言語～Language – ページ 261 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

149.Komakiyama Castle Part2

You can see the legacies of Nobunaga and Ieyasu

Features

Mountain and Castle surrounded by Earthen Walls

Now we can still see Mt. Komakiyama covered with the green of the plants noticeable on the plain area. The building on the top is the Komaki City History Museum which looks like a Main Tower. Komaki City has been developing the whole of the mountain as a historical park. The city opened Komakiyama Castle Historical Site Information Center at the foot in 2019.

A view of Mt. Komakiyama from the city area

The aerial photo around the castle

When you get close to the mountain, you can find earthen walls and dry moats surrounding it. They were made by Ieyasu Tokugawa when the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute happened in 1584. From the Miyukibashi Entrance of the eastern side, you can enter the park across the wooden bridge through the alternate earthen walls. The bridge is not original but was built just for tourists to enter the park easily. Inside the walls, there are plain enclosures which were used for the houses of Nobunaga and his retainers, and also used as military posts of Ieyasu’s troops.

The mountain surrounded by the earthen walls

Main Road similar to Azuchi Castle

From the Main Entrance of the southern side, you can walk up the Main Route, which Nobunaga originally created, to the mountain. The route goes up straight to the mid-slope of the mountain and becomes zigzagged in the upper part. This formation is very similar to that of Azuchi Castle which was Nobunaga’s last home base. This meant he had his own ideas about building castles from an early age.

*The Main Route of Azuchi Castle* (above the mid slope)

Remaining Huge Stones and Stone Walls on Mountain

The Komaki City History Museum is on the top of the mountain where the Main Enclosure was. Around the top, you can see several huge stones lying down. In fact, these stones originally were built in the stone walls surrounding the Main Enclosure. Part of the stone walls still remain, and they were thought to be built by Ieyasu, not Nobunaga. However, the recent excavation found out that Nobunaga built these stone walls using huge stones. They were made into three tiers to demonstrate his authority. They are now recognized as a very early example of stone walls for a castle built in Nobunaga’s unique way.

The Komaki City History Museum *(licensed by Bariston via Wikimedia Commons)*

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

149.小牧山城　その２

信長と家康の遺産を見ることができます。

特徴

土塁に囲まれた山と城

現在でも、小牧山は緑の木々に覆われ、平地の上に目立って見えます。頂上にある建物は天守のように見えますが、小牧市歴史館です。小牧市は、この山全体を史跡公園として整備してきています。2019年には山麓に小牧山城史跡情報館がオープンしました。

城周辺の航空写真

山に近づくと、山を取り囲む土塁や空堀を目にすることができるでしょう。これらは1584年の小牧長久手の戦いの際に徳川家康により築かれたものです。東側の御幸橋入口から木橋を渡り、食い違いになっている土塁を通って公園の中に入っていきます。この橋はもとからあったものではなく、観光客が公園に入り易いように作られたものです。土塁の内側は平らな曲輪が広がっており、信長や家臣たちの館があり、また家康の軍勢の駐屯地となっていた所です。

安土城と似ている大手道

南側の正面入口からは、もとは信長が作った大手道を山に向かって登っていきます。この道は山の中腹まではまっすぐ伸びていてそこから上はジグザグになっています。この形態は、信長の最後の本拠地となった安土城のものととてもよく似ています。これは、彼が築城に関する考え方をかなり早くから持っていたことを意味します。

山上に残る巨石と石垣

小牧市歴史館が山の頂上にありますが、かつてはそこが本丸でした。頂上の周辺には、巨石がいくつも転がっているのが見えます。実はこれらの石はもともと本丸を囲む石垣として組み込まれていたものです。石垣の一部は今なお現存していますが、信長ではなく、家康が築いたものと考えられてきました。ところが、最近の発掘により、信長が巨石を使って築いたことが判明しました。三段積みにより作られ、彼の権威を表していたのです。現在では、信長独特の方法で築かれた、城の石垣としては非常に速い事例として認められています。

小牧市歴史館 (*licensed by Bariston via Wikimedia Commons*)

「小牧山城その３」に続きます。
「小牧山城その１」に戻ります。

149.Komakiyama Castle Part1

The castle had a very short life but rich history.

Location and History

Nobunaga’s Foothold

Komakiyama Castle was located on an 86m high mountain called Komakiyama, on Nobi Plain in Owari Province, what is now the western part of Aichi Prefecture. The mountain had no castle until Nobunaga Oda built a castle on it in 1563. The reason for it was that he wanted to move his home base from Kiyosu Castle in now Nagoya City to this castle. He aimed to capture Inabayama Castle, what is now Gifu City, which the Saito Clan owned at that time. Komakiyama was much closer to Inabayama than Kiyosu. However, it was very rare for warlords and their retainers to move their home to another. They always continued to live in places where their ancestors had been.

The location of the castle

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)

Three Distinct Features

Komakiyama Castle by Nobunaga had three distinct features. First, the Main Enclosure or Honmaru on the top was surrounded by stone walls made using huge stones. Some of the stones were carried from another mountain. At that time, building stone walls for castles was rare, and there was likely no other case like Komakiyama. It was one of the earliest examples of using stone walls as a show of authority.

The remaining stone walls on the mountain

Secondly, the castle had two residences for the lord, one was on the mountain, the other was at the foot. Other warlords who had a mountain castle also often had two residences. They usually lived in the one on the foot and used the one on the mountain when a battle happened. However, in the case of Nobunaga, he seemed to live in his residence on the mountain. He might have considered the mountain as a special place. Another similar example can be seen in Gifu Castle, his next home base.

Lastly, the Main Route went straight from the foot to the mid-slope of the mountain like Azuchi Castle, his last home base. It was abnormal for other warlords to have such a route on the mountain, because it was not defensive. The reason is still unsure, but it must have depended on Nobunaga’s idea. In addition, its castle town was built in an advanced way in an area where nothing existed prior. The town was divided orderly to accommodate warriors, merchants, and craftsmen separately. Such a way to develop castle town is commonly seen in those in the next century.

The miniature model of the castle town distribution at the site

Ieyasu’s Stronghold

The life of the castle by Nobunaga was just four years, as he was successful in capturing Inabayama Castle in 1567. He moved his home base again to Inabayama castle and renamed it Gifu Castle. Komakiyama Castle was abandoned right away. In 1584, the castle was reused by Ieyasu Tokugawa when he fought with the ruler Hideyoshi Toyotomi in the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute. Ieyasu reinforced earthen walls and dry moats surrounding the castle to establish a stronghold there against Hideyoshi at Inuyama Castle. This battle resulted in a dead heat and Ieyasu showed his great presence towards the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate later.

*The Portrait of Ieyasu Tokugawa, attributed to Tanyu Kano, owned by Osaka Castle Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

To be continued in “Komakiyama Castle Part2”