近畿地方～Kinki Region – ページ 15 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

161.Kishiwada Castle Part1

The reconstructed Main Tower of the castle can be seen among the city area. However, the scenery of the castle was different from the current one before its long history.

Location and History

City is known for Kishiwada Danjiri Festival

Kishiwada City is known for Kishiwada Danjiri Festival which is held in the city every September. Danjiri means traditional Japanese floats which are pulled around the city area in the festival. The city originates from the castle town of Kishiwada Castle. It is said that the festival also came from a celebration event which a lord of the castle, Nagayasu Okabe held for building a new Inari Shrine in the castle in 1703. The reconstructed Main Tower of the castle can be seen among the city area, for instance, from a train you ride on the Nankai Line between Osaka and Kansai Airport or Wakayama City. However, the scenery of the castle was different from the current one before its long history.

A scenery of Kishiwada Danjiri Festival (licensed by Kounosu via Wikimedia Commons)

*The portrait of Nagayasu Okabe, owned by Senkoji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Rulers take over Castle from Local Lords

Osaka Prefecture was roughly divided into three provinces in the past; Settsu, Kawachi and Izumi. The Kishiwada area belonged to Izumi Province which was the southern part of the prefecture and had the border with Kii Province in the south. It is still unknown when and how the castle was first built, but historians speculate that a local clan, the Kishiwada Clan had the old Kishiwada Castle sometime during the Middle Ages and moved to the current Kishiwada Castle in the first 15th Century during the Sengoku Period. The castle was followed by other local clans, the Matsura and the Terada Clans. They were able to maintain their castle and territory by serving the persons of power of the time such as the Hosokawa and the Miyoshi Clans.

The range of Izumi Province and the location of the castle

However, the situation didn’t allow them to do so when the rulers as Nobunaga Oda and Hideyoshi Toyotomi processed their unification of Japan in the late 16th Century. They used Kishiwada Castle as the front line against a group of local lords called Saika-shu which owned Kii Province. They also sent their retainers to the castle to govern it directly. For example, Kazuuji Nakamura who worked under Hideyoshi became the lord of the castle and repelled the attacks from the Saika Goup in 1584. Kishiwada Castle was originally a simple soil-made castle on a hill beside Osaka Bay. It is thought that Kazuuji improved it by building the Main Tower and high stone walls. That’s also why the castle managed to survive until today while the other castles in Izumi Province were all abandoned by the rulers.

*The portrait of Kazuuji Nakamura, owned by Tokyo University (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons*)

Development of Castle and Town

Hideyoshi replaced Kazuuji with Hidemasa Koide, a relative of Hideyoshi in 1585. Hidemasa developed the castle town and the Kishu Road through the town below the Second Enclosure in the west. The tide had actually reached there until then. The Main Gate was also moved from the eastern side to the northern side near the town. It is also thought that he improved or replaced the Main Tower in the Main Enclosure, which had five levels according to the drawing submitted to the Tokugawa Shogunate later on. The shogunate replaced the Koide Clan with Yasushige (Matsui) Matsudaira in 1619, who completed the castle and town. He built new stone walls outside the town in the west to expand it. The castle had probably been small with only the Main Enclosure in the east and the Second Enclosure in the west, but it became larger by adding several enclosures and moats around.

The miniature model of Kishiwada Castle, viewed from the south, the Main Gate (called the Northern Main Gate) is in the red circle, exhibited by Kishiwada Castle

The Main Tower in the drawing, exhibited by the National Archives of Japan

*The remaining stone walls of the castle town (licensed by Hironoyama via Wikimedia Commons)*

*The portrait of Yasushige Matsudaira (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

The castle was finally followed by Nobukatsu Okabe in 1640 and his clan governed the castle and the area around as the Kishiwada Domain until the end of the Edo Period. The clan originally came from Suruga Province which is the modern day central part of Shizuoka Prefecture. They served the Imagawa, the Takeda and finally Ieyasu Tokugawa who was the founder of the shogunate. Their government was basically stable in the peaceful Edo Period like the launch of Kishiwada Danjiri Festival. However, the Main Tower was unfortunately burned down by an lightning fire in 1827. After that, the domain planned to restore the tower with the permission from the shogunate, but the periods of warriors and castles ended by the Meiji Restoration before it was done.

*The portrait of Nobukatsu Okabe, owned by Senkoji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

*The illustration of Kishiwada Cassle in Iaumi Province, exhibited by the National Archives of Japan*

To be continued in “Kishiwada Castle Part2”

161.岸和田城　その１

現在も岸和田城の復興天守が市街地からよく見えます。しかし、城の姿はその長い歴史の間、現在とは全く異なっていました。

立地と歴史

だんじり祭りで知られる地

岸和田市は毎年９月に開かれるだんじり祭りによって知られています。「だんじり」とは伝統的な山車（だし）のことで、祭りの間市中を引き回されます。岸和田市は岸和田城の城下町を起源としています。だんじり祭りもまた、1703年に城主であった岡部長泰（おかべながやす）が城内に稲荷神社を勧請したことを祝った催しが元になっていると言われています。現在も岸和田城の復興天守が市街地からよく見えます。例えば、大阪と関西空港や和歌山市を結ぶ南海線に乗ると、車窓からも眺めることができます。しかし、城の姿はその長い歴史の間、現在とは全く異なっていました。

だんじり祭りの光景 *(licensed by Kounosu via Wikimedia Commons)*

岡部長泰肖像画、泉光寺蔵 *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

国人領主から天下人が支配する城へ

大阪府は大まかに言って過去には、摂津国、河内国、和泉国の三つの国に分かれていました。岸和田は和泉国に属していて、現在の大阪府南部に相当します。そして、南側を紀伊国（現在の和歌山県）に接していました。岸和田城が最初はいつ誰によって築かれたかはよくわかっていません。しかし歴史家は、国人領主の岸和田氏が中世のいずれかの時期から古岸和田城を所有していて、戦国時代の１５世紀初期に現在の岸和田城に移ってきたと推測しています。この城はその後、他の国人領主たち、松浦氏や寺田氏に継承されました。彼らは城や領地を維持するために、細川氏や三好氏などの時の権力者に仕えていました。

和泉国の範囲と城の位置

ところが、織田信長や豊臣秀吉といった天下人が１６世紀後半に天下統一を進める段階になると、国人領主たちの支配はおぼつかなくなります。岸和田城は、紀伊国を支配する国人領主の集団、雑賀衆に対抗するための最前線として使われるようになりました。そのため、信長や秀吉は家臣を城に派遣して直接統治を行うことにしたのです。例えば、秀吉配下の中村一氏（なかむらかずうじ）は岸和田城主となって、1584年に雑賀衆からの攻撃を撃退しました。岸和田城はもともと、大阪湾沿いにあった丘に築かれた単純な土造りの城でした。一氏はその城を、天守や高石垣を築いたりして改修したと考えられています。また、これらのことで、岸和田城が和泉国の中で唯一生き残った城となりました。他の城は、天下人や幕府の命によって全て破却されてしまったからです。

中村一氏肖像画、東京大学史料編纂所蔵 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

城と城下町の発展

秀吉は1585年に、一氏から親族の小出秀政に城主を交代させました。秀政は、城の西方の二の丸下に、城下町とそこを通る紀州街道を開発しました。それまでは、海水の満ち引きが城下まで達していたのです。それから、東側にあった大手門が城下町近くの北側に移されました。また、本丸にあった天守が改築または置き替えられたと考えられています。その後徳川幕府に提出された絵図面（いわゆる正保図）によると、天守は五層建てでした。幕府は1619年には、城主を小出氏から松平（松井）康重（やすしげ）に交代させ、康重が城と城下町を完成させました。彼は、城下町の西外側に新しい石垣を築き、町を拡張したのです。城は恐らく、最初は東に本丸、西に二の丸があるだけの小さなものでしたが、周りにいくつもの曲輪や堀が加えられることで、かなり大規模になりました。

岸和田城と城下町の模型（南側から見た構図、赤丸内が大手門（北大手門））、岸和田城天守閣にて展示

現存する城下町の石垣（「浜石垣」と呼ばれます） *(licensed by Hironoyama via Wikimedia Commons)*

松平康重肖像画 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

城は1640年に、最終的に岡部宣勝（おかべのぶかつ）に引き継がれ、その一族が江戸時代末期まで岸和田藩として、城と町を統治しました。岡部氏は現在の静岡県中部にあたる駿河国の出身でした。最初は今川氏に仕え、武田氏を経て、最後は幕府の創設者、徳川家康に仕えたのです。彼らの統治は平和な江戸時代の間は安定し、岸和田だんじり祭りも発祥しました。しかし残念ながら、天守は1827年の落雷により焼失してしまいました。その後岸和田藩は天守の再建を幕府の許可をもらって計画しますが、それが実行される前に明治維新となり、武士と城の時代が終わってしまいました。

岡部宣勝肖像画、泉光寺蔵 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

「岸和田城その２」に続きます。

163.Kuroi Castle Part3

Kuroi Castle is a local hero, Naomasa Ogino’s castle. On the other hand, it is known for the activity of the nationwide hero, Mitsuhide Akechi as well.

Features

Arriving at Top

You will reach the top of the mountain with a little more climbing. After you pass the second wire gate, you will see a different appearance of the castle ruins from what you have seen so far. The enclosures on the top are all surrounded by stone walls which you can see from the foot as well. The difference came from the period each part was finally built. The part above the gate was completed by Mitsuhide Akechi or the later lords, while the part below the gate was left as it was after Naomasa Ogino built it. The gate was installed probably in order to protect the stone walls from being destroyed by animal invasion.

The Eastern Enclosure in the front and the Third Enclosure in the back

Three Enclosures on Top with Great Views

The layout of the top area is connected by three enclosures, the front Third, the central Second, and back Main Enclosures. They are surrounded by plain other enclosures, such as the Eastern Enclosure, and each has its own altered gate on their side. The stone walls use natural stones which were collected from neighboring places. Historians point out these features can be seen in other castles Nobunaga or his retainers built. They also say the stone walls of Kuroi Castle were built to show authority to the people.

The map arond the main portion of the castle

*The Third Enclosure in the front and the Second Enclosure in the back*

Looking at the Third Enclosure from the Second Enclosure

*Looking at the Main Enclosure from the Second Enclosure*

Finally, please enjoy a great panoramic view of the area around from the top. It’s worthwhile to climb over 200m from the foot of the mountain.

Later History

The ruins of Kuroi Castle were designated as a National Historic Site in 1989 while they have long been part of hiking courses on Inokuchi Mountain. Therefore, it needs to be established both how to preserve the ruins and how to use the courses. Tanba City made the basic plan for the development of the Kuroi Castle Ruins in 2018. It installed an aluminum stairways into the stone wall gates on the top to preserve it based on the plan. However, some hikers argued that the stairways spoiled the scenery. As a result, the city painted the stairways brown in response. The controversial discussion will continue.

The brown-painted stairway at the Second Enclosure

My Impression

I met a person who said he climbs the mountain to the castle ruins on the top every day, wearing a T-shirt of Naomasa Akai (Ogino). I thought that Kuroi Castle is his local hero, Naomasa’s castle. On the other hand, officials also feature Mitsuhide Akechi who took the castle away from Nomasa’s successor and probably built its stone walls. The castle is known for the activity of the nationwide hero as well. The appearance of the castle ruins actually indicate the two periods, which is a great legacy of the Japanese history. I would like to visit other forts Naomasa built next time, which I didn’t visit on my first visit.

The illustration of Naomasa Ogino on the left and Mitsuhide Akechi on the right, exhibited by the rest house at the foot of the mountain

How to get There

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