中部地方～Chubu Region – ページ 17 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

38.Iwamura Castle Part3

Be careful choosing your parking spot.

Features

Going to Main Enclosure, Center of Castle

The map around the Main Enclosure

From the Eastern Enclosure, you can enter the Main Enclosure by passing through two gate ruins and the Nagatsubone Enclosure between them.

The past Eastern Enclosure (front) and Nagatsubone Enclosure (back), *drawn in the signboard at the site*

The Nagatsubone-uzumi-mon Gate Ruins, the entrance of the Nagatsubone Enclosure

The long and narrow Nagatsubone Enclosure

The Front Gate Ruins of the Main Enclosure, the exit of the Nagatsubone Enclosure

The Front Gate Ruins seen from the inside of the Main Enclosure

The inside of the Main Enclosure is a square now. You can see from there views of the city area far away and the castle area around such as the Demaru Enclosure which also protected the Main Enclosure, but it is now used as a parking lot.

The past Main Enclosure, drawn in the signboard at the site

The past Demaru Enclosure, drawn in the signboard at the site

A view of the Demaru Enclosure seen from the Main Enclosure

You can also see the Uzumi-mon Gate Ruins which is the entrance from the Second Enclosure. It is interesting to see the stones on the steps are all cut in the shape of a triangle.

The past Uzumi-mon Gate, drawn in the signboard at the site

The stones on the steps cut in the shape of a triangle

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Iwamura Castle was abandoned and all the buildings of the castle excluding the Main Hall at the foot were demolished. The hall was also burned by a fire in 1881. Iwamura History Museum opened in 1972 at the site of the former hall and part of the hall was also restored in 1990. On the mountain side, Ena City, which owns the ruins, recently excavated and researched them to develop and preserve them. The city aims to someday make the ruins designated as a National Historic Site.

The partly restored Main Hall (taken by HiC from photoAC)

My Impression

When I visited the ruins of Iwamura Castle, I made a mistake choosing my parking spot. I wanted to walk around the ruins from the foot to the top. However, my car navigation system led me to the parking lot near the top automatically. Therefore, I had to climb down to the foot first, then I returned back to the top. For visitors who want to see the entire ruins should park at the foot. If you want to see only the great stone walls on the top, you can park at the Demaru Enclosure, which is few minutes on foot from the Main Enclosure on the top.

How to get There

I recommend using a car when you visit the castle ruins.
It is about a 20-minute drive away from Ena IC on the Chuo Expressway. There are two parking lots near the top and at the foot of the ruins
If you want to use public transportation, It takes about 30 minutes on foot from Iwamura Station on the Akechi Railway to arrive at the foot.
To get to Iwamura Station from Tokyo or Osaka: Take the Tokaido Shinkansen super express, transfer to the Chuo Line at Nagoya Station and transfer to the Akechi Railway at Ena Station.

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Iwamura Castle Part1”
Back to “Iwamura Castle Part2”

38.岩村城　その３

駐車する場所にご注意ください。

特徴、見どころ

城の中心部、本丸へ

本丸周辺の地図

東丸からは、二つの門跡とその間にある長局（ながつぼね）曲輪を通って、本丸に向かいます。

本丸の内部は広場になっています。そこからは遥かに市街地と、本丸を守るために設置された出丸など城の周辺部が見渡せます。出丸は今は駐車場となっています。

また本丸には、二の丸からの入口となっている埋（うずみ）門跡もあります。ここにある石段は皆三角形に加工されていて、とても興味深いです。

その後

明治維新後、岩村城は廃城となり、山麓の御殿を除く全ての城の建物は撤去されました。その御殿も1881年の火災により燃えてしまいます。岩村歴史資料館が1972年に、以前御殿があったところに開館しました。1990年には御殿の一部が復元されました。山上部分においては、城跡を保有する恵那市が近年発掘と調査を行い、整備と保全を行いました。また、将来国の史跡に指定されるよう活動を行っています。

私の感想

岩村城跡を訪れたとき、私は駐車場所についてミスをしてしまいました。もともと山麓から山頂に向かって城跡を見て回りたかったのです。ところが自動的に設定されたカーナビの案内により、山頂近くの駐車場に行ってしまいました。そのため、山麓の方に一旦降りてから、山頂に戻るような形になってしまいました。城跡全体を見て回りたい方は山麓に駐車した方がよいでしょう。一方、山頂にある見事な石垣だけを見たい方は、山頂の本丸から数分のところにある、出丸の駐車場を利用された方がよいでしょう。

ここに行くには

この城跡に行かれる方は、車を使われることをお勧めします。
中央自動車道の恵那ICから約２０分かかります。城跡の頂上近く及び山麓に２ヶ所の駐車場があります。
公共交通機関を使う場合は、明知鉄道の岩村駅から城跡の山麓まで、歩いて約３０分かかります。
東京または大阪から岩村駅まで：東海道新幹線に乗って、名古屋駅で中央本線に乗り換え、恵那駅で明知鉄道に乗り換えてください。

リンク、参考情報

・女城主の里いわむら、公式ウェブサイト
・「東海の名城を歩く　岐阜編／中井均　内堀信雄編」吉川弘文館
・「日本の城改訂版第８０、１２６号」デアゴスティーニジャパン
・「よみがえる日本の城１６」学研

これで終わります。ありがとうございました。
「岩村城その１」に戻ります。
「岩村城その２」に戻ります。

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”