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

75.Hagi Castle Part3

The destination of the Mori Clan’s castle construction

Features

From Third Enclosure to former Castle Town

Going back to the parking lot, walking around the Third Enclosure is also good. This area is designated as Horiuchi Preservation District for Groups of Historical Buildings. The blocks of the senior vassals’ houses remain as they were. Though the insides of them are used as public facilities, Hagi ware shops, summer orange fields, and so on, there are several remaining stone walls, mud walls, and house gates surrounding the blocks. This is where you can feel as if you were on the real castle area.

The map around the castle

The Third Enclosure (Horiuchi Preservation District for Groups of Historical Buildings)

The front gate of the Mori Clan’s villa, it was built in the Meiji Era in another place and moved the current position in the Third Enclosure, it is used for the Hagi Seminar House

The remaining mud walls at the Toida Masuda Clan’s residence

Stone walls along the street with the background of Shizukiyama Mountain

There are summer orange fields inside the stone walls

Over the Outer Moat, you can also enjoy the castle town attractions such as Kikuya family residence and Kido’s old residence.

Kido’s old residence (licensed by そらみみ via Wikimedia Commons)

Shizuki Mountain as Final Castle

Finally, if you have more time, you should consider climbing Shizuki Mountain as the final castle ruins. It will be an about 20 minute little hard climb, but it worth the trouble. The top has the gate ruins surrounded by stone walls, like ones at the foot.

The entrance of the route to the mountain

This gate also has a defensive square space

The two-tier enclosures on the top are also surrounded by stone walls. Six turrets were on them in the past. You can see nice views of Hagi City and the Japan Sea there.

A view of the Japan Sea from the enclosure

Here comes the upper tier as the Main Enclosure

A view of the Hagi City area from the enclosure

You can also see the reservoir inside for preparing for besieged. There are also many notched huge rocks which look outstanding. These notches are usually understood as a process of making stone walls. However, some people speculate these rocks could have been used by the defenders to counterattack their enemies by cutting and throwing the stones at them.

Later History

After Hagi Castle was abandoned, all the buildings of its center were demolished. People are still wondering why the Choshu Domain, which was one of the winners of the Meiji Restoration, had to do it. Many speculate that they gave an example to a new era by doing so. However, the fact seemed that local people in Hagi had no money to maintain these buildings as the local government had moved to Yamaguchi. As a result, the castle ruins have been a park since 1877 as we see now. They were designated as a National Historic Site in 1951.

The Main Tower was scraped in 1874, the same year as the castle was abandoned

My Impression

I think that Hagi Castle was the destination of the Mori Clan’s castle construction. It was a plain castle, a mountain castle, and also a sea castle. The clan built the castle using all their experiences they got before to make it the strongest. That’s why I also think they didn’t reluctantly choose its location, but actively decide it. I hope Hagi City would repair the restored mud walls on the top of the mountain as there are some writings on the wall.

Shizuki Mountain was integrated with the castle

How to get There

If you want to visit the castle by car, it is about 50 minutes away from Mine IC on the Chugoku Expressway. There is a parking lot in front of the Second Enclosure.
By public transportation, It takes about 30 minutes on foot from Hagi Bus Center or Higashi-Hagi Station. Or it may be a good idea to use a rental bicycle from either place as many other historical attractions, such as Shoin Shrine and Ito’s old residence, are disseminated around the city.
To get to Hagi Bus Center or Higashi-Hagi Station from Tokyo or Osaka: Take the Sanyo Shinkansen super express and transfer to the Highway bus “Super Hagi-go” at Shin-Yamaguchi Station.

The building of Shokason-juku, which was established by Shoin, has been preserved in Shoin Shrine (*licensed by ぽこるん via Wikimedia Commons)*

Ito’s old residence (licensed by そらみみ via Wikimedia Commons)

Links and References

・HAGI Sightseeing Guide

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Hagi Castle Part1”
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75.Hagi Castle Part1

The home base of the Choshu Domain for 270 years

Location and History

Terumoto Mori builds Castle after Lost of Sekigahara

Hagi City is well known for its old town atmosphere. Tourists often plan to visit the set of both Hagi and Tsuwano Town nearby. The city is also popular among history fans as an area which provided many meritorious retainers during the Meiji Restoration, such as Shoin Yoshida, Shinsaku Takasugi, Takayoshi Kido, and Hirobumi Ito who became the first Prime Minister of Japan. That’s because Hagi had been the homebase of the Choshu Domain for 270 years since Hagi Castle was built in 1604.

The range of Hagi City and the location of the castle

Terumoto Mori, who built the castle, originally lived in Hiroshima Castle, governing most of the Chugoku Rerion with an earning of 1.2 million koku of rice. However, he got defeated by Ieyasu Tokugawa who would be the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. As a result, Ieyasu ordered Terumoto to reduce his territory to only two provinces of Nagato and Suo with 370 thousand koku, which are the current Yamaguchi Prefecture. Terumoto needed to look for his new homebase, which was chosen from the three options.

The portrait of Terumoto Mori, owned by the Mori Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

One was Kuwayama beside Seto Inland Sea, another was Hagi beside the Japan Sea, and the rest was Yamaguchi, the current prefectural capital, between the former ones. The result was Hagi. The reason for it was said that the shogunate designated it because they wanted to contain the Mori Clan in the innermost place so that the clan would not rebel against the shogunate. However, some historians recently speculate that Terumoto actively chose Hagi after the discussion with the shogunate as the place was the most defensive. It was also on a delta like his former homebase, Hiroshima Castle.

The range of the Choshu Domain and the location of the castle

The illustration of Hiroshima Castle in Aki Province, in the Edo Period, exhibited by the National Archives of Japan

Castle is located on Delta

The delta was sandwiched by Matsumoto and Hashimoto Rivers, facing the sea in the north. The northern part of it was a sand dune, moreover, its northernmost beside the sea was Shizuki Mountain with its height at 143m. The Main Enclosure of the castle was built in front of the mountain, surrounded by stone walls and the Inner Moat. It had the five level Main Tower and the Main Hall for the lord as the center. The Second Enclosure was the south of the Main Enclosure, surrounded by the Middle Moat. It had two defensive gates and its stone walls covered even the seashore. The Third Enclosure was the south of the former ones, used as the senior vassals’ houses. It was separated by the Outer Moat from the castle town. Shizuki Mountain was also used as a final castle. Terumoto built its own Main and Second Enclosures on the top. There were no buildings inside of them, however, it was surrounded by some turrets and stone walls. It was basically for emergency like a battle while usually used as a lookout as well.

Hagi Castle[/leaflet-marker]

The illustration of Hagi Castle and Town in 1652, from the signboard at the site

An old photo of Hagi Castle, from the signboard at the site

Heros come from Castle Town

As for the castle town, its area was first waterlogged because it was lower than the sand dune in the northern part of the delta. People in Hagi built canals to drain water, which make them possible to build the town. In fact, the heroes of the domain towards the Meiji Restoration came from this town. An interesting thing about them is that the higher class of them like Takasugi and Kido lived near the castle while the lower class like Shoin and Ito lived far from it. That was a common rule for warriors to live at that time.

The relief map around Hagi City, the former castle town is still lower

The birthplaces or ole houses of the four heros

The photo of Shinsaku Takasugi, published in 1933 or 1934 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The photo of Takayoshi Kido when he was named Kogoro Katsura in 1869 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The illustration of Shoin Yoshida, owned by Yamaguchi Prefectural Archives *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

A photo of Hirobumi Ito, by 1909 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Choshu Domain moves its homebase to Yamaguchi

It is said that another interesting ceremony was held in the Main Hall of the castle every new year. In the event, a senior vassal asked the lord “Should we fight the Shogunate this year?”, then he answered “It’s too early”. However, the situation changed and made it possible to defeat the Shogun. The domain was really against the shogunate at the end of the Edo Period. The situation surrounding the castle also changed. Being beside the sea had been defensive when the castle was built but became dangerous because it could be shot by guns from battle ships. In addition, they wanted to communicate with other domains very much, so they thought Yamaguchi would be the best for their homebase. As a result, they eventually left Hagi to Yamaguchi Castle without the shogunate’s permission. The castle was officially abandoned in 1874.

The remaining front gate of the Yamaguchi government office in the Yamaguchi Castle period

To be continued in “Hagi Castle Part2”

174.Ouchi Clan Hall/Konomine Castle Part3

Yamaguchi was focused on rebuilding again during the Meiji Restoration.

Later History

Yamaguchi was focused on rebuilding again at the end of the Edo Period. Until then, the Choshu Domain by the Mori Clan was based on Hagi Castle beside the Japan Sea. They wanted to move their homebase to Yamaguchi. This was because its location would be the best for communication with other domains to respond to the potential threats from Western countries, in fact, to be against the Tokugawa Shogunate. They eventually built Yamaguchi Castle beside Konomine Mountain, partly using the Western style with cannons, without the shogunate’s permission. They thought they could reuse Konomine Castle for the final battle. Eventually, they became one of the winners of the Meiji Restoration. As a result, Yamaguchi Castle was turned into the Yamaguchi prefectural office. In addition, Yamaguchi Prefecture produced 8 prime ministers of Japan, the largest number among all the prefectures, including the 1st prime minister, Hirobumi Ito and the late Shinzo Abe recently.

Konomine Castle Ruins seen from the gate

Hirobumi Ito, the 1st prime minister (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

My Impression

I think the combination of Ouchi Clan Hall and Konomine Castle was a very good for both the government and defense like that of the Takeda Clan with Takeda Clan Hall and Yogaiyama Castle. It was also proven by the Choshu Domain that they wanted to use Konomine Castle again at the end of the Edo Period. However, in the case of the Ouchi Clan, it was too late to prepare for it. Maybe that’s because they thought Yamaguchi could never have been attacked by enemies because their government was very stable. Nobunaga Oda, who was the ruler in the 1570’s to the 1580’s, might have thought the same way before he was killed in the Honnoji Incident in 1582.

The restored earthen walls of Ouchi Clan Hall

The remaining stone walls of Konomine Castle

How to get There

If you want to visit Ouchi Clan Hall Ruins by car, it is about a 15-minute drive away from Yamaguchi IC on the Chugoku Expressway. There are parking lots in the northern and southern sides of the ruins. To get to Konomine Castle Ruins from there, you will need about another 20 minutes. There is a small parking lot on the mid slope of the mountain.
If you want to use public transportation, it takes about 15 minutes on foot from JR Kami-yamaguchi Station to get Ouchi Clan Hall Ruins. To get Konomine Castle Ruins from there, you will need about another 1 hour.
To get to Kami-yamaguchi Station from Tokyo or Osaka: Take the Sanyo Shinkansen super express and transfer to the Yamaguchi Line at Shin-Yamaguchi Station.

The small parking lot on the mid slope of the mountain

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Ouchi Clan Hall/Konomine Castle Part1”
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