言語～Language – ページ 145 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

38.Iwamura Castle Part2

The castle ruins are worth to climb

Features

Long Trail to Top of Mountain

Today, the ruins of Iwamura Castle have been well developed for visitors. If you climb up from the foot to the top of the mountain, you can understand how strong the castle was. There is the partly restored Main Hall for the lord with the Drum Turret on the foot. From the foot, you will need to climb to the top for about 800 m long and about 170 meters high. Only stone walls and foundations of the castle remain on the mountain. However, if you have a smartphone, you can see the re-produced image using CG and hear the explanation (however only available in Japanese) at each signboard by scanning the QR code on it.

The map around the castle

An example of the re-produced images (around the Main Gate)

Lots of Gateway to protect Castle

The first part of your climb may be very tough because the trail is steep and it’s on a winding road which is as long as 500m, which is called Fijisaka. You will pass three defense points called Hatsu-mon Gate, Ichi-no-mon Gate and Toki-mon Gate before reaching the Main Gate Ruins. Enemies in the past must have also found it tough when they attacked the castle through the same route.

The past Hatsu-mon Gate drawn in the signboard at the site

The present Hatsu-mon Gate Ruins seen from above

The past Ichi-no-mon Gate drawn in the signboard at the site

The past Toki-mon Gate drawn in the signboard at the site

*The Toki-mon Gate Ruins* seen from above

Main Gate, Pivot for Defense

The Main Gate was the pivot for the defense, which had a complex system protecting the castle. The Three-level Turret was built beside the gate, which was also the symbol of the castle. The current trail goes around to the left, but visitors in the past had to go across a bridge called the Tatami-bashi which went straight to the gate. The floor boards of the bridge could be removed like tatami mats (traditional mats in Japanese homes) if enemies were to attack. Moreover, visitors had to turn left on the bridge when they entered the gate. If visitors were enemies, they would have been stuck and counterattacked from the turret and gate.

The past around the Main Gate drawn in the signboard at the site

The current trail goes around to the left

After passing the Main Gate Ruins, the trail becomes easier, and the area around it is relatively spacious. There used to be some warriors’ houses in the past. You will go though the area seeing the Hachiman Shrine Ruins on the left and the Kirigai Well which was said to never run out of water on the right. There were two routes in the past to reach the Main Enclosure on the top, the one from the Second Enclosure and the other from the Eastern Enclosure. However, the Second Enclosure is not well developed for visitors now, so most visitors usually go towards the Eastern Enclosure instead.

Six Tier Stone Walls, Highlight of Castle

One of the highlights of the castle is the Six Tier Stone Walls of the Main Enclosure beside the Eastern Enclosure. They look so great. In fact, these stone walls had originally been a single high stone walls, but the other tiers were added later to prevent them from collapsing. Other than that, the Main Enclosure is all surrounded by great stone walls, especially, the high stone walls on the western side are also so nice.

A front view of the Six Tier Stone Walls

A view of the Six Tier Stone Walls from the right side

A view from the top of the *Six Tier Stone Walls*

The high stone walls on the western side of the Main Enclosure

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

38.岩村城　その２

登り甲斐がある城跡です。

特徴、見どころ

長く続く山頂への道

今日、岩村城跡はビジター向けによく整備されています。もし、山麓から山頂の方に向けて歩いていかれれば、この城がどんなに強力だったかわかると思います。山麓には太鼓櫓とともに城主御殿が一部復元されています。山麓から山頂までは、距離で８００ｍ、比高で１７０ｍを登っていく必要があります。山の上には城の石垣と基礎部分だけが残っています。ただ、もしスマートフォンをお持ちでしたら、説明板にあるＱＲコードをスキャンすることで、ＣＧによる再現イメージを見て、説明音声を聞くことができます。

城周辺の地図

いくつもの関門

前半の登りは結構つらいかもしれません。急で且つ曲がりくねっている山道が５００ｍも続くからです。この部分は藤坂と呼ばれています。ここの区間では、初門、一の門、土岐門という３つの防御拠点を通り過ぎ、追手門跡にたどり着きます。過去に城を攻めた敵も、同じルートから攻めたときには大変な困難を感じたはずです。

防衛の要、追手門

追手門は防衛の要で、城を守るための複雑な仕組みを備えていました。三階建ての櫓が門のとなりにあり、城のシンボルにもなっていました。現在の山道は左側に回り込んでいますが、過去の城への訪問者は畳橋と呼ばれた門に真っ直ぐ伸びる橋を渡っていきました。その橋の橋板は、敵が攻めてきたときには畳のように取り外せるようになっていました。更に橋の上で左折し、門に入って行かなければならなかったのです。もしそれが敵だったら、その地点で釘付けとなり、櫓と門の両方から反撃を受けたことでしょう。

追手門跡を過ぎた後は、山道はやや緩やかになり、その周辺は比較的広々としています。かつてはここに武家屋敷が並んでいました。そこから、左側に八幡神社跡、右側に水が枯れることがないといわれる霧ヶ井という名の井戸を見ながら進んでいきます。頂上にある本丸に行くには２つのルートがあります。一つは二の丸を通り、もう一つは東丸を通ります。しかし、二の丸はビジター向けにはあまり整備されていないため、ほとんどの人は東丸の方向かって歩いていきます。

最大の見どころ、六段石垣

この城の最大の見どころの一つは、東丸のとなりの本丸の六段石垣でしょう。見事な石垣です。実は、この石垣はもともと一段の高石垣だったのですが、崩壊を防ぐために後に他の段が付加されたのです。それ以外にも、本丸は素晴らしい石垣によって囲まれています。特に西側の高石垣は、見ものです。

「岩村城その３」に続きます。
「岩村城その１」に戻ります。

38.Iwamura Castle Part1

A great mountain castle with a sad episode

Location and History

One of Three Great Mountain Castles

Iwamura Castle was a large mountain castle which was located in the eastern part of Mino Province (now Gifu Prefecture). The castle has been considered as one of the Three Great Mountain Castles followed by Bicchu-Matsuyama and Takatori Castles. Basically, mountain castles were built during the Sengoku Period when many battles happened. However, during the peaceful Edo Period, most castles were moved or rebuilt on plain land for the governor. The Three Great Mountain Castles were rare examples which remained until the end of the Edo Period. In particular, Iwamura Castle had the highest altitude of 717 meters high among the active castles during that time.

The location of the castle

The relief map around the castle

Female Lord, Otsuya and her Tragedy

It was said that the Toyama Clan first built the castle in the 13th Century, but it is quite uncertain. Records show the clan used the castle as their home base in the first 16th Century during the Sengoku Period. The Toyama Clan was one of the local warlord families residing in the area, which became the head of the local lord group called the Iwamura Group. However, the clan was affected by other larger warlords such as the Takeda and Oda Clans. For example, the clan often worked for the Takeda Clan. They often married their wife who belonged to the Oda Clan. This was to ensure balance between the two clans. In 1571, when a lord of the castle died, Nobunaga Oda sent one of his sons as the next lord of the Toyama Clan. The ex-lord’s wife named Otsuya, who came from Oda and Nobunaga’s aunt, actually governed the castle because the new lord was still very young. She has been known as one of the few female lords in Japan.

The family crest of the Iwamura Clan, called Maru-ni-Futatsubiki or Two horizonal lines inside a Circle

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

The situation became very serious for Otsuya when Shingen Takeda decided to fight against Nobunaga. This was because her territory was the buffer zone between Shingen and Nobunaga, which both clans wanted to own. Shingen sent his retainer, Torashige Akiyama with troops to capture Iwamura Castle in 1572. The castle was surrounded by the troops, but it survived for a while because it had very good defensive structures. Torashige negotiated an arranged marriage with Otsuya in order to be a part of the Takeda Clan. Otsuya accepted it.

The portrait of Shingen Takeda, owned by Jimyo-in Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The portrait of Torashige Akiyama, attributed to Fuko Matsumoto, owned by Erinji Temple *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

However, Nobunaga was very angry to hear about this. Nobunaga decided to send his troops to Iwamura Castle in 1575 after Shingen had died and the power of the Takeda Clan began to decline especially by the defeat in the battle of Nagashino Castle. The castle was besieged again but survived for 5 months because of its own strength. The attackers negotiated that the defenders could be saved if they surrendered. Torashige and Otsuya accepted this, however, the promise was a lie, so they were executed, which became a big tragedy during the Sengoku Period.

The illustration of Iwamura Castle, one of the Shoho Castle Illustrations, *exhibited by the National Archives of Japan*

Matsudaira Clan modernizes Castle

After that, several different lords governed the castle. In 1601 after the Tokugawa Shogunate was established, Ienori Matsudaira became the lord of the castle and the founder of the Iwamura Domain. Before his entry, the castle was probably a large and simple mountain castle with its buildings like the Main Hall at a high place. However, Ienori moved the Main Hall to the foot of the mountain to make it more convenient for him. He also modernized the mountain part by building stone walls which surrounded the enclosures. For example, the Main Enclosure on the top had two two-level turrets on the stone walls and two gates, but was empty inside during the late Edo Period. It might have been designed for emergencies like battles. In addition, Ienori also developed the castle town, which still has a good atmosphere to visit now.

The restored gate and turret of the Main Hall at the foot (taken by HiC from photoAC)

The Main Enclosure part of the illustration above

The former castle town of Iwamura (taken by rupann7777777 from photoAC)

To be continued in “Iwamura Castle Part2”