English – ページ 95 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

134.Toyama Castle Part2

A site mixed with original and imitation items

Features

Appearance very different from past

Today, the ruins of Toyama Castle became Toyama Castle Park which is open to the public. The appearance of the park is much different from the original state of the castle in some ways. First, the Jintsu-gawa River was rerouted from the northern side of the castle to flow in another direction in 1899. Only a stream called Matsu-kawa River flows in the original position. Second, only the Main Enclosure and the Western Enclosure remain as the park, which were tied by burying the water moat between them. Finally, no castle buildings remain but some imitation items were built. Further details on that later.

The aerial photo around the castle

The Matsu-kawa River flowing in the former Jintsu-gawa River

Original Stone Walls, Water Moats and Moved Gate

The highlights of the remaining items are the stone walls, part of the water moats, and the moved Chitose Hall Gate from the Eastern Barbican Enclosure. If you enter the park from the south, you can walk across the only remaining earthen bridge. The bridge is over the only remaining water moat to the ruins of the front gate called Kurogane-mon or the Iron Gate with the stone walls.

The stone walls include five huge ornate stones called Kagami-ishi or the Miller Stones. These stones look great and showed the authority of the lord in the past. This area is the most likely to be the original Toyama Castle.

The stone walls of the Iron Gate, including the ornate stones

The other remaining stone walls of the back gate are at the northeast part of the castle. The Chitose Hall Gate is beside the stone walls.

The Chitose Hall Gate beside the stone walls

Imitated Stone Walls and Main Tower

On the other hand, another feature of the castle, the earthen walls can hardly be seen at the site. The outline of the Main Enclosure was originally made using the earthen walls connecting the stone walls. However, the outside part is covered with the imitation stone walls built recently. The inside of it was also piled up with some stones earlier on.

The stone walls on the left are original while those on the right are imitated

The inside of the earthen walls was also piled up with stones

There are signboards which give information about the original stone walls at the site, but no explanation for the stone walls which were built in the present time. Visitors might be confused or misunderstand what the castle was like.

The signboard for the original stone walls

there is no information for the imitated stone walls

The building of Toyama Municipal Folk Museum is on the stone walls of the Iron Gate as the imitation Main Tower, where you can learn more about Toyama Castle inside. It has been a long time since its launch in 1954, so it has also become a symbol of Toyama City. Now the imitation building fits in with the original stone walls.

The imitation Main Tower built on the stone walls of the Iron Gate

The Imitation Tower seen from the inside of the park

Another art museum building which looks like a turret is also built on the stone walls of the back gate. The citizens of the city might think Toyama Castle originally had the Main Tower and was built entirely using stone walls.

The art museum built on the stone walls of the Back Gate

To be continued in “Toyama Castle Part3”
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134.Toyama Castle Part1

A castle basically made using earthen walls and water moats

Location and History

Center of Ecchu Province

Toyama City started as the castle town of Toyama Castle and is the capital of Toyama Prefecture. The castle was first built by the Jinbo Clan in the first half of the 16th Century. It was in a flat area in the center of Ecchu Province, what is now Toyama Pref. The area was also the intersection of two of the major roads, the Hokuriku, and Hida Roads. It might have been dangerous to build a castle in such a place at that time. Many battles happened during this time, later known as the Sengoku Period. Warlords in the province usually lived in mountain castles like Masuyama Castle to protect themselves. In the case of Toyama Castle, it was protected by the Jintsu-gawa River and water moats surrounding the castle.

The location of the castle

Narimasa Sassa unifies Ecchu Province

Many warlords such as the Uesugi Clan, the Ikkoshu Sect, and the Oda Clan battled over Toyama Castle. Narimasa Sassa finally took over the castle and governed the whole Ecchu Province in 1582. However, he was against the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi. Hideyoshi attacked the Ecchu Province in 1585. The castle was destroyed for the first time, after Narimasa surrendered to Hideyoshi in the same year. Hideyoshi gave Ecchu Province to Toshinaga Maeda who would be the founder of the Kaga Domain in the Edo Period. In 1605, Toshinaga handed over the head of the domain to his successor, and moved from Kanazawa Castle, the home base of the domain, to Toyama Castle for retirement. He had the power to govern the domain because the successor was still young. He rebuilt Toyama Castle as his new home base.

The portrait of Narimasa Sassa, owned by Toyama Municipal Folk Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The portrait of Toshinaga Maeda, owned by Uozu Museum of History and Folklore (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Toshinaga Maeda completes Castle

It is said that Toshinaga completed the structure of Toyama Castle. The large Jintsu-gawa River flowed in the north of the Main Enclosure as a natural hazard. A floating bridge was built over the river, which would later become popular among the people. There was the Second Enclosure in the south, the Eastern Barbican Enclosure in the east, and the Western Enclosure in the west of the Main Enclosure to protect it. Each enclosure was independent. The enclosures were surrounded by a water moat. They were only connected to the Main Enclosure by an earthen bridge. These enclosures were basically made using earthen walls. They were partly covered with stone walls around the three main gates such as the front gate of the Main Enclosure. It is also thought the Main Hall was in the Main Enclosure and some turrets were built on the stone walls of the gates. The largest Third Enclosure was on the south of all other enclosures, which was used as the warriors’ houses. However, the castle was destroyed a second time when it was unfortunately burnt by an accidental fire in 1609 before Toshinaga had to move to Takaoka Castle.

The illustration of old Toyama Castle in Ecchu Province, owned by Kanazawa City Tanagawa Library, exhibited by Toyama Municipal Folk Museum

”Floating bridge in Toyama, Ecchu Province” from the series “Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces” attributed to Hiroshige Utagawa in the Edo Period (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Home Base of Toyama Domain

In 1639, Toshinaga’s nephew, called Toshitsugu Maeda, was allowed to establish a subsidiary domain called the Toyama Domain. He once thought he could build a new castle but decided to repair and reuse Toyama Castle due to a financial issue. Instead, he built the outermost earthen walls and water moats to protect the castle town. Toshitsugu’s son, Masatoshi, promoted industries, especially a patent medicine. The success of the medicine resulted in the drug sellers of Toyama being known in the whole country. The domain also planned to build the Main Tower but gave up because of a financial issue again. Instead, they built the Chitose Hall in the Eastern Barbican Enclosure to sometimes allow to people to enter it for festivals. In addition, the castle suffered damage from fires, floods, and earthquakes again and again throughout the Edo Period. The domain struggled to restore or repair it. Simple earthen walls and water moats might have protected the castle from many of the disasters and made it easier to restore and maintain.

The statue of Masatoshi Maeda in Toyama Castle Park (licensed by Miyuki Meinaka via Wikimedia Commons)

The remaining front gate of the Chitose Hall

To be continued in “Toyama Castle Part2”

119.Sugiyama Castle Part3

Castle layout researchers focus on Sugiyama Castle.

Features

Main Enclosure, Center of Castle

The Main Enclosure is the largest and highest one in the castle. It has three entrances in the south, north and east. The north and east ones were also strictly protected by other enclosures and dry moats like you simulated in the south. The lord of the castle would be able examine the situation in all directions clearly and give the appropriate instructions.

The locations of the Main Enclosure and the northern and eastern enclosures

The Northern Entrance of the Main Enclosure

*The Eastern Entrance of the Main Enclosure*

The eastern enclosures seen from the Main Enclosure

In addition, some bypass routes are set in the castle, but some of them are dead-end alleys. If you see the layout of the castle, you may think it looks like a maze. It’s true for enemies, but it’s a well-designed fortress for defenders.

The locations of the spots which are supposed be dead-end alleys

The dead-end alley at the Southern Second Enclosure

The dead-end alley beyond the Well Enclosure

Later History

The ruins of Sugiyama Castle were not known to the public until around 1980s. Only the researchers who studied the layout of castles were interested in this castle. They published the dictionaries and magazines which featured the layout of castles since 1987. The layout drawing of Sugiyama Castle has been one of the most featured ones in these books. The castle became popular little by little. After the excavations between 2002 and 2007, the ruins became a National Historic Site in 2008. It is considered one of the “Hiki Castles Ruins”.

This location map is also a good layout drawing

My Impression

I imagine if Sugiyama Castle was much larger, and equipped with turrets, gates, and stone walls, it would look like the great castles built much later, such as Himeji Castle. This means Sugiyama Castle could be the pioneer of the advanced castle design. However, I rather prefer the effort of building the castle to its historical value. The unknown builders of the castle must have had a small budget, resources, workers, and little time because the purpose of the castle was limited. They thought hard to create their great work under the difficult situation. It may have been easier for them to build a great castle if they had enough resources. I think Sugiyama Castle is also a good lesson for us about how to use limited resources to create good work.

How to get There

I recommend using a car when you visit the ruins.
It is about 15 minutes away from Ranzan-Ogawa IC on Kanetsu Expressway.
The ruins offer a parking lot.
By public transportation, take the Tokigawa-cho route bus bound for Seseragi Center from Musashi-Ranzan Station on the Tobu-Tojo Line and get off at the Taguro bus stop.
It is about 20 minutes on foot from the bus stop.

That’s all. Thank you.
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