関東地方～Kanto Region – ページ 21 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

15.Ashikaga Clan Hall Part3

The hall survived because it became a temple.

Features

Ashikaga School

The Ashikaga School is next to Bannaji Temple in the southeast. The school teaching Confucianism was said to be moved to the current place during the Muromachi Period and have as many as 3,000 students during the Sengoku Period. Its remaining buildings are few such as the Confucian Shrine and some gates, but other parts including the school buildings, earthen walls and water moats were recently restored. You may feel it is more likely to look like a warrior’s hall than the temple.

The map around the castle

The remaining Nyutoku-mon Gate of Ashikaga School

The restored school building of Ashikaga School

The restored earthen walls and water moats surround the school

Ruins of Kabasaki Temple

The ruins of Kabasaki Temple (the current Kabasaki Hachimangu Shrine) are about 5km away from Bannaji Temple in the northeast. Kabasaki Temple had been originally built by Yoshikane Ashikaga as his retreat, and considered the holy of the hollies for his clan. However, it declined after the Meiji Restoration for the same reason as Bannaji Temple with the only one building remaining. The site was recently excavated and has been developing as a historical site by officials. There, you can see the foundations of its buildings such as the Multi-Treasure Pagoda and the Mausoleum. That’s why there might have been similar scenery to Bannaji Temple in the past. In addition, restored stone steps go down from the ruins to the restored Pure Land style pond garden. The style refers to the builder who wanted to create a Pure Land in his garden so that they could go the real Pure Land after their death. The garden probably shows Yoshikane’s religious faith.

The restored Pure Land style pond garden

My Impression

I had little complex impression about Ashikaga Clan Hall when I visited the ruins. They don’t have outstanding items for a castle, instead, they remained as a temple. If the hall continued to be used as the hall, it wouldn’t have survived until now because of some battles or conversions. Hence, I understood that it is rare to see such many old remaining buildings in one place as the hall was turned into the temple.

How to get There

If you want to visit Ashikaga Clan Hall Ruins by car, it is about a 15-minute drive away from Ashikaga IC on the Kita-Kanto Expressway. There is a parking lot for visitors of the tourist information center in Ashikaga City, called Taiheikikan, near the ruins. It would be better to use a car if you also want to visit Kabasaki Temple Ruins.
If you want to use public transportation, it takes about 10 to 15 minutes on foot from JR Ashikaga Station or Tobu Ashikagashi Station.
From Tokyo to JR Ashikaga Station: Take the Tohoku Shinkansen super express and transfer to the Ryomo line at Oyama Station.
From Tokyo to Tobu Ashikagashi Station: Take the JR Ueno-Tokyo Line from Tokyo Station and transfer to the Ryomo limited express on the Tobu Isesaki Line at Kitasenju Station.

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Ashikaga Clan Hall Part1”
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15.足利氏館　その３

寺になったことで館跡として今に残ったのでしょう。

特徴、見どころ

足利学校

足利学校は、鑁阿寺の南西となりにあります。この学校は儒教の教育を行っていましたが、室町時代に現在の地に移転してきて、戦国時代には３千人もの生徒がいたと言われています。現存している建物としては聖廟や門（入徳・学校・杏壇の三門）がありますが、他の校舎などの建物や土塁・堀は最近になって復元されたものです。その姿は、鑁阿寺よりも武士の館のように感じられるかもしれません。

城周辺の地図

樺崎寺跡

樺崎寺跡（現在の樺崎八幡宮）は、鑁阿寺の北東、約５ｋｍの場所にあります。樺崎寺は、もともと足利義兼の隠居所として建てられましたが、足利氏にとって最も聖なる奥の院とされました。しかし明治維新後は、鑁阿寺と同じ理由で衰退し、たった一つの建物が残るだけとなりました。この場所は最近になって発掘され、史跡として整備が進められています。ここでは、多宝塔や御廟などの基礎部分（礎石）を見学することができ、つまりは昔は鑁阿寺と同じような光景であったかもしれないのです。更には、史跡からは復元された石段が、これも復元された浄土式庭園に向かって下っています（ビジターは通れません）。この形式の庭園は、施主がその庭に浄土の姿を再現し、死後に本物の浄土に行けるように願ったことを示しています。この庭園は恐らく、義兼の宗教観を表していると考えられます。

私の感想

足利氏館跡を訪れたとき、少々複雑な思いを持ちました。そこには城として特筆すべきものはありませんが、その代わりに寺として残っています。もしこの館が館として使い続けられていたとしたら、戦いの場となったり用途変更により今に残ることはなかったのではないでしょうか。よって、館が寺に変わったことにより、稀に見るまでに一ヶ所にこのような多くの古い建物が残っているのだと思いました。

ここに行くには

車で行く場合：北関東自動車道の足利ICから約１５分のところです。館跡近くの観光案内所「太平記館」にビジター向け駐車場があります。樺崎寺跡にも行こうとするならば、車を使った方がよいでしょう。
公共交通機関を使う場合は、ＪＲ足利駅か、東武線の足利市駅から歩いて約１０分から１５分かかります。
東京からＪＲ足利駅まで：東北新幹線に乗って、小山駅で両毛線に乗り換えてください。
東京から東武足利市駅まで：東京駅からＪＲ上野東京ラインに乗って、北千住駅で特急りょうもう号に乗り換えてください。

リンク、参考情報

・国宝　鑁阿寺
・「人を歩く　足利尊氏と関東／清水克行著」吉川弘文館
・「下野足利氏シリーズ・中世関東武士の研究　第九巻／田中大喜著」戎光祥出版

これで終わります。ありがとうございました。
「足利氏館その１」に戻ります。
「足利氏館その２」に戻ります。

15.Ashikaga Clan Hall Part2

Ashikaga remains with an atmosphere of the medieval city.

Later History

Even after Ashikaga Clan Hall was turned into Bannaji temple, Ashikaga town continued to prosper more and more as the home town of the Ashikaga Shogunate family. The temple had as many as 12 branch temples outside the square area during its peak. In the Edo Period, the Tokugawa Shogunate helped the town and temples as they had declared the shoguns were a branch of the Nitta Clan, a relative of the Ashikaga Clan, which meant they were descendants of the Minamoto Clan.

The illustration of the main and twelve branch temples, owned by Bannnaji Temple, quoted from the Ashikaga City Website

However, after the Meiji Restoration, the temple declined and lost all the branch temples. This was because of a movement to abolish Buddhism called Haibutsu-Kishaku in the first Meiji Era. Only the main temple in the square area survived. As for castle ruins, it was designated as a National Historic Site of Ashikaga Clan Hall in 1922. Ashikaga City has been developing the area around including the Ashikaga School and Kabasaki Hachimangu Shrine (the former Kabasaki Temple) as a historical site as well as a tourist spot.

Only the main Bannaji Temple remains now

Features

Hall Ruins are surrounded by Earthen Walls and Moats

Today, Ashikaga continues to have an atmosphere of a medieval city. Bannaji Temple as the ruins of Ashikaga Clan Hall is its center. One side block of the hall, which is about 200m long, remains with earthen walls and water moats surrounding it. Ducks and carps swim on and in the moats. The walls might have been higher and the moats might have been wider and deeper when they were used for the hall, but the current state matches the temple now.

The aerial photo around the castle

The remaining earthen walls and water moats around the hall ruins

Main building as National Treasure

The inside of the block has buildings only for the temple, not for the hall. However, you should check out many remaining old buildings. The largest main building was built in 1299 during the Kamakura Period and has been designated as a National Treasure. You can see, on the ridge tiles of its roof, three family crests of the Imperial family in the center, Daigoji Temple which was the head temple of Bannaji on the left, and the Ashikaga Clan on the right. The two highest ridge-end tiles called Shachihoko or the Grampuses have lightning rods to prevent a fire from a stroke of lightning.

The main building as a National Treasure

The three family crests on the ridge tiles

One of the Grampuses with a lightning rod

Temple buildings show help from Goverments

The Bell-Tower of the temple was also built during the Kamakura Period and has been designated as an Important Cultural Property.

The Bell-Tower as an Important Cultural Property

The Sutra Library was built in 1407 during the Muromachi Period by Mitsukane Ashikaga, the head of the Kanto government.

The Sutra Library which is another Important Cultural Property in the temple

The Eastern and Western Gates were also rebuilt during the same period by the administration office, which look like simple gates for the hall.

The Multi-Treasure Pagoda and the Mausoleum were rebuilt by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Overall, you can see the temple had been helped by the successive governments for a long time.

To be continued in “Ashikaga Clan Hall Part3”
Back to “Ashikaga Clan Hall Part1”