English – ページ 92 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

36.Maruoka Castle Part1

A castle in the northern part of Echizen Province

Location and History

Katsutoyo Shibata builds Castle in Sengoku Period

Maruoka Castle was located in the northern part of Echizen Province, which is now Sakai City, Fukui Prefecture. The castle has one of the twelve remaining Main Towers in Japan. The castle was first built in 1576 during the Sengoku Period by Katsutoyo Shibata when his relative, Katsuie Shibata owned the province. After the Shibata Clan was defeated by Hideyoshi Hashiba in 1583, several clans such as the Matsudaira Clan owned the castle. The details of the early history of the castle are uncertain, but it is thought that it had the first Main Tower from that period. This is because the remaining stone wall base for the first Main Tower is older than the present Main Tower.

The location of the castle

The remaining Main Tower of Maruoka Castle

Narishige Honda becomes independent as Maruoka Domain

In 1624, Narishige Honda who was a senior vassal of the Matsudaira Clan became an independent lord of Maruoka Castle as the founder of the Maruoka Domain. He started to renovate the castle, including rebuilding of the present Main Tower. The renovation was completed in the period of Narishige’s son.

The illustration of Narishige Honda (in the left, the right one is his father, Shigetsugu Honda), exhibited in the Main Tower

The Main Enclosure with the Main Tower was on a hill. The Second Enclosure with the Ninomaru Main Hall was on a flat area beside the Main Enclosure. These enclosures were surrounded by the Inner Moat like a pentagon. It is said that the shape of the moat was meant to make enemies confused when they would attack the castle. In addition, the Third Enclosure with the warriors’ houses and the Outer Moat surrounded the Inner Moat.

The miniature model of Maruoka Castle, the Main Enclosure on the left, the Second Enclosure on the right

Part of the illustration of Maruoka Castle in Echizen Province, in the Edo Period, exhibited by the National Archives of Japan

Arima Clan governs Castle until end of Edo Period

In 1695, the Honda Clan was fired by the Tokugawa Shogunate due to the clan’s internal trouble. As a result, the Arima Clan became the lord of Maruoka Castle and the Maruoka Domain. The clan maintained the castle and governed the domain until the end of the Edo Period.

The family crest of the Arima Clan called the Arima Gourd (licensed by Fraxinus2 via Wikimedia Commons)

To be continued in “Maruoka Castle Part2”

137.Fukui Castle Part3

The castle ruins are still the center of Fukui Prefecture.

Features

Ruins of First Kitanosho Castle

I also recommend visiting the ruins of the first Kitanosho Castle which Katsuie Shibata built, about 300m away from Fukui Castle Ruins to the south. You can only see the base stones for the castle because Fukui Castle was built on the Kitanosho Castle Ruins.

The ruins of Kitanosho Castle in Echizen Province

These are the stone walls of Fukui Castle

The base stones of the first Kitanosho Castle

However, you can also see the statues of Katuie, his wife and his three daughters. These women are well-known in Japanese history. One of the daughters was the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s wife. Another was the wife of Hidetada Tokugawa who was a little brother of Hideyasu Yuki, the founder of Fukui Castle.

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Fukui Castle was abandoned. All the buildings of the castle were demolished and all its area except for the center of the castle was turned into the city area. In 1873, the former lord of the castle, the Matsudaira Clan opened Matsudaira Agricultural Experimental Station in the center of the castle until it was moved to another in 1921. Instead, The Fukui Prefectural Office was moved to the Main Enclosure in 1923. Since then, the castle ruins have been the center of the local government like the castle used to be.

Matsudaira Agricultural Experimental Station (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The buildings of the Fukui Prefectural Office (on the right) and Fukui prefectural police headquarters (on the left) at the Main Enclosure

My Impression

A Main Enclosure was usually the center of a castle. It often had the Main Tower and (or) the Main Hall to govern the area around in the Edo Period, like Fukui Castle. Many remaining Main Enclosures have now become historical parks, shrines, or facilities like a museum. However, the Main Enclosure of Fukui Castle is still used by the local government. I think this is the only example of the Main Enclosure being used for a prefectural office. Some people call it the strongest prefectural office in Japan.

The Main Enclosure of Fukuoka Castle (an example of being a historical park)

The Main Enclosure of Takaoka Castle (an example of being a shrine)

The Main Tower of the Main Enclosure of Osaka Castle (an example of being a museum)

The Fukui Prefectural Office which looks like the strongest

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car:
It is about 15 minutes away from Fukui IC on Hokuriku Expressway.
There are several parking lots around the ruins.
You can also use the underground parking lot of the prefectural office on weekdays.
(You need to have the parking ticket stamped at the reception counter.)
By public transportation, it takes less than 10 minutes walking from JR Fukui Station.
To get to Fukui Station from Tokyo: Take the Hokuriku Shinkansen super express, transfer to the limited express on the Hokuriku Line at Kanazawa Station.
From Osaka: Take the Thunderbird limited express.

Links and References

・Fukui Castle Ruins, Fukui Prefecture & Fukui Prefectural Tourism Federation

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

137.Fukui Castle Part2

A park and office buildings stay together in the castle ruins.

Features

Still active Main Enclosure front gate

Now, the ruins of Fukui Castle have been used as a park and the ground for official buildings including the prefectural office. The area of the ruins is inside the Inner Moat including the Main Enclosure.

The aerial photo around the castle

The public workers commute by entering the front gate of the enclosure in the south, after crossing the Gohonjo Bridge over the Inner Moat, like the warriors of the Fukui Domain used to do. In the past, the front gate consisted of a defensive square space surrounded by two gate buildings and the stone walls, called Masugata. You can climb up to part of the remaining stone walls to look around the gate.

Going to the front gate of the enclosure by crossing the Gohonjo Bridge

The old photo of the front gate, from the signboard at the site

Climbing up to the top of the stone walls

The front gate seen from the top of the stone walls

Must-see Main Tower Base

You can walk around the inside of the Main Enclosure, but only outside the office buildings where the Main Hall was.

The ruins of the Main Enclosure are close to the office buildings

You should check out the remaining stone wall base for the Main Tower at the northwest corner of the enclosure. The base has two tiers, and the upper tier is for the large Main Tower and the small Main Tower. The stone walls look great but appear to have partially collapsed or are misaligned. This is due to the Fukui Earthquake in 1948.

The upper tier on which the large Main Tower was

The restored well, called Fuku-no-i or the Fortune Well, is still on the lower tier. In fact, some people say the name of the well may be the origin of the castle’s later name, Fukui.

Restored Gate and Bridge

At the western entrance of the Main Enclosure near the base for the Main Tower, the gate building called Yamazatoguchi-gomon and the roofed Passage Bridge called Oroka-bashi over the Inner Moat were restored recently in the original method.

The restored Yamazatoguchi-gomon Gate and Oroka-bashi Bridge

The lord of the castle passed the original bridge and gate from his residence called Gozasho outside the enclosure to the Main Hall in the enclosure to govern the domain.

The old photo of the gate and roofed Passage Bridge, from the signboard at the site

You can try walking on the restored bridge and gate as well as entering the second floor of the gate to see its interior and an exhibition for the castle.

The interior of the second floor of the Yamazatoguchi-gomon Gate

Remaining Inner Moat and Main Enclosure stone walls

How about walking around the outside of the Inner Moat as well?

The Main Enclosure seen from the outside of the Inner Moat

For example, you can see the great stone walls for the Tatsumi-Yagura Turret at the southeast corner of the Main Enclosure. It was a three-story turret which was considered the substitute for the Main Tower after the tower was burned. The Main Enclosure originally had the Main Tower or turrets for its four corners.

The stone walls of the Tatsumi-Yagura Turret

The old photo of the Tatsumi-Yagura Turret, from the signboard at the site

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