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

80.Yuzuki Castle Part1

The center of Iyo Province in the Middle Ages

Location and History

Great find of Matsuyama City

Matsuyama City is one of the most popular tourist spots in Japan, which is also known for attractions such as the Dogo Hot Spring and Matsuyama Castle. However, you should check out another one as well, called Yuzuki Castle. The Dogo Hot Spring has been said to be the oldest hot spring in Japan, so some ancient imperial family members probably including Prince Shotoku once visited there and stayed for a while. The hill, where Yuzuki Castle would be built later, was near the hot spring and had the Isaniwa Shrine at the top. That means the area around the hill had been considered a holy place by the people in Iyo Province which is now modern day Ehime Prefecture.

The range of Iyo Province and the location of Yuzuki Cassle

Official Residence of Governor, Kono Clan

The Kono Clan was one of the local clans in Iyo Province. When the Mongol Invasion happened in 1281, Michiari Kono, the lord of the clan, was very active in the battle against the Mongol troops, who was also drawn in the picture scrolls of the Mongol invasion attempts against Japan, which was produced by Suenaga Takezaki. In the first 14th Century, the Kono Clan managed to take over the province, therefore, they built Yuzuki Castle on the hill after relocating the shrine to another place next to the hill. The clan finally became the ruling clan of the province, living in the castle as the official residence of the governor. The holy spot probably also provided the clan more authority.

Michiari Kono drawn in the picture scrolls of the Mongol invasion attempts against Japan (licensed by Wikimedia Commons)

The hill where Yuzuki Castle was built and the Isaniwa Shrine had been

However, the governance of Iyo Province by the Kono Clan was not very stable. This was because other clans such as the Hosokawa and Ouchi Clans invaded the province. The Kono Clan itself sometimes had internal troubles as well. In 1535 during the Sengoku Period, Michinao Kono, the lord of the clan at that time, built an Outer Moat using earthen walls inside, to make his castle much stronger defensively. The castle originally had an Inner Moat with other earthen walls outside, so by having the second outer moat, it doubled the moats.

You can see the doubled moats of Yuzuki Castle in the miniature model of the ruins, exhibited by the Yuzuki Castle Museum

It is still uncertain what the center of the castle on the hill was used for, but the lord of the castle might have lived there. The area between the Inner and Outer moats was shared by the warriors for living and divided by the mud walls for each resident. The southern part was used as the residences for the high-class warriors. Each portion for them was large and a Japanese garden was built next to that part. On the other hand, the western part was used as the residences for the middle-class warriors. Each portion was much smaller than that of high-class residences, but one of the residences had a meeting room where people could enjoy parties for poetry which were very popular back then. In addition, the castle had at least two gates, one on the eastern gate which was the front and another one on the western side which was the back.

The residences for the middle-class warriors in in the miniature model

Castle is abandoned after Kono Clan declines

Despite the renovation of the castle, the Kono Clan struggled to maintain it. According to the excavation, the castle was burned down after the renovation. The clan managed to rebuild the castle and tried to survive by working closely with the Kurushima Clan as well as with the Murakami navy forces. Despite the invasion by the Chosogabe Clan from Tosa Province, which was the south of Iyo, along with the unification of Japan by Hideyoshi Toyotomi, the Kono Clan had to ask the Mori Clan in the Aki Province, which was the north of Iyo, for help. In 1585, Ushifukumaru Kono, the last lord of the clan, handed the castle over to Takakage Kobayakawa, who was a relative of the Mori Clan. In 1588 when Masanori Fukushima, following Takakage, moved from Yuzuki Castle to another castle. the castle was eventually abandoned.

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

The portrait of Masanori Fukushima, the lord of Hiroshima Castle, owned by the Tokyo National Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

To be continued in “Yuzuki Castle Part2”

183.Kurume Castle Part3

Kurume offers unique culture in Japan.

Later History

After the incident in 1871, Kurume Castle was abandoned. All the buildings of the castle were demolished or sold. Even the stone walls of the Main Enclosure were sold and about to be taken out. However, local volunteers were worried and bought them back. That’s why we can still see the great stone walls as the castle ruins. As a result, the Sasayama Shrine was established in the Main Enclosure in 1877. The ruins have been a Prefectural Historic Site of the Fukuoka Prefecture since 1983.

My Impression

Let me tell you about the other attractions in other places related to the Kurume Domain. The lord of the domain, like the others, possessed two residences, one in Kurume and one in Edo. The Suitengu Shrine was transferred from Kurume to the main residence in Edo. The shrine was open to the public and became very popular. This practice was rare at that time. Since then, the shrine has been a popular attraction in Tokyo.

Arima’s main residence in Edo, drawn on the right in a Ukiyoe painting, attributed to Hiroshige Utagwa　the Second, exhibited by the National Diet Library of Japan

The present Suitengu Shrine in Tokyo (licensed by tak1701d via Wikimedia Commons)

Yoriyasu Arima, the 15th lord of the clan, promoted sports such as horse race and professional baseball in the 20th Century. A major horse race in Japan called Arima Kinen was named after his contribution.

Yoriyasu Arima (licensed by tak1701d via Wikimedia Commons)

How to get There

If you want to visit the ruins by car, it is a few minutes away from Kurume IC on the Kyushu Expressway.
You can park in the parking lots for visitors below the eastern side of the Main Enclosure. That space used to be the Mikan-maru or the Mandarin Enclosure.
If you want to use public transportation, it takes about 20 minutes on foot from the Kurume Station.
To get to Kurume Station from Tokyo or Osaka:Take the Sanyo Shinkansen super express or fly to Hakata Station and from there take the Kyushu Shinkansen super express or the limited express.

The parking lot at the Mikan-maru Enclosure

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

The stone walls of the castle are still intact.

Features

Great Stone Walls of Main Enclosure

Today, only the Main Enclosure remains as the ruins of Kurume Castle. The ruins have no castle buildings, but its stone walls are still mostly intact. The scale of the enclosure is not so large, about 150m from north to south and about 100m from east to west. It is surprising to imagine there were seven three-story turrets all connected by two-story row-style turrets in such a limited space. There is the Sasayama Shrine which worships the Arima Clan in the enclosure.

The map around the castle

The ruins of Kurume Castle now have only the Main Enclosure

Newer Stone Walls of Southern side

The front side of the enclosure is facing the south, which is also the entrance of the shrine. The only remaining water moat is located on that side. You can see the great high stone walls with a height of 15m. The stone walls of this side are constituted of piled, aligned square cut stones, in a method called Nuno-zumi. This method is newer than the one used in the rest of the castle, so it is thought that they were built by the Arima Clan.

The high stone walls of the southern side

The three three-story turrets; Tatsumi(Southeast), Taiko(Drum) and Hitsujisaru(Southwest) Turrets used to stand on the stone walls. In particular, the Tatsumi Turret was the largest, which meant it was the symbol and the substitute of the Main Tower of the castle.

The stone walls under the Tatsumi Turret Ruins

Inside of Main Enclosure

You can enter the enclosure through the ruins of the Kabuki-gomon Gate, on the paved route turning left. The route used to pass by a defensive square space called Masugata, but it is not visible clearly since the route was paved.

In the enclosure, there is the Arima Memorial Museum which exhibits the legacy of the Arima Clan, which the Sasayama Shrine isn’t a part of. The museum is on the ruins of the Hitsujisatu and Nishishita(West) Turrets. On or beside the ruins of the other turrets, there are several monuments about the local history. For example, there is the monument for remembering the sufferers of the incident in 1871 on the ruins of the Taiko Turret, where you can see its great stone walls close nearby.

the monument for remembering the sufferers of the incident on the Taiko Turret Ruins, on the right of the picture (licensed by そらみみ via Wikimedia Commons)

A view of the high stone walls from the Taiko Turret Ruins

There is also the monument for the 56th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army beside the ruins of the Ushitora(Northeast) Turret, where you can see the Chikugo River.

The Older Stone Walls of Eastern side

You can also enjoy a great view of the stone walls at the eastern side of the enclosure. The surface of the stone walls is made of piled roughly processed stones with small stones filling the gaps. This method is called Uchikomi-hagi. On the other hand, their corners are made of piled processed rectangular stones alternately, following the method called Sangi-zumi. These methods are older than the one used at the southern side, so these stone walls might have been built by the Mori or Tanaka Clans.

The stone walls at a corner, made of piled processed rectangular stones alternately

There is another entrance with stone steps on this side, beside the ruins of the Tsukimi(Moon watching) Turret. It might had also been the front gate as this side had originally been the front side of the enclosure. You can see the Kurume University playground from the turret ruins, which was once a water moat of the castle.

The entrance of the eastern side beside the Tsukimi Turret Ruins

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