言語～Language – ページ 90 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

79.Imabari Castle Part2

A great appearance of a sea castle

Features

Entering Castle over Inner Moat using Sea Water

Today, Imabari Castle, which is now also called the Fukiage Park, has only its main portion surrounded by the Inner Moat, but still looks so great. The contrast of the high stone walls and Inner Moat is very impressive and may also be artistic. Some buildings were rebuilt that include the Main Tower on the stone walls to make it more attractive. It is still near the Imabari Port and uses the sea water for the Inner Moat, and maintains the sea castle atmosphere.

The aerial photo around the castle

The remaining main portion of Imabari Castle as a park

Visitors usually enter the castle from the main entrance which was one of the square Masugata spaces in front of the Inner Moat. You can go across the earthen bridge over the moat towards the main gate called Kurogane-gomon or the Iron Gate like the past visitors used to do. The gate is still surrounded by great stone walls, forming a Masugata space. It was actually restored in 2007 based on the Imabari Domain’s records and the excavation results, including some of the walls.

The earthen bridge seen from the main entrance

The stone walls use some huge ornament stones and one of which is the largest one in the castle. It is called Kanbe Stone, which was named after Kanbe Watanabe who was responsible for the castle construction under Takatora Todo. In fact, the gate space had another Korai-mon style building in the front, and in the past some visitors could be completely locked up in the gate. That was a way to protect the castle.

Kanbe Stone, the largest stone in the castle

The original structure of the Masugata system, from the signboard at the site

Several Turrets are restored in Second Enclosure

Inside the gate is the Second Enclosure, which is rectangular shaped. It had the Main Hall for the lord, and now has the statue of Takatora Todo riding a horse.

The front square is the Second Enclosure

The three turrets at each corner were also restored in the present time, which were used for exhibitions. (the other corner of it is shared with the Main Enclosure.) Part of the Hall Turrets called Tamon-Yagura connecting the turrets above were also restored on the stone walls.

Olane-Yagura Turret, one of the restored turrets in the Second Enclosure

Imitation Main Tower is built in Main Enclosure

The Main Enclosure is next to the Second Enclosure, which is quadrate and around half the size of it. It now has the Fukiage Shine inside, but both enclosures look the one because there is no partition between them. In the past, there were mud walls between them, so visitors going to the Main Enclosure had to pass another Masugata space as well.

There were also four turrets at each corner, but only their stone wall bases are remaining except for the northern corner. This is where you can see the Imitation Main Tower. This tower was built in 1980 when it was still uncertain where the original Main Tower had been. It also doesn’t resemble the Multi-story type Main Tower Takatora created because the current one looks like a Look-out tower. This is probably due to the designer considering the popular design of the some towers at that time.

No turrets were restored in the Main Enclosure except for the one corner

The Imitation Main Tower was built on the northern corner of the Main Enclosure

You can enter the tower passing the former Masugata space which is surrounded by the stone walls. It is actually a modern building which is used as a historical museum and an observation platform.

The entrance of the Imitation Main Tower

A view of Imabari Port from the Imitation Main Tower

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

79.今治城　その２

海城の威容を見ることができます。

特徴、見どころ

海水を引き込んだ内堀を渡って城の中へ

現在、今では吹揚（ふきあげ）公園とも呼ばれている今治城は、内堀に囲まれた主要部分のみが残っていますが、それでも威容を誇っています。高石垣と内堀のコントラストがとても印象的であり、芸術的とでも言っていいかもしれません。石垣の上には、天守を含むいくつかの城の建物が再建されており、より魅力的に見えます。城は今でも今治港の近くにあり、内堀の水は海水が使われていて、海城の雰囲気を残しています。

城周辺の航空写真

ビジターは通常、内堀の手前にある、かつては桝形だった正面入口から城の方に入っていきます。内堀にかかる土橋を渡って、昔の人と同じように大手門である鉄御門（くろがねごもん）に向かいます。この門は今でも素晴らしい石垣に囲まれており、桝形を形成しています。この門は実は、今治藩の記録や発掘の結果をもとに石垣の一部を含め2007年に復元されたものです。

ここの石垣にはいくつもの鏡石がはめ込まれていて、そのうちの一つはこの城では一番大きな石です。この石は勘兵衛石と呼ばれており、藤堂高虎の下で城建設の責任者であった渡辺勘兵衛の名前にちなんでいます。実は、鉄御門にはもう一つ高麗門が正面に建てられていて、かつてのビジターは門の中に完全に閉じ込められる構造になっていました。これが城を守る方法の一つでした。

櫓が再建されている二の丸

門の内側は二の丸で、長方形の形をしています。かつてはここに領主の御殿がありましたが、今は乗馬姿の藤堂高虎の銅像があります。

長方形のそれぞれの隅には現代になって３つの櫓が復元され、内部は展示のためにつかわれています（もう一ヶ所の隅部分は本丸と共有されています）。これらの櫓群をつなぐ多聞櫓も石垣の上に部分的に復元されています。

模擬天守が立つ本丸

本丸は二の丸のとなりにあり、正方形の形をしていて二の丸の半分の大きさです。現在、内部に吹揚（ふきあげ）神社があるのですが、これら２つの曲輪はまるで１つの曲輪のように見えます。なぜならその間に仕切りがないからです。かつては仕切りとして土塀があり、本丸に行くにはまた桝形を通らなければなりませんでした。

また、かつては四隅に４つの櫓もありましたが、北隅を除いて石垣台が残っているだけです。その北隅は現在の模擬天守がある場所です。この天守は1980年に建設されましたが、そのときもオリジナルの天守がどこにあったかわかっていませんでした。また、その姿は高虎が編み出した層塔式ではなく、望楼式の天守のように見えます。こうなったのは、恐らく当時は望楼式の方が天守として人気が出るはずだと設計者が考えたからでしょう。

石垣で囲まれかつて桝形だった場所を通り過ぎて、天守に入っていきます。実際には近代的ビルで、歴史博物館と展望台として使われています。

「今治城その３」に続きます。
「今治城その１」に戻ります。

79.Imabari Castle Part1

The monumental castle-building techniques of Takatoro Todo

Location and History

Takatora Todo builds Castle as his ideal Home Base

Imabari Castle is located in Imabari City in the northern part of Ehime Prefecture which was called Iyo Province in the past. The castle was built in 1604 by Takatora Todo who was a well-known master of castle construction. So far, he built several castles, for example, Wakayama and Akagi Castles when he was a retainer, Uwajima and Ozu Castles after he became a feudal lord of some parts of Iyo Province. However, Imabari Castle was his first home base which was built form the ground up independently. That means he was able to throw all his ideas and experiences in building the castle. That resulted in the castle becoming the monumental work of his castle construction.

*The portrait of Takatora Todo, private owned (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

The range of Iyo Province and the location of the castle

Before the construction, Takatora joined the invasion of Korea in 1597 as the leader of the Japanese Navy. From the experience, he thought his new castle would need a good location for naval support and water transportation. That’s why the castle was built facing the Seto Inland Sea, as a sea and plain castle. Such a location could had been difficult and dangerous because the seaside ground was too soft to build a castle and enemies could attack the plain land easily. To prevent them from happening, berms called Inubasiri were first built for the base of the stone walls. The berms would also be used for standing fences when enemies would attack the castle. The castle was also surrounded by water moats tripled, to which the sea supplied water.

The stone walls of Imabari Castle were built on the berms

Simple but Defensive Layout

Other than the specific conditions for Imabari area, Takatora introduced new common and easy ways of building castles to Imabari Castle but it was strongly protected from sudden attacks. The main portion of the castle, which combined the Main and Second Enclosures, was simply square shaped, which was easy to construct and accommodate large troops. While it may be weak for defense, the portion was surrounded by the wide Inner Moat, high stone walls, and many turrets on the walls. The gates of the portion were strongly guarded with a square defensive space called Masugata. Moreover, to enter the Main Gate, visitors had to pass other small enclosure called Demaru or the Barbican in front of the Inner Moat, which had another Masugata, and go across the earthen bridge over the moat. Such structures can be seen in other castles which Takatora would later be involved in, such as Nagoya, Nijo, and Sasayama.

The illustration of Imabari Castle in Iyo Province, exhibited by Cultural Heritage Online

The miniature model of Sasayama Castle, exhibited by the Large Study Hall of Sasayama Castle

Takatora creates Multi-storied type Main Towers?

Another Takatora’s invention of building castles is a new type of Main Towers, called multi-storied type or “Soto-shiki”. The Main Towers had usually been built in a method, called look-tower type or “Boro shiki”, which had many decorations such as gables or “Hafu” and bell-shaped windows or “Kato-mado”. The new method had simply square floors diminished towards the top with minimal roofing. That made the Main Towers more efficient and also made the tower easier to protect. The Main Tower of Imabari Castle is said to be the first multi-storied type with five levels, which was built in the Main Enclosure.

The Main Tower of Shimabara Castle, a typical multi-storied type one

The Main Tower of Inuyama Castle, a typical look-tower type one

In fact, it is not scientifically proven by excavation whether or not the Main Tower was really built in Imabari Castle. This is because the tower was demolished to be moved to another place when Takatora was transferred to Iga-Ueno Castle in 1608 after his short stay in Imabari Castle. Takatora once thought the tower should be used for his Iga-Ueno Castle, but he finally presented it to the Tokugawa Shogunate for the construction of Kameyama Castle which was ordered by the shogunate. According to the old photo of the castle’s Main Tower, it is certainly a five-level multi-storied type tower. This story was recorded only in Takatora’s biography or his clan’s annuals. There has been no evidence for the tower found in Imabari Castle such as the trace of its stone wall base. Some historians speculate that the Main Tower of Imabari Castle might have been built directly on the ground, not using any stone wall base.

The old photo of the Main Tower of Kamayama Castle *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

The castle itself was followed by Takatora’s relative, Takayoshi Todo until 1635 and finally the Hisamatsu-Matsudaira Clan. The clan had been originally called just Hisamatsu, then it was allowed to use the family name Matsudaira which meant the shogun’s relatives after its lord accepted Ieyasu Tokugawa’s mother as the later wife. The clan governed the castle and the area, called the Imabari Domain, until the end of the Edo Period.

To be continued in “Imabari Castle Part2”