Apart from the ruins themselves, you should consider visiting Goryokaku Tower, a 107m tall observation platform built exclusively for viewing Goryokaku. Goryokaku was designed flat to prevent enemies’ canons from targeting anything, so today’s visitors might not be able to grasp its shape. If you go up in the elevator of the tower to its observation room at 90m high, you will enjoy a great view of the star shaped fort.
Goryokaku TowerThe miniature model of Goryokaku, exhibited in the towerA view of Goryokaku from the observation roomHakodate Mountain and the city area can also be seen from the observation room
Ruins of Square Style Fort
Another attraction related to Goryokaku is the ruins of Shiryokaku, the Square Style Fort, about 5km away from Goryokaku in the northeast. It is much smaller than Goryokaku, so you can see its unique structure once you arrive at the ruins.
The aerial photo around the castle
The entrance of the Square Style Fort RuinsYou can see the square shape when standing at the edgeThe edge seemed to have a cannon
Later History
After the Battle of Hakodate ended, almost all the buildings of Goryokaku were demolished. The Imperial Japanese Army owned the ruins to use as a parade ground during the Meiji Era. In addition, the water in the moats was used to make ice blocks called Hakodate Ice between 1870 and 1953. This was because the water had been led from Kameda River and was clean since the foundation of Goryokaku. In 1913 during the Taisho Era, Hakodate City asked the Minister of the Army to open the ruins as a park, which was accepted in the next year.
The water moat was used to make ice blocksLooking outside from the edge of a bastion
My Impression
I regret that there are no ruins of the Benten Cape Battery at all. It was completely scrapped and its stone materials were reused for the improvement of Hakodate Port in 1899. Only the signpost stands now where the battery was. If only a little of it remained like Shinagawa Batteries in Tokyo Bay, people could easily understand the sharing of roles between it and Goryokaku. Anyway, I hope Goryokaku will keep its unique position in the Japanese history with its unique style among Japanese castles.
The ruins of the Benten Cape BatteryThe monument of the improvement of Hakodate PortThe stone materials from the Benten Cape Battery must hove been used somewhere in the port
How to get There
If you want to visit the ruins by car, It is about a 20-minute drive away from Hakodate Airport or the center of Hakodate City. From Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station, it takes about 40 minutes to get there. There is a parking lot for visitors beside the park. If you want to use public transportation, you can take the Tram Hakodate bound for Yunokawa from Hakodate Station and get off at the Goryokaku-koen-mae stop. It takes about 15 minutes on foot from the stop to get there. To get to Hakodate Station from Tokyo or Osaka: Take the Hokkaido Shinkansen super express at Tokyo Station and transfer to the Hakodate Line at Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station.
A European style fort which was the final place of the Battle of Hakodate
Location and History
European style fort, located in Hakodate
Goryokaku was one of the earliest European style forts in Japan and the site of a major event during the Meiji Restoration. It is also one of the most famous symbols of Hakodate City in Hokkaido. In 1854, Japan opened the country to several Western Countries such as the US through the Shimoda and Hakodate Ports. The Tokugawa Shogunate, which was the Japanese Government at that time, decided to take direct control of Hakodate port and built the Hakodate Magistrate’s Office to control the relationship with the aforementioned countries. The office was first located near the port at the foot of Hakodate Mountain. However, some argued that its location was not good for security because the office might be attacked from both the sea and mountain sides. Because of that, the shogunate built the Benten Cape Battery beside the port and moved the office to an inland area, about 3km away from the port, where it was thought it would provide protection from shots from canons of the Western ships.
The location of the castle
The person in charge of both constructions was Ayasaburo Takeda, a scholar of Western science. He learned a lot from military books and designed the office to be a European style fort, with five bastions like a star. He also planned to add five ravelins between the bastions, but only one was built in the front, probably because of a lack of budget. The new fort was completed in 1864 and called Goryokaku, which means the Pentagonal Style Fort. Its style came from Europe while the techniques used in the construction were traditionally Japanese. The basic five pointed star shape was made of soil, partly using stone walls. Some of the stone walls had a feature called “Hanedashi” in which all the stones in the second row from the top are so layered to prevent enemies from invading. Water moats were dug outside the structures. The office buildings were built inside in the Japanese style.
Ayasaburo Takeda (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)The drawing of Goryokaku, one of its final design plans, owned by Hakodate City Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)The remaining “Hanedashi” stone wallsThe old photo of the Hakodate Magistrate’s Office building, in the winter of 1868 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Escaping force occupies Goryokaku
In 1868 when the Meiji Restoration occurred, Goryokaku, including the magistrate’s office, was first handed over to the new government peacefully. However, the former Shogunate fleet, led by the deputy Admiral, Takeaki Enomoto, escaped from Edo Bay to Hokkaido looking to found their own government. They brought nearly 4,000 soldiers, excellent commanders like Toshizo Hijikata, and the strongest battleship, the Kaiyo. The new government officers left Goryokaku and withdrew to the mainland of Japan, so the escaping force occupied Goryokaku easily and set it as their home base. They also captured other castles in southern Hokkaido, such as Matsumae Castle. They finally declared independence from the new government, which was never accepted. A bad sign for the escaping force was that the Kaiyo had become stranded on a reef at Esashi and sank in the previous battle.
The photo of Takeaki Enomoto, in 1868 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)The photo of Toshizo Hijikata, taken by Kenzo Tamoto, in 1868 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)Matsumae CastleThe photo of the Kaiyo, in August of 1866 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)The restored Kaiyo beside Esashi Port as a museum
Goryokaku is open by Attack of New Government Army
The new government prepared over 10,000 soldiers and its own fleet, including the Kotetsu, thought to be the strongest after the Kaiyo, led by Kiyotaka Kuroda. The escaping force fortified Goryokaku and built another European style fort called Shiryokaku or the Square Style Fort. The new government forces invaded southern Hokkaido in 1869. They had more soldiers and were more equipped than the escaping force, which resulted in Matsumae Castle and Shiryokaku being captured immediately. The Benten Cape Battery and the remaining escape force fleet fought hard against the new government fleet in Hakodate Port. They even got one of the new government ships, the Choyo sunk. However, they had to surrender because their supplies ran out. Hijikata was also killed by a shot when he was trying to help them. Goryokaku was isolated.
The photo of Kiyotaka Kuroda (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)The illustration of the Kotetsu, published in 1933 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)The ruins of ShiryokakuThe photo of the Benten Cape Battery (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The cannon shots from Goryokaku didn’t reach the fleet. On the other hand, the shots from the Kotetsu easily hit Goryokaku because the quality of cannons had rapidly improved. It is said that the copper roof tiles on the drum tower of the magistrate’s office were targeted. Enomoto finally accepted the suggestion of surrender from Kuroda. These battles are called the Battle of Hakodate and considered to be the event that the completed the establishment of the new government.
