近畿地方～Kinki Region – ページ 24 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

167.Shingu Castle Part3

The ruins are still developing.

Features

Other Enclosures

Other than that, a small enclosure, called Demaru or Barbican, sticks out of the Main Enclosure towards the river. It looks sharp and cool. It was used to look outside. Because of it, a view of the Kumano-gawa River from around the enclosure is so great.

The map around the castle

You can also climb down to the Water Supply Enclosure beside the river from the Matsunomaru Enclosure if the path is open. It was recently excavated and discovered that it was used as a trade route of the charcoal product which have been known as Binchotan until now. The area around has been developed for visitors to walk around after the excavation.

The path to the Mizunote Enclosure from the Matsunomaru Enclosure

The whole view of the Water Supply Enclosure

The stone walls of The Water Supply Enclosure

The promenade along the Kumano-gawa River

Another attraction of the castle is the remaining stone walls of the Second Enclosure at the foot of the hill. The inside of it is used as a kindergarten, but you can see the stone walls outside, which still stands out among the city area. You should also check out the corner of the walls, which are piled using rectangular stones alternating each other in a method called Sangi-zumi.

The corner of the walls, piled using rectangular stones alternating each other

Later History

Shingu Castle was abandoned after the Meiji Restoration. All of the castle buildings were demolished. The ruins were eventually privately-owned, as a result, the Ryokan opened in the Kanenomaru Enclosure in 1952. Other amusement facilities, like a cable car and a beer garden, also opened around the Main Enclosure. The modification of the enclosure was probably done at that time. In 1980, Shingu City bought the ruins to make them to convert them into a park. The city has been researching and preserving the ruins since they were designated as a National Historic Site in 2003. The city is also thinking about restoring some castle buildings in the future.

The trace of the platform of the cable car below the Main Enclosure

My Impression

I think Shingu Castle Ruins has a big potential to be a great historical site, and soon this will happen. I also think that the city has a lot of things for visitors to do. It at least has to classify historical items and other items first in order to make people understand what they were. Then, it also has to preserve them in good condition before they start restoring some buildings. I would like to go back to the ruins again once the situation has improved.

The current situation of the Mian Enclosure

How to get There

It is about a 40-minute drive away from Kumano-Odomari IC on the Kumano-Owase Road. There is a parking lot halfway up the hill near the eastern entrance of the park to the Main Enclosure.
If you want to use public transportation, It takes about 15 minutes on foot from JR Shingu Station.
To get to Shingu Station from Tokyo: Take the Tokaido Shinkansen super express, and transfer to the Nanki super express at Nagoya Station.

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Shingu Castle Part1”
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167.新宮城　その３

この城跡は発展途上です。

特徴、見どころ

他の曲輪群

それ以外には、出丸と呼ばれる小さな曲輪が本丸から川に向かって突き出ています。その鋭い様がとてもかっこよく見えます。かつては城の外部を見張るために使われました。このため、出丸周辺からの熊野川一帯の景色はとても素晴らしいです。

城周辺の地図

また、松ノ丸からの道が通れるときには、そこから下って水ノ手郭に行くことができます（松ノ丸からの通路が閉鎖されているときには、川沿いの方から行けます）。この場所は近年発掘され、現在「備長炭」として知られる木炭の交易路として使われていました。この辺は発掘後、ビジターが歩いて回れるよう整備されました。

もう一つの見どころは、丘の麓に残っている二ノ丸の石垣です。二ノ丸の内部は幼稚園として使われていますが、外側の石垣は見学できます。今は周辺が市街地となっている中でもひと際目立っています。その石垣の角部分は、算木積みという手法で長方形に加工した石が交互に積み上げられており、これも見ものです。

その後

新宮城は、明治維新後廃城となりました。城の全ての建物は撤去されました。そしてその結果、城跡は民間所有となったのです。1952年には鐘ノ丸に旅館が開業しました。他にもケーブルカー（日本一短いケーブルカー路線と言われました）やビアガーデンなどが本丸に作られました。本丸の大きな改変は、恐らくそのときになされたのでしょう。1980年に新宮市が城跡を買い取り、公園としました。新宮市は、2003年に城跡が国の史跡となって以来、調査や保存を進めています。また、将来城の建物を復元することも検討しています。

私の感想

新宮城跡は、優れた史跡としての潜在能力を持っていますし、それはもうすぐ実現するでしょう。ただ、新宮市にはビジターに対してやることがたくさんあるとも思うのです。少なくともまず、城跡としての遺物とそれ以外のものを明確に区別する必要があります。ビジターに城がどのようであったのか理解してもらうためです。そして、次に城跡関連のものを、良好な状態で保存することです。そのくらいは建物を復元する前にやってほしいです。城跡の状況が改善したら、是非また訪れてみたいです。

ここに行くには

車で行く場合：熊野尾鷲道路の熊野大泊ICから約４０分かかります。公園の東側入口から本丸に行く中腹部分に駐車場があります。
公共交通機関を使う場合は、ＪＲ新宮駅から歩いて１５分のところです。
東京から新宮駅まで：東海道新幹線に乗って、名古屋駅で特急南紀号に乗り換えてください。

リンク、参考情報

・新宮城跡（丹鶴城跡）、新宮市観光協会
・「よみがえる日本の城１」学研
・「日本の城改訂版第６０号」デアゴスティーニジャパン

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

167.Shingu Castle Part2

Castle ruins with a mysterious atmosphere

Features

Developed as Tankaku Castle Park

Today, the ruins of Shingu Castle have been developed by Shingu City as the Tankaku Castle Park. The park actually has a mysterious atmosphere because it consists of the castle ruins, the ruins of an amusement facility developed in the Showa Era, and the modern park facilities. It has two entrances but they were not originally for the castle. If you enter it from the main entrance on the western side, you will walk up the stairs to the hill for a while.

The map around the castle

Walking up the stairs from the main entrance

Then, you will eventually walk on the original Main Route which comes from another side and meets at some point. You can see the rest of the original route goes down, but you can not to go there directly over the poles and ropes.

The meeting point with the original Main Route

If you want to go there, you need to go around the residential area which surrounds the route.

The remaining sone walls among the residential area

Enclosures surrounded by Precise Stone Walls

There are four enclosures on the hill, which are the Matsunomaru, Kanenomaru, Main, and Barbican from the west to the east, with only the stone walls remaining. The Matsunomaru Enclosure is the first one from the Main Route, whose entrance is a defensive square space surrounded by stone walls, called Masugata. This enclosure also has the route to the Water Supply Enclosure beside the river, it should have been the pivot point for defense.

The entrance of the Matsunomaru Enclosure

The next is the Kanenomaru enclosure which has another Masugata entrance. Its stone walls were well processed and piled with precision, in a method called Kirikomi-Hagi. It had had the Main Hall for the lord in Asano’s period, but the hall was moved to the Second Enclosure at the foot during Mizuno’s period. It now has a square and a Japanese Garden which was probably built when it was used as a Ryokan or a traditional Japanese style hotel in the Showa Era.

The entrance of the Kanenomaru Enclosure

*The stone walls of the Kanenomaru Enclosure* seen from the foot of the hill

Main Enclosure with complex design

You will next reach the Main Enclosure, which has a more complex design. Basically, it has many different kinds of great remaining stone walls. First, it has doubled front gate ruins, especially, the second one is surrounded by stone walls piled with the most precision in the castle, using a method called Kikko-zumi or Piling like Tortoise Shell.

The map around the Main Enclosure

From the first gate ruins to the second gate ruins

The stone walls of the second gate ruins, built using a method called Piling like Tortoise Shell

Second, the stone walls of its Back Gate Ruins show an excellent surface treatment.

Finally, the stone walls surrounding the enclosure are curved elaborately like a folding screen called Byobu-ore which made it possible for the defenders to counterattack to the enemies’ side.

The stone walls of the Main Enclosure, like a folding screen

The top of the folding screen stone walls

These stone walls have two tiers with the upper one being newer which was built by the Mizuno Clan, contrasted by the older lower tier which was built by the Asano Clan. The enclosure looks like a museum for stone walls.

The stone walls of the Main Enclosure have two tiers, but the lower one is covered with grass

The stone walls of the Main Enclosure, seen from the Matsunomaru Enclosure

Unfortunately, the stone wall base for the Main Tower had mostly collapsed due to a typhoon in 1952. Only one side of it remains.

The few remaining stone wall base for the Main Tower

On the other hand, the enclosure was also heavily modified by several stairs and paths which could have been built using the collapsing stone walls. The added structures are supposed to have been built for the amusement facility during the Showa Era. Visitors may be confused to see these structures made of stones because there are not enough explanations for it.

The stone steps which were added in a later period

The enclosure is mixed with the original structures and added ones later

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