dry moat – ページ 9 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

159.Akutagawa-san Castle Part2

You can enjoy both of the ruins and a great view.

Features

Walking from Bus Stop

Now the ruins of Akutagawa-san Castle are private owned and not developed as a public park. Visitors usually have to walk from the nearest bus stop. You may be unsure which mountain you should climb and how you go to the ruins. It is a good idea to bring the route map called “Access to the Summit of Mt. Miyoshi” which you can download from the website of Takatsuki City. After about a 15-minute walk from the bus stop, the route is divided in to two branches. You can choose either of the two routes.

The map around the castle

Access to the Summit of Mt. Miyoshi (exhibited by Takatsuki City Website)

Tsukawaki Route

One of them is called Tsukawaki Route which goes around on the eastern side of the mountain and has a gentle slope. You can see a lot of the ruins of enclosures, but cannot enter them, because the route is surrounded by fences, so accessible areas are limited. You can also see the earthen walls crossing the route at a 90-degree angle. They are called Tate-Dorui or the Vertical Earthen Walls which prevented enemies from attacking the castle from other positions. You will also see the narrow earthen bridge with both sides having dry moats. The purpose of the system is the same as the Vertical Earthen Walls. You can even see something like the ruins of the alternate entrance.

The Vertical Earthen Walls *(licensed by ブレイズマン via via Wikimedia Commons)*

The ruins which might have been the alternate entrance

Main Route

The other branch route is called Otesuji Route or the Main Route which goes straight up to the mountain. It is steep and rocky. You can see some old stone walls around the entrance of the mountain, but they seem to be not original for the castle. The route is also surrounded by fences and you even have to pass through a door for preventing wild boars from entering the area. Take care to close it after entering or leaving. After about a 15-minute climb, you will see the stone walls of the Main Gate. The center part of them collapsed, however they are original to the castle.

The stone walls around the entrance of the route

The remaining stone walls of the Main Gate

Great view from Main Enclosure

The two branch routes meet above the stone walls, as you approach the Main Enclosure on the top. The outside field will suddenly become visible; it provides a great view of the Osaka Plain. You will finally reach the Main Enclosure after another few minutes of climbing. The enclosure has been cleared to create an open space. The excavations found that the traces of the buildings which might have been used as turrets at the front, and the stone foundations of the building which could have been used as Nagayoshi Miyoshi’s Main Hall. You can enjoy the whole view of the plain including the tall buildings in Osaka City and the Ikoma Mountains where Imori Castle became Nagayoshi’s new home base after Akutagawa-san Castle.

The tall buildings in Osaka City can be seen

To be continued in “Akkutagawa-san Castle Part3”
Back to “Akutagawa-san Castle Part1”

145.Kokokuji Castle Part2

The earthen walls and the dry moats are outstanding.

Features

Going to Main Enclosure from Third Enclosure

Now, the marshland around Kokokuji Castle has been turned into the city area. Only the ruins of the castle remain. The modern Nekata Road goes through the ruins. If you visit the ruins by car, you can park at a parking lot in the Third Enclosure, the lowest one out of the three main enclosures. You can walk up from the parking lot to the top Main Enclosure along a gentle slope. The middle tier is the Second Enclosure which looks flat and empty, but it had a round-shaped moat in the past.

The aerial photo around the castle

Main Enclosure and its Earthen Walls

The Main Enclosure is still surrounded by large high horseshoe-shaped earthen walls. It’s a fine sight. Inside of the enclosure, there are the monuments of Soun Hojo and Yasukage Amano, and the Homi Shrine which was founded in the Edo Period. The earthen walls on the back of the enclosure are 6m high, and you can walk up to the top by the steps. You can also see the stone walls partly built under the top. There are also foundation stones on the top which are considered the ruins of the base for the Main Tower, but it is thought that a kind of turret was there. You can see a view of the town area with Izu Pninsula on the south from the top.

The earthen walls surrounded by the horseshoe-shaped earthen walls

The monuments of Soun Hojo and Yasukage Amano

The stone foundation for “the base for the Main Tower” on the top

The Dry Moat of Main Enclosure and Northern Part

The large deep dry moat also remains behind the Main Enclosure. You can walk down from the top to the bottom of the moat by the steps as well. It is 18m deep where you can look up the top. You may wonder about the several earthen holes in the walls which were built as air-raid shelters during World War II. The edge of the moat leads to the side of the ruin of the castle which was part of the marshland in the past.

The air-raid shelters *built* during World War II

There is also the North Enclosure over the dry moat on the north. Another round-shaped moat was over there, and it was turned into the railway track of Tokaido Shinkansen Super Express. Historians speculate that the set of the round-shaped moats were built by the Takeda Clan or the Tokugawa Clan who used to build similar systems in other castles.

The Main Enclosure seen from the North Enclosure

The railway track of Tokaido Shinkansen Super Express which was a moat

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

149.Komakiyama Castle Part2

You can see the legacies of Nobunaga and Ieyasu

Features

Mountain and Castle surrounded by Earthen Walls

Now we can still see Mt. Komakiyama covered with the green of the plants noticeable on the plain area. The building on the top is the Komaki City History Museum which looks like a Main Tower. Komaki City has been developing the whole of the mountain as a historical park. The city opened Komakiyama Castle Historical Site Information Center at the foot in 2019.

A view of Mt. Komakiyama from the city area

The aerial photo around the castle

When you get close to the mountain, you can find earthen walls and dry moats surrounding it. They were made by Ieyasu Tokugawa when the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute happened in 1584. From the Miyukibashi Entrance of the eastern side, you can enter the park across the wooden bridge through the alternate earthen walls. The bridge is not original but was built just for tourists to enter the park easily. Inside the walls, there are plain enclosures which were used for the houses of Nobunaga and his retainers, and also used as military posts of Ieyasu’s troops.

The mountain surrounded by the earthen walls

Main Road similar to Azuchi Castle

From the Main Entrance of the southern side, you can walk up the Main Route, which Nobunaga originally created, to the mountain. The route goes up straight to the mid-slope of the mountain and becomes zigzagged in the upper part. This formation is very similar to that of Azuchi Castle which was Nobunaga’s last home base. This meant he had his own ideas about building castles from an early age.

*The Main Route of Azuchi Castle* (above the mid slope)

Remaining Huge Stones and Stone Walls on Mountain

The Komaki City History Museum is on the top of the mountain where the Main Enclosure was. Around the top, you can see several huge stones lying down. In fact, these stones originally were built in the stone walls surrounding the Main Enclosure. Part of the stone walls still remain, and they were thought to be built by Ieyasu, not Nobunaga. However, the recent excavation found out that Nobunaga built these stone walls using huge stones. They were made into three tiers to demonstrate his authority. They are now recognized as a very early example of stone walls for a castle built in Nobunaga’s unique way.

The Komaki City History Museum *(licensed by Bariston via Wikimedia Commons)*

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