English – ページ 82 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

179.Kagomori Castle Part2

You can enjoy a mountain castle safely.

Features

Unique Natural terrain

Today, the ruins of Kagomori Castle have been re-developed for visitors. If you drive to the ruins, you can park at the south of the mountain, which is below the upside-down U shape. After that, you can first walk to the bottom of the valley called Furogadani, which is likely the inside of the U shape. You will probably feel like you are entirely surrounded by the ridges of the mountain, which has very unique terrain. You can still see the well of the castle, filled with water, but probably can not be consumed now.

The aerial photo around the castle

The well of the castle, *quoted from the website of Matsuno Town*

Enclosures are in line on U shape Ridge

Visitors typically climb up to the western edge of the U shape from the valley through the steep zigzagged trail. You will reach the Western 10th Enclosure, which is approximately 70m above the bottom of the valley. There is the restored gate, a barrack with horse stable and earthen walls, thanks to the results from the excavations. The excavation team also discovered that the enclosure had the hall turrets, which was called Tamon-Yagura, beside the earthen walls. From there, you can see the area around including the Shinjo Enclosure, which is located on the opposite edge of the U shape. Overall, this enclosure was the pivot point of the castle.

If you want to get closer to the center of the castle, the Main Enclosure, you will have to go through as many as eight enclosures. Each enclosure is small, but all are in a line on the long and the narrow ridge of the mountain. These enclosures were divided by artificial ditches called Horikiri. The route to the Main Enclosure is much narrower and goes along the side of these enclosures. If enemies were to attack the castle using this route, they would have found it very challenging. However, visitors today can walk on the same route safely because steps and bridges were installed.

The steps and bridge installed on the trail

Main Enclosure, Center of Castle

When you reach the entrance of the Main Enclosure, you will find some remaining stone walls. They are part of the alternative entrance called Koguchi, which replaced the old ditch in the later stage of the castle. The Main Enclosure is on the top of the mountain (approximately 90m from the foot) and the center of the U shape ridge. From here, you can enjoy views of Matsuno Town in the north and both edges of the ridges, the Sinjo Enclosure and the Western 10th Enclosure you passed through. This was ideal for the headquarters.

A view of *the Western 10th Enclosure* from the Mian Enclosure

A view of the Shinjo Enclosure from the Mian Enclosure

There are also some restored pillars and floor of the Main Hall to show visitors its layout based on the excavation. It was thought that this is where the lord lived and some ceremonies were held in the same hall. In addition, relics like stone foundations and rooftiles, which might have been used for the Main Tower, were discovered in the enclosure.

The partially restored pillars and floor of the Main Hall

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

179.Kagomori Castle Part1

A castle located around the border between provinces

Location and History

Area of Border Dispute

The ruins of Kagomori Castle are now located in Matsuno Town in Ehime Prefecture, near the Kochi border. Similarly, the castle was located in Iyo Province which was near the border of Iyo Province and Tosa Province in the past. This location was often tense because it was important to the lords of both provinces in order to maintain their territories.

The range of Iyo Province and the location of Kagomori Castle

It is often said The Watanabe Clan owned the castle since the 12th Century. The clan eventually followed the Saionji Clan which governed the southern Iyo Province, and became one of the fifteen commanders of Saionji. Kanesada Ichijo, the lord of Tosa Province in the first 16th Century, sent one of his relatives, to the Watanabe Clan to become their adopted heir. In fact, this was his preparation for the invasion of Iyo Province. The adopted Noritada Watanabe did nothing for his master, Kinhiro Saionji when Kanesada actually invaded the Iyo Province in 1567. Kinhiro got angry and decided to attack Noritada in Kagomori Castle before Noritada could surrender. This event happened at the castle near the border.

The portrait of Kanesada Ishijo, owned by Ryushu-ji Temple *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Castle is built on U shape Ridge

Kagomori Castle was built on a mountain where the ridge looked like the letter U. A lot of its enclosures were in a line on the long and narrow ridge. The Main Enclosure was on the center of the U shape, in the northernmost section. Nine enclosures were from the western edge of the U shape which was the next to the Main Enclosure. Another three enclosures were east of the Main Enclosure. In addition, the two Kojo Enclosures and the Sinjo Enclosure were in the eastern edge of the U shape. There were 16 enclosures in total, though each of them was small. They were basically made of soil, divided by artificial ditches, and the slope of the mountain which was intentionally cut vertically. Moreover, the mountain was surrounded by rivers in three directions except for the south. Overall, the castle can be seen as a stronghold using natural terrain.

The relief map around the castle

During the unification of Japan by Hideyoshi Toyotomi in the 1580s, his retainer, Katsutaka Toda became the lord of the southern Iyo Province which included Kagomori Castle. Katsutaka became the leader, and then, Takatora Todo became the next leader in 1595 after Katsutaka died. Kagomori Castle continued to be an important castle near the border of Tosa Province even during the unification of Japan. This is because the governance of Japan was still unstable. The lord of Iyo Province needed to keep monitoring the movements of the Chosogabe and Yamanouchi Clans.

The portrait of Takatora Todo, private owned (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Castle is improved during Unification of Japan

Kagomori Castle had basically been a simple mountain castle, but was eventually improved with the latest technology from Katsutaka or Takatora. For example, stone walls were built around the Main Enclosure. The enclosure originally had the Main Hall for the lord, and a building like the Main Tower was added. The excavation team managed to find large sized rooftiles including grampuses at the site, which could have been used for the Main Tower. According to Takatora’s biography, the Main Tower of Kagomori Castle was moved to his home base, Uwajima Castle and used as a turret. However, this is still not entirely proven, but Kagomori Castle might have looked like a modern castle.

The partially remaining stone walls at the Main Enclosure of Kagomori Castle

In 1615, Ieyasu Tokugawa, who was the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, defeated the Toyotomi Clan in Osaka Castle. After that, the authority of the shogunate was established. The shogunate ordered all of the lords in Japan to follow one castle rule, the Law of One Castle per Province to make its government more stable. Because of the new law, Kagomori Castle, which was owned by the Date Clan after Takatora was moved to another province, was eventually abandoned.

To be continued in “Kagomori Castle Part2”

80.Yuzuki Castle Part3

The castle ruins were saved by the decision of Ehime Prefecture.

Features

Great View from Top of Hill

Of course, you can climb up to the top of the hill, which is called the Hondan (like the Main Enclosure) which is now used as the observation platform. You can find a few explanations of the castle there because the excavation team didn’t find any relics. However, you can enjoy a view of Matsuyama Castle and the Dogo Spring Spot Town from the same platform. In fact, in the first 17th Century, Takatora Todo, who shared Iyo Province with his rival, Yoshiaki Kato, once used the abandoned Yuzuki Castle to monitor Matsuyama Castle which Yoshiaki built. Takatora would have seen the same view as we see now from Yuzuki Castle.

The aerial photo around the castle

The top called Hondan with the observation platform

Later History

In 1888 during the Meiji Era, Ehime Prefecture opened the Dogo Park at the ruins of Yuzuki Castle. The park became popular when a zoo opened in the park in 1953. However, the zoo was moved to another site in 1987 because of two issues. One was because of the bad odor, and another was because of the noise in the city area. The research of the Yuzuki Castle Ruins was done in the former area of the zoo before being turned into a modern Japanese garden. Plenty of relics were discovered in a good condition. Therefore, the prefecture reversed its decision to turn the ruins into a historical park in 1990. The restoration of Yuzuki Castle started in 1998 based on the results of the excavation and the examples of other sites like Ichijodani Castle before its eventual completion in 2001. the ruins were finally designated as a National Historic Site in 2002.

The remaining Inner Moat surrounded by the earthen walls

The flags of Yuzuki Castle at the entrance

My Impression

I didn’t know if Yuzuki Castle would have survived because of its severe history. I’m grateful for the prefecture’s decision to preserve them because no one would have remembered the history of Iyo Provence before Matsuyama Castle. The Dogo Park including the ruins has a good atmosphere. I recommend walking around the park as well as the town of the Dogo Hot Spring nearby where you can see other traditional buildings such as the Isaniwa Shrine and the Dogo Onsen Honkan bathhouse.

The Isaniwa Shrine (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

How to get There

If you want to visit the ruins by car, it is about 20 minutes away from Matsuyama IC on the Matsuyama Expressway. The Dogo Park offers parking lots.
By public transportation, take the tram in front of JR Matsuyama Station and get off at the Dogo-koen station.
If you go there from Tokyo or Osaka, I recommend traveling by plane or using an express bus.

That’s all. Thank you.
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