drum turret – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

3.Matsumae Castle Part2

So much more to see than just cherry blossoms and The Main Tower

Features

How to enter Castle ruins park

Today, the ruins of Matsumae Castle have been developed as Matsumae Park which is also known for cherry blossoms that consist of about 250 kinds and over 10 thousand trees in total. If you visit them even in August, you can enjoy hydrangea blooming there, which usually blooms in June in the mainland of Japan. Of course, you can also enjoy the castle ruins all year round.

The map around the castle

Drivers can enter them from the Matsumae Town area beside the sea in the south by going through the front entrance, and then passing the Third Enclosure, to the parking lot of the Second Enclosure.

The earthen and stone walls of the Third Enclosure

People on foot can enter them from the eastern side through the back entrance to the center.

The Umasaka Route goes from the eastern side of the castle ruins

The restored area around the Outer Back Gate

Ruins of Facilities for coastal defense

This eastern side of the ruins were well developed by Matsumae Town. For example, other entrances of the castle, the Tenjinzaka Gate and the Outer Back Gate were rebuilt. The stone walls of the Second Enclosure and its mud walls on them were partially restored. Part of the Outer Moat in front of them was dug again.

The restored stone walls with mud walls of the Second Enclosure and the Outer Moat

In the Third Enclosure below, you can see some remaining pedestals of the batteries, such as the No.5 Buttery’s with stone walls. If you stand at the ruins of the Drum Turret at the southeastern corner of the Second Enclosure, you will see how good the view of the sea is as well as a good location for spotting ships in the past.

A view of the sea from the buttery pedestal

A view of the Second Enclosure *from the buttery pedestal*

Restored Main Tower and Remaining Main Enclosure Gate

In the Main Enclosure, there is the restored three-level Main Tower. It is actually a modern concrete building, but its external appearance is almost the same as the original one. Only its stone wall base is intact. If you look at them carefully, you can find some dents on it. They are the traces of being shot by guns in the wars during the Meiji Restoration. Its roof is covered with cooper plates to bear the cold climate of Hokkaido, same as the original one.

There are traces of the wars on the stone wall base

You can enter the tower to learn more about the castle and the domain inside. The top floor is also used as the observation platform. However, you may feel like the building is too old.

An exhibition inside the Main Tower building

Many people might only focus on the Main Tower, but there are other interesting things to see in the enclosure. The Main Enclosure Gate beside the tower is the only remaining intact building of the castle, which has been designated as an Important Cultural Property since 1950. The gate was built using wooden materials while its stone walls supporting it look unusually precise as if they were built during the present time.

The gate building is certainly made of wood

The stone walls were built very precisely

Remaining part of Main Enclosure Main Hall

The entrance hall of the Main Hall is preserved in front of the gate. It had once been used as the entrance of a school in the back of the gate, its original position. It was moved to the current position in 1982. This entrance hall is said to be part of Fukuyama-kan, the hall which had existed before the castle was built. The original position is a square with a lawn.

The square which had the Main Hall in the past

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

3.Matsumae Castle Part1

A unique castle in the last period of them

Location and History

Castle was built at End of Edo Period

Matsumae Castle was located in the southern edge of Hokkaido Island which was called Ezo until the Edo Period. Only the Matsumae Domain ruled the island in the period because the native Ainu people mainly lived there. There were over 200 domains in Japan throughout the period, which required earning over 10 thousand koku of rice in their territory. However, the Matsumae Domain couldn’t earn enough rice at that time due to the cold climate of the island. So instead, the domain was allowed to trade with the Ainu people exclusively by the Tokugawa Shogunate to maintain it. As a result, the shogunate specially considered it as an independent domain. On the other hand, the domain at first wasn’t allowed to have a castle which needed a higher status that it didn’t have. That’s why the domain had only a hall for the lord, called Fukuyama-kan at its home base of Matsumae until around the end of the Edo Period.

The location of the castle

In 1849, the lord of the domain, Takahiro Matsumae, was suddenly ordered by the shogunate to build a new castle, which was rare in the period. This was because foreign ships often came around Japan, which might have threatened the safety of the country. The homebase of the domain faced Tsugaru Channel between Hokkaido and the mainland of Japan, where these ships could sail. The shogunate expected the domain to build the castle as a base for coastal defense. Takahiro chose a famous scholar of military science, Ichigaku Ichikawa for the location and design of the castle. Ichigaku recommended moving their homebase to another place in Hakodate for the castle. He didn’t think that Matsumae was suitable for the castle because of its location on the halfway point of a gentle slope. However, the domain refused it, saying it was too expensive and they didn’t want to leave the familiar environment of Matsumae. Finally, the castle was built by replacing the Fukuyama-kan hall in 1855, which was eventually renamed Matsumae Castle.

The photo of Takahiro Matsumae, around 1864 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The relief map around the castle

Castle is mixed with Traditional Japanese style and Modernized features

Matsumae Castle is one of the latest castles to be built using Japanese style, such as having a Main Tower, turrets and gates built with stone walls in several separated enclosures. The castle actually had the Main Enclosure including the three-level Main Tower, its gate and the Main Hall for the lord. The Second Enclosure with several turrets was also built blow the Main Enclosure. The Third Enclosure with the Front Gate was further below. The Inner and Outer Moats were dug between them. On the other hand, the castle had some advanced and specific features. 7 batteries were built towards the sea in the Third Enclosure as a base for coastal defense. The turrets in the Second Enclosure, such as Taiko-Yagura or the Drum Turret, were used as the command posts for the batteries. The stone walls of the castle were built precisely using a method called Kikko-zumi or the Tortoise Shell style. However, those of the Main Tower were not built high at only around 3m, which made it harder to target for ships with guns. The walls of the tower were also built strongly that can withstand gun attacks.

The diorama of the castle, exhibited at the site, adding the red letters

The present restored Main Tower with the original Main Entrance Gate on the right

The Drum Turret on the left and the Main Tower on the right in the old photo of the castle, from the signboard at the site

An example of the stone walls using the Tortoise Shell style method, around the Outer Back Gate

Castle falls twice during Meiji Restoration

The first battle at the castle happened in 1868 during the Meiji Restoration, but not against foreign ships but rather against Japanese troops. The former Shogunate Army led by Takeaki Enomoto escaped from the main land to Hokkaido and captured Goryokaku in Hakodate and they made it their home base. Then, they sent troops led by Toshizo Hijikata and a fleet to Matsumae Castle. The attackers and the defenders in the castle at first fought each other with cannonade. A ship (Banryu-maru) of the fleet had to withdraw being shot by a battery outside of the castle. However, Hijikata also attacked the side and the back of the castle. In fact, the back side was the weakest point of it. This was because the gentle slope, where it was built on, was easy to attack from the back. Moreover, the Matsumae Domain spent a lot of money on the front facing the sea, but only a few on the back. The castle would eventually fall.

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)

The photo of Banryu-maru, in 1868 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The spot where Hijikata first attacked, called Umasaka Route, marked by the red circle

In the next year, the warriors of the domain, who managed to escape to Aomori in the main land, tried to retaliate with the help of the New Government Army to get Matsumae Castle back. They equipped stronger guns with a more modernized fleet than the former Shogunate Army. They landed at Hokkaido again and got close to the castle by fighting. When they attacked the castle from the other side of it, the defender of the former Shogunate Army eventually surrendered.

The spot where Matsumae warriors attacked, called Yudonosawazaka Route, marked by the red circle

To be continued in “Matsumae Castle Part2”

30.Takato Castle Part2

A castle with natural hazard that became a site famous for cherry blossoms

Features

Now, the ruins of Takato Castle has become Takato Castle Site Park which is very famous for cherry blossoms. For this reason, the park is crowded with lots of people. There are entrance fees and opening hours during the cherry-blossom season. In contrast, it is silent, free, and always open during the off seasons. This is to control the number of visitors during the peak season, as the park has only two gates in the north and south. So, it is up to you to decide when you would like to visit the park.

The map around the castle

Route to North Gate

The North Gate is the former entrance of the Second Enclosure. If you come from the town area, it would be convenient to use this entrance. After climbing up the slope to the ruins, you will see the stone walls for the Main Gate which was probably built in the Edo Period. The present route goes through the Third Enclosure to the ruins of the Back Gate.

Climbing up the slope to the ruins of the Main Gate

You can see the structure of the Main Gate which was once moved and reduced in scale on the left, but now returned to the present position.

The Third Enclosure still has a building for the Domain School called Shintoku-kan.

Then you will reach the North Gate behind the Middle Moat. There is a large old rest house for visitors called Takato-taku which was built in 1936 inside the gate.

Route through South Gate

The map around the castle

The South Gate is the former entrance of the Hodo-in Enclosure outside the Outer Moat, which was originally a temple. If you come from the Takato Historical Museum, it would be convenient to use this entrance. From the museum, you can look up the ruins and understand how the castle was built using natural materials. The cliff of the mountain was a natural hazard for enemies in the past, but the route to the ruins is developed now.

Looking up the castle ruins from around the museum

After entering the gate, you will go across a bridge called Hakuto-bashi or the White Rabbit Bridge on the Outer Moat.

You will also walk from the South Enclosure inside the moat to the Second Enclosure passing another earthen bridge.

Main Enclosure where Cherry Blossoms will be wonderful

You need to enter the Second Enclosure to reach the Main Enclosure due to the defensive layout. The Main Enclosure is the center of the castle and still surrounded by the Inner Moat. The moat is even deeper now, but mostly dry, so you can stand on the bottom of it.

The Oun-kyo or Cherry Cloud Bridge is in front of the entrance over the Inner Moat. It is said that the spot around them is the best for taking a photo in the cherry-blossom season.

Its entrance gate has a traditional structure called Tonya-mon which was moved from the town area.

You can see a very good view of the area around from the inside of the enclosure.

The enclosure has the Taiko Yagura or Drum Turret which was originally built beside the Back Gate letting people know the time. It was moved to the present position in 1877, and rebuilt in 1912.

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