earthen wall – ページ 12 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

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”

24.Takeda Clan Hall Part2

The legacies of Takeda and Tokugawa remain around the shrine.

Features

Center of Ruins becomes Takeda Shrine

Now, the center of the ruins of Takeda Clan Hall have become Takeda Shrine. If you visit there from JR Kofu Station, you have to go up through the gentle slope for about 2km. After that, you will see the entrance of Takeda Shrine with the front guard frame on the south of the shrine. In fact, the entrance is not original, and was built when the shrine was founded. You can also see the stone walls on both sides of the entrance, which were built by the Tokugawa Clan. The earthen walls and water moats surrounding the whole shrine were built by the Takeda Clan.

The stone walls built by the Tokugawa Clan

The earthen walls and water moat surrounding the shrine

The Main Shrine stands inside where the Main Hall of the Takeda Clan stood in the past. A circuit style garden was also built in front of the hall to host visitors. Next to the Main Shrine, there is the treasure hall where you can learn more about Takeda Clan Hall and see Takeda’s items such as a flag of Sun Tzu which shows Shingen’s motto and their armors.

The map around the castle

Eastern part developed as Park

There is another entrance on the east of the shrine called the Main Gate which was the original front gate. The stone walls around the gate are likely originally from Takeda’s period. In front of the Main Gate, there is the restored square stone mound to protect the gate. This is due to the achievement of the recent excavation, which was originally built by Tokugawa Clan. In fact, the ruin of the round Umadashi system by the Takeda Clan was found under the ruin of the square stone mound. That means Tokugawa replaced the Umadashi system with their stone mound. The excavation team found that another enclosure was also built on the east of the gate and the stone mound. It is thought that this enclosure was built probably by the Tokugawa Clan to protect the Main Gate as well. The entrance and earthen walls of the enclosure have been restored as a park area.

The restored enclosure on the east of the Main Gate

West Enclosure with Takeda’s atmosphere

On the west of Takeda Shrine, the West Enclosure remains. You can walk across the earthen bridge from the shrine to the enclosure. You can also see the exit to the enclosure with the stone walls on both sides, which may be Shingen’s period in origin. The inside of the enclosure is empty, and the halls for Shingen’s family and relatives were there. The antique earthen walls and water moats surrounding the enclosure highlight the mood at that time. In addition, the front entrance of the enclosure on the south also shows one of Takeda’s defense systems called Masugata. It has a square space inside the entrance surrounded by earthen walls like brackets to protect the enclosure.

Going to the West Enclosure form the shrine

The stone walls at the exit to the West Enclosure

The West Enclosure with an antique appearance

The southern entrance of the West Enclosure

The Masugata part surrounded by the earthen walls

To be continued in “Takeda Clan Hall Part3”
Back to “Takeda Clan Hall Part1”

24.Takeda Clan Hall Part1

Were the people the castle, the stone walls, or the moats?

Location and History

Nobutora Takeda built Castle as Governor’s Residence

Takeda Clan Hall, which is also called Tsutsujigasaki Hall, was located in what is now Kofu City, the Prefectural Capital of Yamanashi Prefecture. I would say the hall is the origin of Kofu City. The Governor of Kai Province (now Yamanashi Pref), Nobutora Takeda first built the hall in 1519. The hall was not only for the official residence of the governor, but also for the home base of the Takeda Clan, so it is classified as one of the castles in Japan.

The portrait of Nobutora Takeda, attributed to Nobukado Takeda, owned by Daisen-ji Temple *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Its location had mountains behind on the north, and an alluvial fan spread down on the south from around there. This meant Nobutora was able to overlook the castle town and the area around. He built his hall on a square enclosure which was nearly 200m on one side, surrounded by earthen walls and water moats. This was a typical style of the residences for governors in Japan at that time, emulating the style of Shogun’s palace in Kyoto. In addition, he built another castle on a mountain about 2km away from the hall on the north, called Yogaisan Castle, for emergency. For example, he and his family could escape from the hall to the mountain castle when a battle happened. Indeed, his son, Shingen Takeda was born at Yogaisan Castle during the battle between Nobutora and the Imagawa Clan in 1521. The network of these castle was defensive enough to maintain their safety during that time.

The location of the castle

Shingen Takeda’s saying related to Castle

Shingen, who was one of the greatest warlords in Japan, developed the hall as well, adding the West Enclosure for residences of his family and relatives on the west of the center enclosure in 1551. Apart from that, the Umadashi system, which refers to a round shaped sticking out defensive position, was built in front of the Main Gate on the east. It is also said that the hall for Shingen’s mother was built on the north. Each enclosure was surrounded by nearly 10m high earthen walls and over 5m deep water moats.

The imaginary drawing of Takeda Clan Hall (from the signboard at the site)

However, the hall seems to be misunderstood by many people. This comes from Shingen’s saying “The people are the castle, the stone walls, and the moats…” recorded in the military science book called Koyogunkan in the 17th Century of the Edo Period. The sentence means it is more important to win the people’s hearts than to build a strong castle, but many people later have been thinking it shows the reason why Shingen only had such a small castle in comparison to other castles for other warlords such as Nobunaga Oda and Kenshin Uesugi.

*The portrait of Shingen Takeda, owned by Jimyo-in Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons*)

Takeda Clan Hall itself is much smaller than Nobunaga’s Azuchi Castle or Kenshin’s Kasugayama Castle, but it is because their periods or situations were different. In the case of Shingen, his hall started from the governor’s residence. It was common for governors to live in such a hall at that time. The Takeda Clan added defense systems like the network of the castles and Umadashi to deal with their situation. It was enough for them.

Katsuyori Takeda moved to another

In 1582, Shingen’s son, Katsuyori Takeda decided to move his home base to a large new castle called Shinpu Castle, because the situation changed. Katsuyori was threatened by Nobunaga, so Katsuyori needed a stronger and larger castle than the Takeda Clan Hall which was once abandoned. Katsuyori was unfortunately beaten by Nobunaga before the hall was used by the Oda Clan and the Tokugawa Clan again. It was finally abandoned in 1590, when the Tokugawa Clan built Kofu Castle near the hall.

The Portrait of Katsuyori Takeda, owned by Koyasan Jimyoin *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

To be continued in “Takeda Clan Hall Part2”