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

11.Nihonmatsu Castle Part3

Ruins with the view of beautiful flowers

Later History

After the Boshin War during the Meiji Restoration, Nihonmatsu Castle was abandoned and the few remaining buildings of the castle were all demolished. A silk mill was established in the Third Enclosure at the foot of the mountain and it was operational between 1873 and 1925. After World War II, the castle ruins became what is known today as Kasumigajo Park as a natural park while some buildings of the castle were rebuilt. The investigation and study for the castle have been done since 1990. The stone walls of the Main Enclosure were restored in 1995. The ruins were finally designated as a National Historic Site in 2006. Nihonmatsu City is now considering restoring the Main Hall in the Third Enclosure on the foot of the mountain.

The foot of the mountain at the castle ruins site

My Impression

Nihonmatsu City is known for the Chrysanthemum Figures which means “dolls clothed with chrysanthemum flowers and leaves”. The Chrysanthemum Show is held every autumn at Kasumigajo Park. The park itself is also famous for cherry blossoms, so the mountain of the park is covered with them in spring. In fact, if you look down from the top you will be surprised to see a carpet of flowers. Therefore I highly recommend you visit this castle in Spring and Autumn if possible.

The cherry blossoms like a carpet that can be seen from the top

Chrysanthemum figures exhibited at the Chrysanthemum Show *(taken by happy.mom from photoAC)*

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car:
It is about 10 minutes away from Nihonmatsu IC on the Tohoku Expressway.
The park offers plenty of paking spaces.
By train, it is about 20 minutes away from JR Nihonmatsu Station on foot.
To get to Nihonmatsu Station from Tokyo: Take the Tohoku Shinkansen super express and transfer at Koriyama Station to the Tohoku Line.

If you visit the ruins of Nihonmatsu Castle by train, you have to walk long from Nihonmatsu Station. The Old Oshu Road goes near the station, so turn right at the Nihonmatsu Station Ent. Intersection and go along the street. Then, turn left at the Kubochozaka Ent. Intersection. It’s an easy walk, but it’s on an incline called Kubochozaka on a hill to reach the ruins. This is one of the structures for the castle’s defense system. You will also see the remaining stone walls for the Main Gate on the way. When you go over the top of the hill, you will finally see the mountain where the castle was built.

The route from Nihonmatsu Station to the castle ruins

Nihonmatsu Station *(licensed by D700master via Wikimedia Commons)*

The stone walls for the Main Gate (quoted from the Nihonmatsu Castle Official Site)

You can see the castle ruins after going over the hill

Links and References

・Nihonmatsu Castle Official Site

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

11.二本松城　その３

美しい花で飾られる城跡

その後

明治維新時に起こった戊辰戦争の後、二本松城は廃城となり、わずかに残っていた城の建物も全て撤去されました。山麓の三の丸には製糸工場が設立され、1873年から1925年の間稼働していました。第二次世界大戦後、城跡は今日知られている自然公園の霞ヶ城公園となり、城の建物もいくつか再建されました。1990年以降、城に関する調査研究が行われています。1995年に天守台石垣が復元され、2006年には国の史跡に指定されました。二本松市は現在、山麓にある三の丸に御殿を復元することを検討しています。

私の感想

二本松市は菊人形で知られていて、これは菊の花や葉を人形の衣装として飾り付けたものです。霞ヶ城公園では、毎秋菊花展が開催されています。この公園は桜の名所でもあり、春には公園の山は桜に包まれます。事実、その季節に山の頂上から辺りを見下ろしてみれば、まるで花の絨毯のように見えて驚かれるでしょう。よって、もし可能であれば、この城には春か秋に行かれることを特にお勧めします。

菊花展で出展された菊人形 *(taken by happy.mom* from photoAC)

ここに行くには

車で行く場合：
東北自動車道の二本松ICから約１０分のところにあります。
公園に多くの駐車スペースがあります。
電車では、ＪＲ二本松駅から徒歩で約２０分かかります。
東京から二本松駅まで：東北新幹線に乗って、郡山駅で東北本線に乗り換えてください。

二本松城跡へ電車を使って訪れる場合には、二本松駅から長い距離を歩く必要があります。旧奥州街道が駅の近くを通っているので、二本松駅入口交差点を右に曲がって真っすぐ進んでください。そして、久保丁坂入口交差点を左に曲がってください。そんなに大変ではありませんが、城跡に行くには、久保丁坂という坂を登っていきます。これも城の防御システムの一つなのです。途中には大手門の現存する石垣も見ることができます。坂の頂を超えていったところで、城が築かれた山がついに見えてきます。

二本松駅から城跡への道のり

二本松駅 *(licensed by D700master via Wikimedia Commons)*

リンク、参考情報

・二本松城跡オフィシャルサイト、二本松市教育委員会
・「よみがえる日本の城９」学研
・「日本の城改訂版第８８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。
「二本松城その１」に戻ります。
「二本松城その２」に戻ります。

11.Nihonmatsu Castle Part2

Castle ruins from many different periods

Features

The aerial photo around the castle

Foot of Mountain

The area around the castle was turned into a park called Kasumigajo Park (Kasumigajo is a nickname of the castle which means “Castle with a Mist”). The great stone walls which are said the Kato Clan built remain at the foot of the mountain. The buildings of the Minowa-mon Gate, the Two-story Turret and the Tamon Turret were rebuilt on the walls during the present time. Visitors usually enter the Minowa-mon Gate. The statues of the child soldiers, Nihonmatsu Shonentai stand in front of it.

The stone walls at the foot of the mountain

The statues of the child soldiers, Nihonmatsu Shonentai

After passing the zigzagged route surrounded by the stone walls, you will enter the Third Enclosure. It is now empty, but this is where the Main Hall used be for the lord which was also the center of the castle in the Edo Period.

Top of Mountain

After that, you can climb up to the Main Enclosure on the top of the mounttain through the trail the Hatakeyama Clan might have originally made. The mountain part was said to be first built for the castle. When you are alomost at the top, you will see large scale old stone walls on a gentle slope under the Main Enclosure. They are called Ohishigaki or the Large Stone Walls which were probably built by the Gamo Clan. They are also one of the oldest stone walls in the Tohoku Region. At this point, you will soon reach the top.

The Main Enclosure on the top is surrounded by the wonderful stone walls which still look new today. They were originally build by the Kato Clan or the Niwa Clan, and recently restored after the recent excavation. They also have three stone bases for the Main Tower, the Eastern Turret, and the Western Turret. The Eastern Turret and the Western Turret seemed to be actually built on these bases, but there has been no evidence on whether the Main Tower was built or not. If such relics were found or such drawings were discovered it would prove that these structures were indeed built the way we suspected.

The restored stone walls of the Main Enclosure

The inside of the Main Enclosure, the back is the stone wall base for the Eastern Turret

Great view from Main Enclosure

Anyway, you can see a great wide view of the area around the castle on the top of the stone walls. The Mountains in the Tohoku Region such as Adatara-yama Mountain can be seen across the great distance. You can feel you are standing on the region with a lot of mountains. In addition to this, you will see monuments with written description of senior vassals of the Boshin War who committed suicide beside the stone wall base for the Main Tower.

Adatara-yama Mountain that can be seen across the great distance

The monuments for the senior vassals of the Nihonmatsu Domain, who committed suicide

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