You can enter the inside of the Main Tower. Its interior is basically made for living, not for fighting. For example, the first and second floors are divided into the central room and the defense passage around by paper screen doors called Shoji. The floor of the central room is boarded now, but was Tatami-matted in the past. Shoji and Tatami mat are typical items for traditional Japanese living room. There are not any loopholes for guns and machicolations other Main Towers usually had. That’s why this is called the Main Tower of peace time.
The central room of the 1st floor, there is the miniature model of the tower made in the Edo Period for repairingThe defense passage of the 1st floorThe central room of the 2nd floor
However, it actually has minimum defense system that each lattice window has a gun rest and the floors are set properly to shoot the guns from the windows.
A set of lattice window and gun rest on the defense passage at the 2nd floorThe stairway to the 2nd floor, the ceiling of the 1st floor is high to set the 2nd floor properlyThe 3rd floor of the towerA view from the tower
Later History
After the Meiji Restoration, many of the castle buildings were demolished and the moats were filled. The former lord, Date Clan continued to maintain the few remaining buildings and the mountain until the clan donated them to Uwajima City in 1949. Unfortunately, the Main Gate was burned down by the Uwajima air raid in 1945. Only the Main Tower and the Nobori-tachi-mon Gate on the back route remain. The Main Tower has been designated as an Important Cultural Property since 1950.
The remaining Nobori-tachi-mon Gate (licensed by Saigen Jiro via Wikimedia Commons)The remaining Main Tower
My Impression
Uwajima City is warm all the year around and has a lot of affordable delicious food. A writer, Akira Yoshimura who has written about Choei Takano and Ine Kusumoto, the first woman doctor in Japan who also visited Uwajima. He came to love Uwajima through the data collection for his the novels. He visited there over 40 times in his life. This city is likely to have both a local laid-back atmosphere and a tolerance to accept others. I feel the same way and would like to visit there many times.
The hiding place of Choei TakanoIne Kusumoto (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)The place for Ine to stay in Uwajima
How to get There
If you want to visit the castle by car, it is about 30 minutes away from Seiyo-Uwa IC on the Matsuyama Expressway. There is a parking lot at the entrance of the castle. By public transportation, it takes about 15 minutes on foot from the JR Uwajima Station. If you go there from Tokyo or Osaka, I recommend traveling by plane or using an express bus.
Takatora Todo built and the Date Clan maintained the castle.
Location and History
Takatora Todo builds Castle
Uwajima Castle is located in Uwajima City in the southern part of Ehime Prefecture which was called Iyo Province in the past. The province was divided by many warlords during the Sengoku Period between the late 15th and 16th Century. The Saionji Clan lived in Itajima-Marugushi Castle on the mountain where Uwajima Castle would be built later. When Hideyoshi Toyotomi was processing his unification of Japan, Takatora Todo who served under Hideyoshi, became the lord of the southern Iyo in 1595. For Takatora, who would be known for a master of castle construction, that was the first time to be an independent lord. He chose the mountain, the former Itajima-Marugushi Castle as his home base, and started to build Uwajima Castle on it in 1596.
The range of Iyo Province and the location of Uwajima Castle
The portrait of Takatora Todo, private owned (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Itajima-Maruguchi Castle had been a simple mountain castle. Takatora changed it to a modernized castle using advanced technology and his ideas. The mountain faced Uwajima Bay in the north and west, then he built moats filled with sea water also in the south and east. The line of the seaside and moats were shaped like a pentagon, which might have made enemies upset when they would attack the castle. He also built stone walls like covering the mountain, and some castle entrances using Masugata style which had a square space to prevent enemies’ attack. Moreover, the three-leveled Main Tower was built on natural rocks at the top. The castle construction was completed in 1601.
The illustration of Uwajima Castle and Town in 1703, owned by Uwajima Date Bunka Hozonkai, from the signboard
On the other hand, the castle had many small enclosures on the mountain, such as Main, Second, Third, and Nagato-maru. This is one of the features old mountain castles including Itajima-Marugushi Castle had, which Uwashima Castle had to follow. The Main Tower, which was built using waste materials, became too old about 60 years after completion. According to Takatora’s biography, the Main Tower of Kagomori Castle, a branch castle of Takatora’s territory, was moved to Uwajima Castle in 1604 and used as a turret. Considering these situations, Takatora might not have had enough resources to complete his ideal castle. He eventually moved to Imabari Castle in his new territory in 1600.
The location map of the gathered enclosures around the mountain, from the signboard adding comments by myselfThe ruins of Kagomori Castle
Main Tower is replaced
In 1614, the Date Clan became the lord of Uwajima Castle and the Uwajima Domain until the end of the Edo Period. The second lord, Munetoshi Date renovated the castle in the 1660s because of aging and the damage from an earthquake. In particular, the Main Tower was replaced completely with a new one. The new Main Tower had three levels same as the old one, but its appearance was very different. The old one was the lookout-tower type, while the new one was the multi-storied type. However, the most important point of the new one is that it was built in the peace time. It was built on the stone wall base at the center of the Main Enclosure independently, not connected to other buildings. It had many decorations just for appearance, and had few equipment for battles. Overall, it has often been called “Main Tower for the symbol of peace time”, which we can now see.
The old tower on the right and the new tower on the left, from the signboardThe remaining Main Tower of Uwajima Castle
Many talented people together in Uwajima
The eighth lord, Munenari Date was very active in Japanese politics at the end of the Edo Period. With the arrivals of strong Western steam warships to Japan, which was a treat to the country, Munenari tried to build his domain’s own steamship. He invited people with unusual power to achieve this, such as Zoroku Murata, a doctor who would be the leader of the first Japanese Army, Choei Takano, another doctor, who were running away from the Tokugawa Shogunate, and low-class craftsmen. He finally succeeded. He might have thought Uwajima Castle was not suitable in that situation and create the steamship like a moving castle to deal with the new situation.
The photo of Munenari Date, from a Japanese book “徳川慶喜公伝” (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)The portrait of Zoroku Murata from a Japanese book called Kinsei Meishi Shashin vol.2 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)The portrait of Choei Takano, owned by Choei Takano Memorial Hall (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
