言語～Language – ページ 110 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

3.Matsumae Castle Part1

A unique castle in the last period of them

Location and History

Castle was built at End of Edo Period

Matsumae Castle was located in the southern edge of Hokkaido Island which was called Ezo until the Edo Period. Only the Matsumae Domain ruled the island in the period because the native Ainu people mainly lived there. There were over 200 domains in Japan throughout the period, which required earning over 10 thousand koku of rice in their territory. However, the Matsumae Domain couldn’t earn enough rice at that time due to the cold climate of the island. So instead, the domain was allowed to trade with the Ainu people exclusively by the Tokugawa Shogunate to maintain it. As a result, the shogunate specially considered it as an independent domain. On the other hand, the domain at first wasn’t allowed to have a castle which needed a higher status that it didn’t have. That’s why the domain had only a hall for the lord, called Fukuyama-kan at its home base of Matsumae until around the end of the Edo Period.

The location of the castle

In 1849, the lord of the domain, Takahiro Matsumae, was suddenly ordered by the shogunate to build a new castle, which was rare in the period. This was because foreign ships often came around Japan, which might have threatened the safety of the country. The homebase of the domain faced Tsugaru Channel between Hokkaido and the mainland of Japan, where these ships could sail. The shogunate expected the domain to build the castle as a base for coastal defense. Takahiro chose a famous scholar of military science, Ichigaku Ichikawa for the location and design of the castle. Ichigaku recommended moving their homebase to another place in Hakodate for the castle. He didn’t think that Matsumae was suitable for the castle because of its location on the halfway point of a gentle slope. However, the domain refused it, saying it was too expensive and they didn’t want to leave the familiar environment of Matsumae. Finally, the castle was built by replacing the Fukuyama-kan hall in 1855, which was eventually renamed Matsumae Castle.

The photo of Takahiro Matsumae, around 1864 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The relief map around the castle

Castle is mixed with Traditional Japanese style and Modernized features

Matsumae Castle is one of the latest castles to be built using Japanese style, such as having a Main Tower, turrets and gates built with stone walls in several separated enclosures. The castle actually had the Main Enclosure including the three-level Main Tower, its gate and the Main Hall for the lord. The Second Enclosure with several turrets was also built blow the Main Enclosure. The Third Enclosure with the Front Gate was further below. The Inner and Outer Moats were dug between them. On the other hand, the castle had some advanced and specific features. 7 batteries were built towards the sea in the Third Enclosure as a base for coastal defense. The turrets in the Second Enclosure, such as Taiko-Yagura or the Drum Turret, were used as the command posts for the batteries. The stone walls of the castle were built precisely using a method called Kikko-zumi or the Tortoise Shell style. However, those of the Main Tower were not built high at only around 3m, which made it harder to target for ships with guns. The walls of the tower were also built strongly that can withstand gun attacks.

The diorama of the castle, exhibited at the site, adding the red letters

The present restored Main Tower with the original Main Entrance Gate on the right

The Drum Turret on the left and the Main Tower on the right in the old photo of the castle, from the signboard at the site

An example of the stone walls using the Tortoise Shell style method, around the Outer Back Gate

Castle falls twice during Meiji Restoration

The first battle at the castle happened in 1868 during the Meiji Restoration, but not against foreign ships but rather against Japanese troops. The former Shogunate Army led by Takeaki Enomoto escaped from the main land to Hokkaido and captured Goryokaku in Hakodate and they made it their home base. Then, they sent troops led by Toshizo Hijikata and a fleet to Matsumae Castle. The attackers and the defenders in the castle at first fought each other with cannonade. A ship (Banryu-maru) of the fleet had to withdraw being shot by a battery outside of the castle. However, Hijikata also attacked the side and the back of the castle. In fact, the back side was the weakest point of it. This was because the gentle slope, where it was built on, was easy to attack from the back. Moreover, the Matsumae Domain spent a lot of money on the front facing the sea, but only a few on the back. The castle would eventually fall.

The photo of Takeaki Enomoto, in 1868 *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

The photo of Toshizo Hijikata, taken by Kenzo Tamoto, in 1868 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The photo of Banryu-maru, in 1868 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The spot where Hijikata first attacked, called Umasaka Route, marked by the red circle

In the next year, the warriors of the domain, who managed to escape to Aomori in the main land, tried to retaliate with the help of the New Government Army to get Matsumae Castle back. They equipped stronger guns with a more modernized fleet than the former Shogunate Army. They landed at Hokkaido again and got close to the castle by fighting. When they attacked the castle from the other side of it, the defender of the former Shogunate Army eventually surrendered.

The spot where Matsumae warriors attacked, called Yudonosawazaka Route, marked by the red circle

To be continued in “Matsumae Castle Part2”

3.松前城　その１

城の時代の終末期に築かれた、独特な城

立地と歴史

幕末になって築かれた城

松前城は、江戸時代まで蝦夷と呼ばれた北海道の南端にあった城です。その江戸時代には松前藩だけが北海道全島を支配していました。そこには主に多くのアイヌ民族の人たちが住んでいたからです。この時代を通じて日本全国には２００を超える藩が存在しており、米の収穫高１万石以上の領地を有する領主だけが藩を有する大名とされたのです。ところが、北海道の寒冷な気候のため、当時の松前藩では米がとれませんでした。その代わりとして藩維持のために、幕府によりアイヌ民族と独占的に貿易を行うことが認められていました。その結果、幕府は特例として松前藩を独立した藩とし見なしました。一方、松前藩は当初城を持つことは許されませんでした。城を持つにはもっと大きな石高か格式が必要とされたためです。よって、松前藩は藩主が住む御殿を持つことだけを許され、その館は幕末近くまで、松前藩の本拠地として福山館と呼ばれました。

城の位置

1849年、藩主の松前崇広（まつまえたかひろ）は突然幕府から新しい城を築くよう命じられました。その当時としては大変珍しいことでした。これは、外国船が頻繁に日本周辺に現れるようになり、国の安全を脅かすことになりかねない状況が原因でした。松前藩の本拠地は北海道と日本本土の間の津軽海峡に面していて、これら外国船が通行することが考えられました。幕府は、松前藩に海岸防備の拠点として新しい城を築くことを期待したのです。崇広は城の立地と設計を、有名な軍学者だった市川一学（いちかわいちがく）に依頼しました。一学は、新しい城を築くのに本拠地を函館の方（庄司山周辺、後の五稜郭よりもっと山側）に移すことを提案しました。彼は、松前は緩やかな坂の途中に立地しているため、城を築くには不適格と考えたのです。ところが、費用がかかりすぎることと、愛着ある松前から離れたくないという理由から、藩はその提案を拒絶しました。最終的には城は福山館を建て替える形で1855年に築かれ、館は松前城と改名されました（別名として福山城ともいいます）。

松前崇広写真、1864年頃 *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

城周辺の起伏地図

旧来の日本式と、近代的な特徴が混在

松前城は、いくつかに分かれた曲輪上に石垣とともに天守、櫓、門などを築く日本式城郭としては最後の方に作られた城の一つです。実際にこの城には、三層の天守、門、藩主の御殿があった本丸がありました。いくつもの櫓が築かれた二の丸は、本丸の下の方に作られました。城の正門（沖ノ口門）があった三の丸は更に下方にありました。内堀と外堀がこれらの曲輪の間に掘削されました。一方、この城はいくつもの進化し且つ特徴的な点がありました。三の丸には７つの砲台が海の方に向かって設置され、海防の役割を担っていました。二の丸にあった太鼓櫓などの櫓群は、砲台の指揮所として使われました。城の石垣は、亀甲積みと呼ばれる精密な石積みの方法を用いて築かれました。しかし、天守台の石垣はあまり高くなく、３ｍくらいしかありませんでした。沖の船からの射撃の的になることを防ぐためです。天守の壁も砲撃に耐えられるよう厚く作られました。

明治維新での戦いで２度の落城

この城での最初の戦いは1868年の明治維新の最中に起こりました。しかし、外国船相手ではなく、日本人の軍勢との戦いでした。榎本武揚に率いられた旧幕府軍が本州から北海道に逃れてきて、函館の五稜郭を占領し、彼らの本拠地としました。そして土方歳三が率いる軍勢と艦隊を松前城に派遣してきたのです。攻撃側と守備側は、最初のうちは互いに砲撃戦を行い、城の外にある砲台からの射撃により、旧幕府軍の一隻（蟠竜丸、ばんりゅうまる）が損傷により退避したほどでした。しかし土方が、城の側面（東側の馬坂口）と背面からも攻撃を行いました。実は背面がこの城の弱点だったのです。もともと緩やかな斜面の上に作られた城であったため、攻撃側は背面から攻撃するのが容易です。それに加えて、松前藩は海に面した正面の方の築造に多額の費用をかけ、背面はほぼ放置した形になってしまっていたのです。城はついに落城してしまいました。

榎本武揚写真、1868年 *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

土方歳三写真、田本研造撮影、1868年 *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

蟠竜丸写真、1868年 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

松前藩士たちは本州の青森の方に逃げていましたがその翌年、新政府軍の力を借りて松前城を奪還し、雪辱を果たそうとしていました。彼らはそのときには、旧幕府軍よりも強力な武装を備え、近代化された艦隊を伴っていたのです。そして北海道に再上陸し、戦いを重ねながら松前城に迫りました。ついに松前藩士たちは城のもう一方の側面（西側の湯殿沢口）から城に突入し、旧幕府軍の守備側は降伏することになりました。

「松前城その２」に続きます。

133.Samegao Castle Part3

A way to enjoy visiting castles and castle ruins

Features

Main Enclosure and Granary Ruins

The Main Enclosure on the top of the mountain is above the meeting point of the routes. There is a rest station on the top where you can take a rest and enjoy a nice view of the Kubiki Plain, which was the core territory of the Uesugi Clan in the past.

The map around the Main Enclosure

Looking up the Main Enclosure from the meeting point

Another enclosure called Komegura-ato, or the granary ruins, is just below the Main Enclosure over another ditch. Lots of burned rice grains were found in this enclosure, probably for the same reason as the Third Enclosure. The ditches around the Main Enclosure seem to have been used as access ways, which is also interesting.

The granary ruins seen from the Main Enclosure

The ditch between the Main Enclosure and the granary ruins

The Main Enclosure seen from the granary ruins

This ditch has also been used as an access way

Later History

After the Otate Rebellion, Samegao Castle was abandoned. The burned rice grains in the granary ruins were already known in the Edo Period. The research of the castle ruins started in 1963. The excavation was also done between 2001 and 2006. It found that the ruins still kept the state of the abandoned castle in good condition. As a result, They were designated as a National Historic Site in 2008.

The sign of Samegao Castle Ruins at the Main Enclosure

My Impression

The ruins of Samegao Castle are becoming popular among history fans, including women, due to the tragic story of Kagetora Uesugi. Some historians also speculate that if Kagetora had won in the Otate Rebellion, the three clans, the Uesugi, Takeda and Hojo, could have been united against the threat from the rulers in western Japan, Nobunaga Oda and Hideyoshi Toyotomi. Historical fact tells us the Takeda and the Hojo were isolated from each other after the rebellion, and defeated one by one. Only the Uesugi somehow survived. It may be a good way to visit a castle or castle ruins to think about real history or speculative history.

The portrait of Nobunaga Oda who defeated the Takeda Clan, attributed to Soshu Kano, owned by Chokoji Temple, in the late 16th century (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The Portrait of Hideyoshi Toyotomi who defeated the Hojo Clan, attributed to Mitsunobu Kano, owned by Kodaiji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

How to get There

If you want to visit the ruins by car, it is about a 15-minute drive away from Joetsu IC or Nakago IC on the Joshinetsu Expressway. There is a parking lot for visitors in front of the park.
If you want to use public transportation, it takes about 30 minutes on foot from Kita-Arai Station on the Echigo Tokimeki Railway to get there.
To get to Kita-Arai Station from Tokyo: Take the Hokuriku Shinkansen Super Express and transfer at Joetsu-Myoko Station to the Echigo Tokimeki Railway.

That’s all. Thank you.
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