The beauty between the Inner and Outer Moats of Yuzuki Castle was restored.
Features
Entrance of Castle Ruins
Today, the ruins of Yuzuki Castle have been developed as the Dogo Park. The western and southern parts of it are the restored area. The western entrance, which was originally used as the back gate, looks like the front gate now. If you go across the earthen bridge over to the Outer Moat to enter the inside of the earthen walls, you may feel like you are inside a medieval castle. You can first visit the Yuzuki Castle Museum near the entrance to learn more about the history of the Kono Clan and how the area was first developed.
The aerial photo around the castle
The entrance of Yuzuki Castle Ruins (the Dogo Park)The earthen walls along the Outer MoatThe Yuzuki Castle Museum
Restored Warrior’s House
Next to the museum in the western part, which is a middle-class warrior’s house, including the gate and mud walls in front of it, was restored. If you enter the house, you will see its interior was also restored because the layout was discovered by the excavation team. There are five mannequins representing people who once lived in the castle enjoying a poetry party in the meeting room, while another mannequin is preparing a meal and tea in the kitchen.
One of the restored warrior’s houseA view in the restored meeting roomA view in the restored kitchen
You can visit the other restored warrior’s house with the exhibition room inside. The reason for this is the original layout of it is not clear to see even though the excavation was already done.
The other restored warrior’s houseAn exhibition in the room
High-class Warriors’ Residential Area
The southern part was originally used as a Japanese garden as well as the residential areas for the high-class warriors. You can now see the diagram on the lawn of how the residential were back then. The wild rocks of the hill still face where the garden was used to be, so the rocks might have been used as a natural scenery for the garden. I recommend seeing the Inner Moat with the earthen walls nearby.
The former residential areas for the high-class warriorsThe wild rocks of the hillThe remaining Inner Moat
Unique Earthen Wall Exhibition Room
As for the earthen walls beside the Outer Moat, there is the exhibition room showing the earthen walls, inside them. You can see the original cutout model of the walls confirming how the excavation team penetrated, and explanation for them. This model was taken when the excavation was done and used to visualize how other earthen walls would have been restored. It is very interesting and easy to understand how great the construction was.
The exhibition room in the earthen walls along the Outer MoatThe original cutout model of the walls in the room
Matsuyama City is one of the most popular tourist spots in Japan, which is also known for attractions such as the Dogo Hot Spring and Matsuyama Castle. However, you should check out another one as well, called Yuzuki Castle. The Dogo Hot Spring has been said to be the oldest hot spring in Japan, so some ancient imperial family members probably including Prince Shotoku once visited there and stayed for a while. The hill, where Yuzuki Castle would be built later, was near the hot spring and had the Isaniwa Shrine at the top. That means the area around the hill had been considered a holy place by the people in Iyo Province which is now modern day Ehime Prefecture.
The range of Iyo Province and the location of Yuzuki Cassle
Dogo-Onsen StationMatsuyama Castle
Official Residence of Governor, Kono Clan
The Kono Clan was one of the local clans in Iyo Province. When the Mongol Invasion happened in 1281, Michiari Kono, the lord of the clan, was very active in the battle against the Mongol troops, who was also drawn in the picture scrolls of the Mongol invasion attempts against Japan, which was produced by Suenaga Takezaki. In the first 14th Century, the Kono Clan managed to take over the province, therefore, they built Yuzuki Castle on the hill after relocating the shrine to another place next to the hill. The clan finally became the ruling clan of the province, living in the castle as the official residence of the governor. The holy spot probably also provided the clan more authority.
Michiari Kono drawn in the picture scrolls of the Mongol invasion attempts against Japan (licensed by Wikimedia Commons)The hill where Yuzuki Castle was built and the Isaniwa Shrine had been
However, the governance of Iyo Province by the Kono Clan was not very stable. This was because other clans such as the Hosokawa and Ouchi Clans invaded the province. The Kono Clan itself sometimes had internal troubles as well. In 1535 during the Sengoku Period, Michinao Kono, the lord of the clan at that time, built an Outer Moat using earthen walls inside, to make his castle much stronger defensively. The castle originally had an Inner Moat with other earthen walls outside, so by having the second outer moat, it doubled the moats.
The Outer Moat of Yuzuki CastleYou can see the doubled moats of Yuzuki Castle in the miniature model of the ruins, exhibited by the Yuzuki Castle Museum
It is still uncertain what the center of the castle on the hill was used for, but the lord of the castle might have lived there. The area between the Inner and Outer moats was shared by the warriors for living and divided by the mud walls for each resident. The southern part was used as the residences for the high-class warriors. Each portion for them was large and a Japanese garden was built next to that part. On the other hand, the western part was used as the residences for the middle-class warriors. Each portion was much smaller than that of high-class residences, but one of the residences had a meeting room where people could enjoy parties for poetry which were very popular back then. In addition, the castle had at least two gates, one on the eastern gate which was the front and another one on the western side which was the back.
One of the restored mud wallsThe residences for the middle-class warriors in in the miniature model
Castle is abandoned after Kono Clan declines
Despite the renovation of the castle, the Kono Clan struggled to maintain it. According to the excavation, the castle was burned down after the renovation. The clan managed to rebuild the castle and tried to survive by working closely with the Kurushima Clan as well as with the Murakami navy forces. Despite the invasion by the Chosogabe Clan from Tosa Province, which was the south of Iyo, along with the unification of Japan by Hideyoshi Toyotomi, the Kono Clan had to ask the Mori Clan in the Aki Province, which was the north of Iyo, for help. In 1585, Ushifukumaru Kono, the last lord of the clan, handed the castle over to Takakage Kobayakawa, who was a relative of the Mori Clan. In 1588 when Masanori Fukushima, following Takakage, moved from Yuzuki Castle to another castle. the castle was eventually abandoned.
The portrait of Takakage Kobayakawa, owned by Beisanji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)The portrait of Masanori Fukushima, the lord of Hiroshima Castle, owned by the Tokyo National Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Today, the ruins of Toyama Castle became Toyama Castle Park which is open to the public. The appearance of the park is much different from the original state of the castle in some ways. First, the Jintsu-gawa River was rerouted from the northern side of the castle to flow in another direction in 1899. Only a stream called Matsu-kawa River flows in the original position. Second, only the Main Enclosure and the Western Enclosure remain as the park, which were tied by burying the water moat between them. Finally, no castle buildings remain but some imitation items were built. Further details on that later.
The aerial photo around the castle
The Matsu-kawa River flowing in the former Jintsu-gawa RiverThe inside of the park
Original Stone Walls, Water Moats and Moved Gate
The highlights of the remaining items are the stone walls, part of the water moats, and the moved Chitose Hall Gate from the Eastern Barbican Enclosure. If you enter the park from the south, you can walk across the only remaining earthen bridge. The bridge is over the only remaining water moat to the ruins of the front gate called Kurogane-mon or the Iron Gate with the stone walls.
The Second Enclosure RuinsThe earthen bridge to the parkCrossing the earthen bridge
The stone walls include five huge ornate stones called Kagami-ishi or the Miller Stones. These stones look great and showed the authority of the lord in the past. This area is the most likely to be the original Toyama Castle.
The ruins of the Iron GateThe stone walls of the Iron Gate, including the ornate stonesThe ornate stones look great
The other remaining stone walls of the back gate are at the northeast part of the castle. The Chitose Hall Gate is beside the stone walls.
The stone walls of the Back GateThe Chitose Hall Gate beside the stone walls
Imitated Stone Walls and Main Tower
On the other hand, another feature of the castle, the earthen walls can hardly be seen at the site. The outline of the Main Enclosure was originally made using the earthen walls connecting the stone walls. However, the outside part is covered with the imitation stone walls built recently. The inside of it was also piled up with some stones earlier on.
The stone walls on the left are original while those on the right are imitatedThe inside of the earthen walls was also piled up with stones
There are signboards which give information about the original stone walls at the site, but no explanation for the stone walls which were built in the present time. Visitors might be confused or misunderstand what the castle was like.
The signboard for the original stone wallsthere is no information for the imitated stone walls
The building of Toyama Municipal Folk Museum is on the stone walls of the Iron Gate as the imitation Main Tower, where you can learn more about Toyama Castle inside. It has been a long time since its launch in 1954, so it has also become a symbol of Toyama City. Now the imitation building fits in with the original stone walls.
The imitation Main Tower built on the stone walls of the Iron GateThe Imitation Tower seen from the inside of the park
Another art museum building which looks like a turret is also built on the stone walls of the back gate. The citizens of the city might think Toyama Castle originally had the Main Tower and was built entirely using stone walls.
The art museum built on the stone walls of the Back Gate
