back route – ページ 2 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

147.Takatenjin Castle Part2

The Legendary Strength of The Castle

Features

Going to Castle Ruins through steep slope

Today, you can visit the ruins of Takatenjin Castle easily if you have a car. You can park in front of either the Main Route in the south or the Back Route in the north. If you want to get a taste of how tough the castle was, I recommend walking on the Back Route. The route is flat all the way to the foot of the mountain, but it gets very steep on the slope. It goes up and zigzags through rough cliffs for a while. However, when you reach the top, you will see that it is actually flat. After seeing this, you will understand that the natural terrain was more than suitable for the mountain castle.

The map around the castle

The northern entrance of Takatenjin Castle Ruins

Western ridge part

The spot you reached is called the Well Enclosure, which is the connecting point of the eastern and western ridges. The eastern ridge is the older part of the castle, which includes the Kane, Matoba, Main, Gozen, and Third Enclosures. These enclosures were built along natural terrain, which was partly surrounded by earthen walls and paths.

The original path around the Main Enclosure

The Main Enclosure is at the center and it is the highest point of the castle. You can look down vertically at the steep cliffs anywhere and see a view of Fort Hinodake, one of the Six Takatenjin Forts, from the enclosure. The Third Enclosure is located at the easternmost part of the castle, having a fine view. On a clear and sunny day, you can see a great view of Mt. Fuji in the east.

A view of Mt. Fuji from the Third Enclosure

Eastern ridge part

The western ridge is the newer part of the castle which includes the Western, Babadaira, Second, Dono-o, and Seiro Enclosures. The Western Enclosure is the highest point of the ridge where Takaten Shrine currently stands now, so you can see a good view of the Pacific Ocean in the south. The Babadaira Enclosure is below the Western Enclosure and divided by a ditch. Over the Babadaira Enclosure, there is a narrow path. This path is often referred to as “Inumodori” which translates to “Dogs return” meaning “Dogs cannot go through because it’s too tough”.

A view of the Pacific Ocean from the Western Enclosure

The ditch between the Western and Babadaira Enclosures

The Second, Dono-o and Seiro Enclosures are in a line next to the Western Enclosure, which were fortified by the Takeda Clan. This was because other mountains are connected over the Seiro Enclosure, which could have been attacked from this direction. To prevent this from happening, Takeda built a long dry moat along these enclosures and deep ditches dividing them.

The ditch between the Second and Dono-o Enclosures

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

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 stone walls being destroyed like a V letter

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 drawn in “The folding screen of Hizen-Nagoya Castle”. from the signboard at the site

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

The ruins of the Southwestern Corner Turret

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.

Only a few stone walls remain on the base

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

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)

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 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”