87.Hizen-Nagoya Castle Part2

Spectacular traces of Hideyoshi’s ambition

Features

From Main Route to Third Enclosure

Today, the ruins of Hizen-Nagoya Castle are well-developed as a historical park. If you drive to the ruins, you can use the parking lot of Saga Prefectural Nagoya Castle Museum beside the park. Visitors usually first visit the ruins by walking on the Main Route. You will see how large the ruins are at first sight. You will also see the large-scale stone walls still surrounding the ruins. However, many of them collapsed like a V letter. In fact, the collapse was done intentionally. If you walk to the Eastern Barbican Enclosure, the route turns back at almost 180 degrees to the Third Enclosure.

The castle ruins seen from around the Main Route
The Main Route
The stone walls being destroyed like a V letter
The Eastern Barbican Enclosure
The Main Route seen from the Eastern Barbican Enclosure
The route turns into the Third Enclosure
The Main Route written on the picture of the miniature model of Hizen-Nagoya Castle exhibited by the Saga Prefectural Nagoya Castle Museum

Third Enclosure as Pivot of Defense

The Third Enclosure should have been the defense’s pivot because the enclosure is next to the Main Enclosure, and both the Main Route and Back Route gather in it. The entrance to the Back Route is still surrounded by the ruins of a large-scale turret and stone walls using many huge stones. The inside of the enclosure has the ruins of a well which could have been used for a siege.

The Third Enclosure
The Third Enclosure drawn in “The folding screen of Hizen-Nagoya Castle”. from the signboard at the site
The entrance to the Back Route
The Back Route seen from the entrance
The ruins of the well

Main Enclosure as Center of Castle

You can walk on stone steps through the alternate Main Gate ruins surrounded by stone walls into the Main Enclosure. The enclosure is very large but empty now except for the monument of the castle. There are some flat exhibitions which indicates what buildings were built, such as the Southwestern Corner Turret and the Hall Turrets, by using stone foundations, gravel, paved areas.

The map around the Main Enclosure

Going to the Main Enclosure
The Main Enclosure
The ruins of the Southwestern Corner Turret
The ruins of the Hall Turrets

The stone wall base for the Main Tower is located in the northwestern corner of the enclosure. Though there are only a few stone walls left, you can enjoy see a great view of Genkai-nada Sea and the castle area around.

The stone wall base for the Main Tower
Only a few stone walls remain on the base
A view from the base

To be continued in “Hizen-Nagoya Part3”
Back to “Hizen-Nagoya Castle Part1”

87.肥前名護屋城 その2

壮大な秀吉の野望の跡

特徴、見どころ

大手口から三の丸へ

現在、肥前名護屋城跡は歴史公園としてよく整備されています。もし車で城跡を訪れるようでしたら、公園のすぐそばにある佐賀県立名護屋城博物館の駐車場に停めることができます。観光客は通常、最初は大手口から歩いて城跡に入っていきます。一目でどんなにこの城跡が巨大なのかわかると思います。また、大規模な石垣がいまだに城跡を囲んでいるのも見ることができます。しかし、それらの多くがV字型に崩されています。実はこれは意図的にそうされているのです。それから、大手口から進んで東出丸に歩いて行くと、ルートはそこからほとんど180度曲がって三の丸に至ります。

大手口付近から見える城跡
大手口
V字型に破壊された石垣
東出丸
東出丸から見た大手口ルート
ルートは反転して三の丸に向かいます
名護屋城博物館の模型写真に大手口ルートを追記

防御の要、三の丸

三の丸は防御の要だったと考えられます。この曲輪は本丸のとなりにあり、大手口ルートと搦手口ルートの双方がここに集まっているからです。搦手口からの入口は、今でも大きな櫓跡や巨石を使った石垣に囲まれています。この曲輪の中には井戸の跡があり、この井戸は籠城に備えて作られたのでしょう。

三の丸
「肥前名護屋城図屏風」に描かれた三の丸(現地説明板より)
搦手口ルートからの入口
入口から見た搦手口ルート
井戸跡

城の中心部、本丸

それから石段を歩いて、石垣に囲まれ互い違いになっている大手門跡を通り、本丸に入っていきます。本丸はとても大きいのですが、城の記念碑がある以外は空き地になっています。どんな建物が建てられていたかを示す平面展示がいくつかあります。例えば、南西隅櫓や多聞櫓について、礎石、砂利敷き、舗装などによって表現しています。

本丸周辺の地図

本丸へ向かいます
本丸
南西隅櫓跡
多聞櫓跡

天守台石垣は曲輪の北西隅にあります。その石垣自体は少ししか残っていませんが、そこからは玄界灘や城周辺の地域を見渡すことができます。

天守台
石垣は少ししか残っていません
天守台からの眺め

「肥前名護屋城その3」に続きます。
「肥前名護屋城その1」に戻ります。

87.Hizen-Nagoya Castle Part1

Hideyoshi’s largest and last ambition

Location and History

Huge Battle Castle for invasion of Korea

Hizen-Nagoya Castle was a battle castle to support for the invasion of Korea by Hideyoshi Toyotomi, located in the northwestern part of Kyushu Island. Hideyoshi is known as for the ruler who achieved his the unification of Japan in the late 16th Century. He completed it to by defeating the Hojo Clan at Odawara Castle, known as the siege of Odawara in 1590. However, soon after the unification, he declared he would conquer China and ordered the lords throughout Japan to prepare for it in 1591. Many lords and warriors under him also supported his plan to get more territory. They were not able to get new territory in Japan after the unification because there were no more battles.

The location of the castle

The Portrait of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, attributed to Mitsunobu Kano, ownd by Kodaiji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Odawara Castle

Hideyoshi also ordered the lords to build a battle castle on Kyushu Island near Korea, known as Hizen-Nagoya Castle. Battle castles were basically used only once and usually simple. Hideyoshi once built another gorgeous battle castle known as Ishigakiyama Castle during the siege of Odawara. However, Hizen-Nagoya Castle was much larger and stronger; it was the second largest just after Hideyoshi’s home base, Osaka Castle. The construction of the castle, divided among the lords, took only 8 months. About 120 lords gathered and also built their own military positions around the castle. The place where the castle was built had originally been a fishing village. However, it became one of the largest cities in Japan in a very short time. Nearly 200,000 soldiers were sent from the castle city to Korea, and over 100,000 people stayed in the city.

The ruins of Ishigakiyama Castle
Osaka Castle
The miniature model of Hizen-Nagoya Castle, the castle town, and some grounds for the military positions, exhibited by the Saga Prefectural Nagoya Castle Museum

Gorgeous and strong castle

Hizen-Nagoya Castle had the Main Enclosure with the five-layer Main Tower and the Main Hall at the highest position. Five routes led to the caste. The main ones were the Main Route, the Back Route and the Yamazato Route. The Main Route went from the south to the Third Enclosure in the east of the Main Enclosure via the Eastern Barbican Enclosure. The Main Gate of the Main Enclosure led to the Third Enclosure. The Back Route started from the outside of the Second Enclosure in the west of the Main Enclosure. However, the route did not go to the Main Enclosure directly, and it went south of it to the Third Enclosure in the east. Some historians speculate the Back route should have been the actual Main Route because it is more defensive. The Yamazato Route led to the Yamazato-maru Enclosure, lower and north of the Third Enclosure. Hideyoshi’s residence with a tea-ceremony house was built in the former. All the enclosures were surrounded by high stone walls, which made the castle strong and showed Hideyoshi’s authority.

The Main Tower and the Main Enclosure in the miniature model
The three main routes written by myself on the location map at the site
Hideyoshi’s residence in the front of the model

Long battle and Breakdown after Hideyoshi’s death

The invasion of Korea started in 1592. That was originally for the conquest of China, but eventually caused a battle with Korea, because of the country was on the way to China. The Japanese Army at first occupied most of Korea instantly. Hideyoshi stayed and instructed the army from Hizen-Nagoya Castle. He was very pleased to hear the good news and even planned how he would divide China and Korea. However, the battle line was stuck in the southern part of Korea due to the reinforcements sent by the Ming Dynasty of China and the countermeasures taken by the Korean volunteer soldiers and navy. In 1593, envoys from the Ming Emperor came to this castle for the cease-fire negotiations.

“Painting of defense of Busanjin Fortress” depicting Japanese Siege of Busanjin in 1592  (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The miniature model of a Japanese warship called Atakebune, exhibited by the Saga Prefectural Nagoya Castle Museum
The miniature model of a breech-loading swivel gun, one of the weapons of the Ming Military, exhibited by the Saga Prefectural Nagoya Castle Museum

The negotiations continued for a long time, however, they failed. The war resumed in the southern part of Korea in in 1597. The unmotivated Japanese Army had to fight the useless war with the Ming Military. Many innocent Korean people were also killed. The Japanese Army finally withdrew from Korea immediately after Hideyoshi’s death in 1598. The failure of the war sped up the destruction of the Toyotomi Clan and the foundation of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Hizen-Nagoya Castle was abandoned at the same time and returned to a quiet place.

“Ulsan Siege Folding Screen” depicting the battle of Ulsan Castle in 1597, owned by Fukuoka City Museum  (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
“The folding screen of Hizen-Nagoya Castle” , owned by the Saga Prefectural Nagoya Castle Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

To be continued in “Hizen-Nagoya Castle Part2”