cherry blossom – ページ 3 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

33.Takaoka Castle Part2

It is a natural park now.

Features

Five remaining Enclosures as Park

Today, the ruins of Takaoka Castle has become the Takaoka Old Castle Park which is open to the public. The park looks like part of the water moats rather than being surrounded of them. This is because almost all of the foundation and the water moats for the castle remained until now. In fact, the water moats occupy about one thirds of the park. It is really a natural park now as you can try going on a boat tour on the moat.

The remaining water moat at the castle ruins

There are five enclosures such as the Main Enclosure among the moats. Each enclosure is independent and they are connected each other by only earthen walls or bridges. In particular, the Main Enclosure was accessible only through other enclosures, can not be accessible directly from the outside in the past.

The miniature model of the five enclosures, exhibited by the Takaoka City Museum

The aerial photo around the castle

Main Enclosure like Hill

The Main Enclosure is the largest one and like a hill, so you have to climb up to the center of it. The enclosure has the Imizu Shrine and a square with the statue of Toshinaga Maeda standing beside it.

It was found through the excavation that the Main Hall for Toshinaga was built in the enclosure. It is uncertain about other buildings in the castle because the castle was abandoned before their completion. Only the stone walls remained at the one side of the enclosure, which may be the only castle-looking item.

The ruins of the Main Hall of the Main Enclosure by the excavation, exhibited by the Takaoka City Museum

The remaining stone walls at the Main Enclosure

Other Enclosures for Modern facilities

Other enclosures are also used for modern facilities, the Second Enclosure for the Civic Hall, the Kaji-maru Enclosure for the City Museum, the Aki-maru Enclosure for a zoo, and the Minbu-maru Enclosure for a zym.

The City Museum at the Kaji-maru Enclosure

The whole park is also very known for cherry blossoms that surrounds it, they bloom around spring. The citizens in Takaoka City are very familiar with this park and recognize Toshinaga as the founder of the city.

The cherry blossoms in the Takaoka Old Castle Park

To be continued in “Takaoka Castle Part3”
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103.Namioka Castle Part3

The ruins were featured as those for the Southern Court.

Features

House in Aomori-shi Middle Ages

On the way of the ruins from Namioka Station, you can also visit the House in the Aomori-shi Middle Ages to learn more about the castle. It is a historical museum which exhibits the findings about the castle from the excavation and the study. For example, you can see the restored high-class reception hall called Kokonoma in the Main Hall for the lord, the miniature model of the North Enclosure, and the unearthed traded items such as
Luzon Pots.

The restored interior of the high-class reception hall, exhibited by the House in the Aomori-shi Middle Ages

An unearthed Luzon Pot, exhibited by the House in the Aomori-shi Middle Ages

Later History

After Namioka Castle was abandoned, the ruins were used as farms in the Edo Period. In the Meiji Period, the Kitabatake Clan was featured because the clan devotedly served the Southern Court which the government decided as orthodox. The study for the castle was accordingly started. The monument to honor the Kitabatake Clan was built and cherry trees were also planted since then . The castle ruins were designated as a National Historic Site in 1940, which was the first case for Aomori Pref. The excavation of the castle was launched in 1977. Finally, the ruins were open to the public as a historical park in 1998.

The monument to honor the Kitabatake Clan, which was built in the Meiji Era at the Inner Enclosure

The ruins of Namioka Castle covered with cherry blossoms, exhibited by the House in the Aomori-shi Middle Ages

My Impression

Visiting the ruins of Namioka Castle, I have learned that the castle was rather a symbol of peace than the fortress for battle even when many battles happened in the 15th and 16th Centuries called the Sengoku Period. I think that the ruins of this castle are very important site which shows that fact. In addition, the best season for visiting there is definitely in the spring, as the cherry blossoms around the ruins bloom. On the other hand, you should probably try to avoid visiting there in the winter, as the park is basically closed and you sometimes have to walk in the snow to see the ruins, like what happened to me when I visited the castle in winter.

The Information Center is also closed in the winter

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car:
It is about 10 minutes away from Namioka IC on the Tohoku Expressway.
There is a parking lot beside the Information Center in the eastern part of the ruins.
By train, it is over 30 minutes away from Namioka Station on foot.
I recommend using a taxi from the station to avoid getting lost. You can go directly to the Inner Enclosure though the western entrance of the ruins by the taxi.
To get to Namioka Station from Tokyo: Take the Tohoku Shinkansen super express and transfer at Shin-Aomori Station to the Ohu Line.

That’s all. Thank you.
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103.Namioka Castle Part2

You can imagine how prosperous it was.

Features

Remaining Group of Enclosures

Now, the ruins of Namioka Castle has been developed as a historical park. Although you can’t see any buildings, the eight enclosure still remained. The park is very large and now sandwiched by the Prefectural Road 27 in the north and Namioka River in the south. If you stand alongside the river, you can also see that these enclosures are higher than the river. You can imagine how prosperous they were when their buildings were still there.

The aerial photo around the castle

Overlooking around Namioka River from the Inner Enclosure

Inner Enclosure which was center of castle

So far, two of the enclosures, the Inner Enclosure and the North Enclosure, were mainly excavated. The Inner Enclosure is at the center of the ruins and beside the river. The Inner Enclosure looks like the highest point in the castle ruins. It was found that it had the Main Hall for the lord of the castle. The inside of the enclosure is empty now, but a lot of cherry trees are planted at the outer edge. You can see the doubled dry moats partly with the restored wooden bridges. The moats were originally filled with water.

The cherry trees which are planted at the outer edge

The doubled moat which is divided by the middle earthen walls

North Enclosure had residential lots for warriors

The North Enclosure is the largest enclosure and was found that it had been divided into several residential lots for the warriors. Each lot had the houses for the warriors, the workshop for the craftsmen, the well, the stable and so on. Through the excavation, they discovered that the enclosure had a defensive gate and had a zigzag road. You can now see the wooden fences that show how the residential lots were divided.

The wooden fences which divide the residential lots

The miniature model of a typical residential lot, exhibited by the House in the Aomori-shi Middle Ages

To be continued in “Namioka Castle Part3”
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