure where you can see the remaining stone walls here and there. It is thought that the builder, Naomasa Ii aimed to show his authority to the visitors passing the route. The Ii Clan later built Hikone Castle using much greater stone walls, but they built stone walls of Minowa Castle as much as they can at that time.

The map around the castle

The remaining stone walls of the Kaji Enclosure on the Main Route

Going to the Third Enclosure from the Kaji Enclosure

The remaining stone walls of the Third Enclosure

Later History

The ruins of Minowa Castle was designated as a National Historic Site in 1987. After that, the excavation was done widely between 1998 and 2006 by Takasaki City which owns the ruins. Since then, the city has been developing the ruins as a historical park.

The earthen walls and stone walls over the great artificial trench were also developed

The trail going on the bottom of the trench

My Impression

I was very impressed by Narimasa Nagano and his clan’s way of life to devote themselves to their master and territory. There were also other generals who had different ways of lives such as the Obata and Sanada Clans. If you were a general or warrior in the Sengoku Period, which way you would prefer? In addition, if we apply their lives in present times, the life of the Nagano Clan would be like working for the same company for a long time, the Obata Clan would be changing careers often, and the Sanada Clan would be starting a business. We can think about our own lives from learning about those generals in the Sengoku Period.

The wooden statue of Narimasa Nagano, owned by Chojunji Temple, quoted from the website of Takasaki City

Norizane Obata drawn in the “Battle of Nagashino” folding screens, exhibited by Kanra Town Museum of History and Folklore

The portlait of Masayuki Sanada, the successor of Yukitaka Sanada, who struggled to be independently, privately owned (licensed under Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

How to get There

I recommend using a car when you visit the ruins.
It is about a 30-minute drive away from Takasaki or Maebashi IC on the Kanetsu Expressway. You can park at several parking lots in the ruins.
If you want to use public transportation, you can take the Gunma Bus bound for Ikaho-Onsen from Takasaki Station and get off at the Shiroyama-Iriguchi bus stop. It takes about 5 minutes on foot from the bus stop to get there.
To get to Takasaki Station from Tokyo: Take the Joetsu Shinkansen super express.

The parking lot in front of the Back Route

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

16.Minowa Castle Part2

You can see how the castle was developed at the site.

Features

Older part of Castle

Today, the ruins of Minowa Castle have been well developed for visitors. If you have a car, you can park at some parking lots for the visitors beside the ruins. The main parking lot is the eastern foot of the hill where the castle was located. You can walk up from the parking lot to the ruins on a gentle winding slope which was actually the Back Route. You will first reach the Second Enclosure, part of the main portion of the castle.

The map around the castle

The main portion consists of the Second, Main and Gozen Enclosures from south to north. These enclosures are basically surrounded by thick earthen walls and divided by deep dry moats, which are the oldest part of the castle. If you walk into the Main Enclosure where the hall of the lord was built, you can now see the recently restored wooden bridge connecting to the western part of the castle.

The stone monument of the castle in the Main Enclosure

The wooden bridge connecting to the western part of the castle

The earthen walls of the Main Enclosure and the dry moat beside it

If you go further, you will reach the Gozen Enclosure, the last part of the Nagano Clan. There is the well in the enclosure, which was discovered in 1927, where many memorial tablets of the clan were found from the bottom. That meant the episode when the clan had been defeated may have been confirmed.

The well where many memorial tablets of the clan were found

Vast Dry Moat

You can walk down the steep trail on the northern edge of the Gozen Enclosure to the bottom of the dry moat. If you turn right to the east, you will reach the Inari Enclosure that Naomasa Ii built. This enclosure had a water moat on the side in the past.

Walking down from the Gozen Enclosure to the bottom of the dry moat

The bottom of the dry moat beside the Gozen Enclosure

The Inari Enclosure and the former water moat beside it

If you turn left to the west, you can walk around the bottom and see how large and deep the moat is. You can also see the older stone walls surrounding the Gozen Enclosure, which the Nagano Clan might have built. If you go further to the south, you will arrive at the Second Enclosure.

The remaining stone walls under the Gozen Enclosure

Going back to the Second Enclosure through under the wooden bridge

Umadashi System is developed later

The Second Enclosure was the pivot of offence and defense, where the three main routes to the castle are all together. Other than the Back Route from the east, the Main Route comes from the west and the other route comes from the south. In particular, a great artificial trench called O-Horikiri is dug in the southern side of the enclosure to prevent enemies’ attacks.

The stone walls under the earthen bridge over the trench

Only the narrow earthen bridge is over the trench, connecting to the southern route. Moreover, a square stronghold called Kaku-Umadashi is sticking out of the Second Enclosure through the bridge. The Umadasi system is a unique defense system which the Takeda and Tokugawa Clans often used. This system in Minowa Castle was probably developed by Takeda and completed by Naomasa under Tokugawa. The two-story turret gate called Kaku-umadashi Western Entrance Gate was recently restored based on the achievement of the excavation, which had been the symbol of the castle.

The square stronghold called Kaku-Umadashi

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