180.Okoh Castle Part2

A historical park with a laid-back atmosphere

Features

well developed historical park

The location map at the site, with additional English names

The map around the castle

Today, the ruins of Okoh Castle is well developed as a historical park. If you drive to the park, you can easily park your car at the mid slope of the mountain near the entrance of the ruins. If you walk up on the slope from the entrance, you will first arrive at the front of the high earthen walls of the the castle.

The entrance of the castle ruins
The remaining earthen walls at the ruins

From Forth Tier to Third Tier

Then, if you walk around to the right direction, you can enter the Forth Tier through the entrance of the enclosure called Koguchi. The entrance is made narrow and curved by the earthen walls for defense.

The entrance of the Forth Tier
The inside of the Forth Tier

The Third Tier is higher than the Forth Tier, surrounding the Final Tier like belt. The strong stone foundations surrounded by stone-piled earthen walls remain inside the enclosure. The building on the foundations would have been an important structure for the castle.

The inside of the Third Tier
The Third Tier surrounds the Final Tier like belt

Final Tier, Center of Castle

The Final Tier is the highest enclosure of the castle, so it was thought that it had the turret like a main tower. There are no building remaining on the ruins, but you can see a very good view of the Kacho Plain with lots of rice fields instead. You can easily imagine the area around the castle has been warm and rich.

Climbing up to the Final Tier
The inside of the Final Tier
A view from the Final Tier

Second Tier to protect Final Tier

The Second Tier is opposite to the Forth Tier. The enclosure was separated by a ditch from the Final Tier to protect it. There is also a small enclosure named the Lower Final Tier between the Second Tier and the Final Tier, where another turret was probably built.

The Second Tier
The ditch between the Second Tier and the Final Tier
The Lower Final Tier

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

180.岡豊城 その2

のどかな雰囲気の歴史公園

特徴、見どころ

よく整備された歴史公園

現地の案内図

城周辺の地図

今日、岡豊城跡は歴史公園としてよく整備されています。もし車で訪れるのでしたら、城跡の入口近くの山の中腹にある駐車場まで容易に行って駐車することができます。その入口から坂道を登っていくと、城の高く積み上げられた土塁が目の前に見えてきます。

城跡の入口
城跡に残る土塁

四ノ段から三ノ段へ

そこから右側の方向に歩いて行くと、虎口と呼ばれる入口から四ノ段に入っていきます。この入口は防御のために、土塁によって狭く、且つ曲げて作られています。

四ノ段虎口
四ノ段内部

三ノ段は四ノ段よりも高い位置にあり、最上段の「詰(つめ)」をベルトのように囲んでいます。この曲輪の内側には、石積みされた土塁に囲まれて、強固な礎石が残っています。この礎石の上にあった建物は、城にとって重要な建物であったのでしょう。

三ノ段内部
詰をベルト状に囲んでいます

城の中心部「詰」

「詰」は、城では最も高い位置にある曲輪で、天守のような櫓があったと考えられています。城跡には建物は残っていませんが、その代わりに、多くの水田が映える香長平野の素晴らしい眺めが楽しめます。この城の周辺地域は、昔から温暖で豊かだったのだろうと容易に想像がつきます。

詰に登っていきます
詰の内部
詰から見える景色

詰を守る二ノ段

二ノ段は、四ノ段の反対側にあります。この曲輪は堀切により「詰」と隔てられており、「詰」を守る形になっていました。ここにはもう一つ詰下段(つめかだん)という曲輪が二ノ段と「詰」の間にあり、恐らくここにも櫓が建てられていました。

二ノ段
堀切
詰下段

「岡豊城その3」に続きます。
「岡豊城その1」に戻ります。

180.Okoh Castle Part1

The castle’s long history and the Chosogabe Clan

Location and History

Feature of Tosa Province

Okoh Castle was located what is now Nankoku City, Kochi Prefecture. The prefecture is one of the four prefectures in Shikoku Island, but separated by Shikoku Mountains from the other three northern prefectures. When the prefecture was called Tosa Province in the past, it was not easy to visit there. That’s why the province was sometimes used for one of the places for exile or escape. However, it has been easy to live for local people with a warm climate and abundant food.

The location of the castle

The relief map of Shikoku Island and the range of Tosa Province

Chosogabe Clan settled in Tosa and built Castle

Okoh Castle had been owned by the Chosogabe Clan during all its life. The clan has a very long history and it was said that their founder was a branch of the Hata Clan that came from Korea to Japan in the Ancient Times with advanced technologies such as civil engineering and silk industry. The Hata Clan spread them and moved from central Japan (now Kinki Region) to many local areas of Japan including what is now Nagano Prefecture where the founder of the Chosogabe Clan lived. The founder called Yoshitoshi Hata fought at Kyoto in the 12th Century, but was defeated, so he escaped from his enemies to Tosa Province. He finally settled near the provincial capital in the fertile Kacho Plain and changed his family name to Chosogabe by combining local land names. Okoh Castle was thought to be built on a mountain beside the plain at the same time.

The whole view of Okoh Castle Ruins (licensed by Saigen Jiro via Wikimedia Commons)

One of Chosogabe’s strengths was to have connections to central Japan such as serving the Hosokawa Clan, a senior vassal of the Ashikaga Shogunate and inviting the Ichijo Clan, a high class noble to Tosa Province as the provincial governor. As a result, the Chosogabe Clan became one of the seven ruling clans in Tosa in the first 16th Century. However, the others of the seven ruling clans including the Motoyama Clan were against the Chosogabe Clan, then they attacked and burned Okoh Castle in 1508. The trace of the fire was found in the ruins of the castle. The Chosogabe Clan was once defeated.

The Second Tier, one of the enclosures which include the trace of the fire

Motochika Chosogabe ruled Shikoku based in this Castle

The next lord of the clan, Kunichika Chosogabe came back to Okoh Castle in 1518 with the support from the Ichijo Clan. He got his power by organizing a soldier group called Ichiryo-Gusoku who were usually farmers, but also soldiers with a Set of Armour in emergency. After that, he took revenge on his enemies by taking them as relatives or battles with the Ichiryo-Gusoku group. Kunichika’s son, Motochika Chosogabe was succeeded in governing the whole Tosa Province in 1575. Okoh Castle had been the home base of the clan. It was a typical mountain castle with many tiers covering the mountain. However, it had some unique features coming from the Chosogabe Clan. It was thought that some turrets were built on stone foundations, using roof tiles made by craftsmen from Izumi Province (now part of Osaka Prefecture). Stones were piled inside the earthen walls of the Third Tier. Such structures were still rare at that time in the whole cuntory and were done by Motochika’s connection to central Japan.

The figure of a Ichiryo-Gusoku soldier, exhibited in Kochi Castle
The portrait of Motochika Chosogabe, owned by Hada Shrine (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The stone walls of the Third Tier

Abandoned after Unification of Japan by Hideyoshi Toyotomi

Motochika finally achieved the unification of Shikoku Island in 1585. However, the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi was processing his unification of Japan at the same time. Hedeyoshi sent over 100,000 of modernized troops to Shikoku Island in the same year while Motochika had about 40,000 soldiers including farmers. Motochika had no other option but to surrender and was allowed to govern just Tosa Provence by Hideyoshi. He also moved his home base from Okoh Castle to Otaka-sakayama Castle (now Kochi Castle) in 1588 and finally Urado Castle beside Urado Bay in 1591. it was said that this transfer was instructed by Hideyoshi to prepare his Invasion of Korea in 1592. Okoh Castle was abandoned then.

The Portrait of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, attributed to Mitsunobu Kano, owned by Kodaiji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The present Kochi Castle
The ruins of Urado Castle

To be continued in “Okoh Castle Part2”