タグ: Edo castle

20.Sakura Castle Part2

If you are at JR Sakura Station, the place, where the castle ruins are located, it may looks simple at first. However, if you go there by walking up on the slopes, you will be surprised to see the spacious area on the top. Visitors coming from other places may feel the same way, too.

Features

Introduction

If you are at JR Sakura Station, the place, where the castle ruins are located, it may look simple at first. However, if you go there by walking up on the slopes, you will be surprised to see the spacious area on the top. Visitors coming from other places may feel the same way, too.

The hill area, seen from JR Sakura Station
One of the slopes from the station to the hill, called “Yakushizaka”

From Main Gate to Main Enclosure

Let us go from the ruins of the main gate to the center of the castle. Unfortunately, only a part of the earthen walls remains today.

The ruins of the main gate
The old photo of the gate, from the signboard at the site
The remaining earthen walls

There were some large enclosures inside the gate, such as Higashi-so-kuruwa. They were turned into schools, parking lots, and a square. There is also Sakura Castle Park control center in front of the square, which shows some exhibitions of the castle. The square had the main hall for the lord and another one for the retirement residence of Masayoshi Hotta at the end of the Edo Period.

The square, which is an open space
The Sakura Castle Park control center

You will eventually reach the center of the castle, which has been turned into Sakura Castle Park. You will first see the remaining large dry moat. It looks beautiful, covered in grass, however, it must have been deeper and more fortified in the past.

The remaining dry moat
The entrance of the park

You will next reach the ruins of the third gate, which was the first gate towards the center. The third enclosure is inside of the gate, and it was the residential area for the senior vassals in the past. You will find a mini crater in the enclosure. This is the trace of another dry moat, which has been filled. If you go further, you will see the statues of Townsend Harris and Masayoshi Hotta who tried to open Japan to the rest of the world.

The ruins of the third gate, The sign board will show you how the original enclosure would have looked like the past
The old photo of the gate, from the sign board at the site, The gate on the left leads to the resident of one of the senior vassals
The trace of the dry moat
The statues of Townsend Harris on the left and Masayoshi Hotta on the right

Then, you will reach the ruins of the second gate, the entrance of the second enclosure. The enclosure had had the first main hall for the lord before the one outside the third enclosure was built. There were also the rice warehouses in the back of the enclosure. You can still see its stone foundations there, too.

The ruins of the second gate
The old photo of the gate, from the sign board at the site
The ruins of the hall
The remaining stone foundations

You will eventually reach the main enclosure after going across the dry moat of the enclosure. there are the ruins of the first gate.

The ruins of the first gate behind the earthen bridge over the moat
The old photo of the gate, from the sign board at the site, Notice the people standing in front of the gate.  They are the generals

Climbing down from Main Enclosure

The main enclosure is all surrounded by earthen walls, so you may feel like you are being wrapped up. This area is the western edge of the plateau. There was the other main hall inside, however, it was rarely used just for ceremonies. This was because it was considered exclusive for the shoguns.

The inside of the main enclosure
The miniature model of the main enclosure, exhibited by the Sakura Castle Park control center

You can walk on the earthen walls around the enclosure. If you walk from the first gate ruins on the earthen walls, you will pass by the ruins of Do-yagura (the copper turret). The turret had a mysterious tradition. It says that the turret was originally built by Dokan Ota, the founder of Edo Castle, called “Shoyoken”, and moved from the castle. However, we cannot confirm whether or not the turret was moved from Edo Castle. However, if it had remained, it would have become a National Treasure of Japan.

The ruins of Do-yagura turret
The old photo of the turret, from the signboard at the site, as you can see, carpenters were removing the roof tiles partially
The miniature model of the turret, exhibited by the Sakura Castle Park control center

If you go further, you will eventually reach the earthen base of the main tower.
The tower was directly built on the base and its outside walls leaned on the earthen walls of the enclosure. That was why people saw the tower three-leveled from the outside but four-leveled from the inside. The tower was used as the warehouse for weapons. It was unfortunately burned down after a thief robbed it of guns and left his lantern there.

The ruins of the main tower
The miniature model of the tower, exhibited by the Sakura Castle Park control center

There are the other ruins of the corner turret in the enclosure. The turret also has the tradition which says it originally came from Motosakura Castle. That may have been the reason why it deteriorated sooner than the others and was renovated during the Edo Period.

The ruins of the corner turret

Let us next get out of the enclosure through the ruins of the back gate and climb down the slopes of the plateau. The slopes are steep which made the castle fortified. You will eventually see some trails on the mid slopes, which are the belt enclosures of the castle. The enclosures were said to have originally been dry moats and were changed to the trails by being filled naturally. If you look up the main enclosure, you will realize it is protected by the natural terrain even though it doesn’t have stone walls.

The ruins of the back gate
The miniature model of the gate, exhibited by the Sakura Castle Park control center
Climbing down the slopes of the plateau, please be careful when climbing down because it’s very steep
The belt enclosures
Looking up the main enclosure

You will eventually arrive at the foot of the plateau and see the southern barbican enclosure. If you go around the enclosure, you will see it is still surrounded by water moats. It looks very defensive and cool! If you enter the enclosure as well, you will see the outside which you walked around on.

The exterior of the southern barbican enclosure
The inside of the southern barbican enclosure
The view from the inside of the enclosure

I recommend you to go back to the belt enclosure and walk on it to the other western barbican enclosure. The enclosure still has its earthen walls and water moats in good conditions. There is the only remaining building at its entrance, called Yakui-mon gate. However, No one knows for certain its original name and position, because it was moved multiple times from the current position that it is in now.

The western barbican enclosure
The earthen walls of the enclosure
The Yakui-mon gate

Looking at Umadashi system and Dry Moats

If you don’t mind, it may be better to walk around the plateau to another entrance from the north to the castle. It was called Tamachi-mon which was the back gate of the castle, on Atago slope. It is now the front gate of the National Museum of Japanese History. A large enclosure of the castle, called Shinoki-kuruwa has become the museum. The enclosure was originally used as Samurai residences and was turned into barracks for the Japanese Imperial Army before the museum. It has been used effectively because it is massive.

The Atago slope
The ruins of Tamachi-mon Gate
The miniature model of Shinoki Enclosure when it was used as the barracks for the Japanese Imperial Aemy, exhibited by the National Museum of Japanese History

The floor space of the museum is about 35,000 square meters big. It exhibits the Japanese histories by classifying 5 different periods. If you want to look through all of them, you may have to spend all day long. It may be better to split up your visits to fully see everything.

The entrance of the National Museum of Japanese History
The miniature model of Taga Castle, an ancient castle in the Tohoku Region, exhibited by the National Museum of Japanese History
The miniature model of the hall of the Asakura Clan in Ichijodani Castle, exhibited by the National Museum of Japanese History

Going back to the attractions of the castle, the Umadashi system has been restored near the museum. The system was a fortified square position in front of Shinoki Gate, which was surrounded by dry moats. The long side of the square is 121m long and the short side is 40m long, same as the original. The dry moats were originally 5.6m in depth but is only 3m in depth probably for safety reasons. The system is only connected by a narrow path to the gate. It was once filled by the Japanese Imperial Army before its restoration.

The Umadashi system in front of the Shinoki Gate Ruins

The Shinoki Gate Ruins have no buildings now, and its inside is the third enclosure. So, you can visit the second and main enclosures again. However, let us go to another place by walking down from the plateau again. It is a pond, called Uba-ga-ike, which means “The Pond of a Nursing Mother”. The name comes from a sad and unfortunate story. It says that one day, a nursing mother took the daughter of a senior vassal to the pond. However, she didn’t keep her eyes on the daughter, which lead to the daughter drowning in the pond She felt very sad and guilty about it, so, she decided to throw herself into the pond as well. For the castle, this pond divided the main gate and the back gate sides to force the defenders protect the castle quickly. It also became famous for Japanese iris and croaking sounds of frogs during the peaceful Edo Period.

The ruins of Shinoki Gate
The old photo of the gate, from the signboard at the site
The Uba-ga-ike Pond, Since the pond is covered in lotus leaves, it’s hard to see how deep it truly is

You can go back from the pond to the main gate ruins by passing through a path which was another dry moat. The path has a fork which still looks like the dry moat. If you go straight, you will eventually reach the entrance of the park near the gate ruins.

The former dry moat, which is used as the path, the fork on the right, which is the dry moat today, the fork on the left which leads to the main entrance
The fork on the right remains as a dry moat

Visiting Samurai Residences and Sakura Juntendo Memorial Building

Atter visiting the castle ruins, let us go to Sakura Samurai Residences. The residence area is in Miyakoji of Sakura City, which originally had middle-class warriors’ residences. However, the current area exhibits three different residences: one of the remaining one for middle class warriors, another one form high-class warriors and finally, the other one form low-class warriors. The last two residential areas were moved from other areas, making it accessible to the public for viewing.

Sakura Samurai Residences Street, Notice the samurai residential homes on the right

These residences were owned and maintained by the Sakura Domain like official residences. They were made differently by each warrior’s class. That was because of the class system as well as the budgetary restrictions of the domain. For example, the entrance of the high-class residence looks high in quality, but the others are simpler. The walls of the high class’s one used white plasters, while the others only used brown mud walls. The high and middle class’s ones used fine Tatami mats in their rooms, however the low class can only use simple mats without the edge decorations.

The high-class residence
Its entrance is fine
The middle-class residence
Its living room is fine
The low-class residence (its roof has been replaced with a modern style)
Its living room is simple

You should also try to walk along Hiyodori-zaka Slope near the residences, which was the commuting route to the castle. The route goes down on a trail, surrounded by bamboo trees, which looks exactly same as it used to.

The Hiyodori-zaka Slope

We will finally go to Sakura Juntendo Memorial Building. It was originally built by Taizen Sato as his Rangaku (Dutch studies) school and clinic. Part of it opens to the public as a museum. The museum is about 2km away from the main gate ruins of the castle and was at the edge of the castle town. This is probably because Taizen was not an official doctor of the domain. A guide of the museum suggested to me another speculation. Taizen’s father was an agent in lawsuits who was against the policies of Tadakuni Mizuno, the top of the government. Therefore, Taizen might have had difficulties in his work in Edo City. He might also have been accommodated by Masayoshi Hotta. If it’s true, Sakura Juntendo was also like a place of refuge.

Sakura Juntendo Memorial Building
The statue of Taizen Sato

One of the exhibitions of the museum is the miniature model of the original buildings. You can see the buildings were so large. It is said that over one thousand students were there in total.

The miniature model of the original buildings

Another interesting exhibition is the original medical board which is hung on the top of the wall. The clinic mainly offered surgeries. However, the doctors didn’t use anesthesia because it was still dangerous at that time. Therefore, patients endured the pain because they wanted to get well after that.

The original medical menu, Notice the price of each procedures on the bottom of the medical board

The clinic is the origin of Juntendo University in Tokyo, one of Taizen’s successors who founded it. However, there is still the current Sakura Juntendo Clinic next to the museum. The spirits of Sakura are alive.

The plaque of Juntendo, It’s written in Chinese Characters (Kanji)

My Impression

Honestly, at first, I thought the castle park looked like a natural park. However, the more I looked around, the more my impressions changed. Currently it’s trendy for cities to revive castles across Japan. I think Sakura City does not need to ride the boom. This is because the city has already preserved the land of the castle as the park. The city can take enough time and be patient when developing it further. The important thing is preserving it as accurate as possible. In addition, you can still enjoy the castle ruins even without its visible buildings. So I highly recmmend you visit Sakura Catle in the future!

That’s all. Thank you.

Back to “Sakura Castle Part1”

20.Sakura Castle Part1

Sakura Castle was located at the current Sakkura City of Chiba Prefecture. The castle was built as the home of the Sakura Domain during the Edo Period, which is the origin of the city. The areas around the city had many other castles until the Sengoku Period and some of which were very important.

Location and History

Sakura Castle was located at the current Sakura City of Chiba Prefecture. The castle was built as the home of the Sakura Domain during the Edo Period, which is the origin of the city. The areas around the city had many other castles until the Sengoku Period and some of which were very important. For example, there was Usui Castle in the western part of the city, where the battle of Usui Castle happened back in 1566. Kenshin Uesugi, who tried to rule the whole Kanto Region, attacked the castle but failed. There was also Motosakura Castle in the eastern part, which was the home of the Chiba Clan. Usui Castle was a branch of the clan. Cuttently, this castle is called “Motosakura” but back then, it was called “Sakura Castle”. So therefore, Sakura Castle was the former name of Motosakura Castle. This article will explain the formative years of Sakura Castle including the formation of Motosakura Castle, which should make it easier for people to better understand the history.

The ruins of Usui Castle, Notice the wooden log steps covered in soil
The ruins of Motosakura Castle, Notice the icon on the wooden shields.  This is the family crest of the Chiba Clan

Formative Years of Sakura Castle

The Chiba Clan had owned Shimosa Province, which was the northern part of Chiba Prefecture, since the end of the ancient times. The most famous person of the clan would be Tsunetane Chiba who supported the launch of the Kamakura Shogunate at the end of the 12th Century. Their home, Inohana Castle, was located at the current Chiba City for a long time. However, the castle was destroyed when many battles occurred in the 15th Century during the Sengoku Period. The clan decided to rebuild their new home in another location, which would be called Motosakura Castle. The castle was on the Shimosa plateau and was surrounded by Inbanuma Lake and other waterlogged areas. Its location was much more fortified than before and more convenient for water transportation. The lake was also much larger than now, where people could easily access Kasumigaura Lake and other great rivers. The wide water area was even called Katori-no-umi, which means the Katori inland sea.

The statue of Tsunetane Chiba, exhibited by Chiba City Folk Museum
The whole map of Motosakura Castle, from the signboard at the site

The situation changed during the 16th Century. The Hojo Clan was invading the Kanto Region from the west. On the other hand, the Satomi Clan also got the power from the south (Boso peninsula). The Chiba Clan wondered what to do and they eventually allied with the Hojo Clan. That’s why Kenshin Uesugi, who would help the Satomi Clan, decided to attack Usui Castle, a branch of the Chiba Clan. The victory of the clan was partially due to the Hojo Clan’s help. As a result, the Hojo became more effective to the Chiba Clan. As for the home of the clan, Chikatane Chiba, who was the lord of the clan before the battle, originally planned to move his home from Motosakura to another. The new land for his new home later became Sakura Castle, which was called Kashima Castle then. Mysteriously, he died in 1533, which ultimately canceled his plans of moving the castle.

The location of the castle, Notice the smaller Inbanuma Lake on the left next to Usui Castle. This important river used to span much larger that what the current map is showing. It used to be part of a much larger body of water.

The portrait of Kenshin Uesugi, owned by the Uesugi Shrine (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The portrait of Chikatane Chiba, owned by the Kubo Shrine (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The Hojo Clan interfered in the internal affairs of the Chiba Clan at the end of the 16th Century. For instance, Ujimasa Hojo married his daughter to Kunitane Chiba, the lord of the clan. The Hojo Clan allowed Kunitane to resume the construction of Kashima Castle but failed to do so because the lord was killed again. Ujimasa next married his son to Kunitane’s daughter, in order to be the successor of the clan. It was said that Kashima Castle was finally finished for the new home of the couple.

The portrait of Ujimasa Hojo, owned by Odawara Castle (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

However, it is difficult to confirm whether these records are the factual, as Sakura Castle was built on the old Kashima Castle. The few discovered old dry moats at the site proved that they were at least trying to build the castle there. So, why did the Chiba and Hojo Clans want to move there again and again? One of the reasons would be that the land for the new castle was much larger than the old one. For the Hojo Clan, another possible reason may have been to protect their territories from the potential invasions by Hideyoshi Toyotomi from the west. The plateau, where the new castle was built on, had steep slopes and was surrounded by rivers towards the direction. That would have had a very defensive fort against the invasion. However, the Chiba Clan was eventually fired by Hideyoshi, after their master, the Hojo Clan was defeated at the battle of Odawara Castle in 1590.

The current Sakura Castle
The current Odawara Castle

Toshikatsu Doi builds Sakura Castle

After the Battle of Odawara Castle, several lords were assigned one after another by Ieyasu Tokugawa who was the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate. In 1610, Ieyasu ordered his retainer, Toshikatsu Doi to stay in Motosakura Castle and to build a new home at the former location of Kashima Castle, which would eventually be called, Sakura Castle. The new castle was supposed to support Edo Castle, the home of the shogunate. If Edo Castle was attacked by enemies from the west, the shogun could escape from his home to Sakura Castle towards the east. Sakura Castlewas situated in a great location that had very strong natural defense.

The portrait of Toshikatsu Doi, owned by Jojoji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Toshikatsu served three generations of the shoguns: Ieyasu, Hidetada, and Iemitsu. He was one of the most important senior vassals for them and established the system of the government. He was born in 1573 when Ieyasu was only a warlord during the Seongoku Period. There are some theories about who his father was.
The first one is that Toshimasa Doi was his father, according to the official family trees by the shogunate.
The second one claims that he was a son of Nobumoto Mizuno who was a brother of Odai, Ieyasu’s mother, according to the official history books of the shogunate. Odai originally came from the Mizuno Clan.
The last theory is the most surprising theory, it was said that Toshikatsu was an illegitimate son of Ieyasu, according to the official trees of the Doi Clan.
Each theory has substantial evidence, however only one theory can be true. Why were there different theories?

The Portrait of Ieyasu Tokugawa, attributed to Tanyu Kano, owned by Osaka Castle Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Recent studies believe the followings. Toshikatsu has a short sword where the family crest of the Mizuno Clan was engraved. It was passed down from Odai to Ieyasu who gave it to Toshikatsu. That meant Toshikatsu was Ieyasu’s son. However, it was a very know fact, which was not recorded officially. That’s why the official family trees simply say Toshikatsu was a biological son of the Doi Clan (in fact, adopted). After that, Toshimasu Doi, who was a grandson of Toshikatsu, was worried about the declining reputation of his clan. He thought that he should settle the mystery of his grandfather to gain a stable position for the clan. His decision was that he would announce that Toshikatsu was a son of the Mizuno Clan by using its family crest on the sword. The writers of the official history books probably heard about it. Finally, Toshisato Doi, the 8th lord of the clan, was asked as to who Toshikatsu’s mother was by the shogunate. Toshisato decided that he would answer by telling the truth and put it on his clan’s official trees. However, the shogunate couldn’t accept it because the matters of Ieyasu were too serious to change for them. As a result, the three theories certainly unchanged today. As for Toshikatsu himself, he became a close vassal of Hidetada, who was the successor of Ieyasu, when Toshikatsu was only 7 years old. No matter who his father was, it’s no mystery that he was a very talented person.

The portrait of Toshimasu Doi, owned by Jojoji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

When Ieyasu established the shogunate, his most influential retainers were the Honda and the Okubo Clans. However, they often had internal conflicts with each other. As a result, Masazumi Honda survived when Hidetada became the 2nd shogun. Hidetada didn’t want to let Masazumi have more power. He and his close vassals, including Toshikatsu Doi, decided to trick Masazumi. When Masazumi went on a business trip from his home, Utsunomiya Castle, to another castle where he was told about his replacement. That’s the reason Masazumi would not be able to raise a rebellion. In fact, that’s the same way Masazumi excluded the Okubo Clan earlier on. Toshikatsu must have joined the careful planning of the strategy. He continued to serve the shoguns, including the third shogun, Iemitsu, for a long time. He also contributed to the shogunate by building the group guidance system of the shogunate. The system would avoid relying on individual abilities and having internal conflicts so much like the shogunate had used to.

The portrait of Masanobu Honda, owned by Kaga-Maeda Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The portrait of Tadayo Okubo, owned by Odawara Castle (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

In reality, Toshikatsu survived these internal conflicts. Therefore, people sometimes viewed him as a Machiavellian. On the other hand, he was a well-informed and kind person whom the shoguns, his colleagues, and even foreign merchants often relied on. That may be one of the reasons for his longevity. He was also the founder of the Sakura Domain and built Sakura Castle in over 7 years, which was eventually completed in 1616.

Features of Sakura Castle

Sakura Castle, which was built on a large plateau, had several distinctive features. First, the castle wisely used the natural shapes of the plateau. The plateau was basically a natural hazard, which was about 20m above the foot of the hill and surrounded by Takasaki and Kashima Rivers. The main enclosure was built at the western edge of the plateau, and other enclosures were built around it. Large dry moats and the main gate were also constructed to the east for fortification. The Samurai residences and the castle town with Narita Road were built over the gate. Overall, the castle and town were all created on the plateau.

The illustration of Sakura Castle in Shimousa Province, exhibited by the National Diet Library
The old photo of the main gate, from the signboard at the site, Notice how small the people are.  The gate was so much bigger compared to modern gates today
The remaining dry moat

Secondly, the castle foundations were all made from soil, not using stone walls. When the battle of Odawara Castle happened, Hideyoshi Toyotomi built a castle made of pure stone walls, called Ishigakiyama Castle, for the first time in the Kanto Region. Since then, similar castles, such as Edo Castle, were built in the region. However, Sakura Castle kept the traditional method of the region, using only soil. Other castle used the same method, such as Kawagoe and Utsunomiya Castles. On the other hand, the castle had some of the latest defensive systems at that time. There were two defensive positions, called Umadashi, in front of the gate of the third enclosure. There were also huge enclosures outside the third enclosure, which could accommodate lots of soldiers and was used as a parade ground. Furthermore, the belt enclosures were built on the slopes of the plateau where the defenders were able to move easily. Finally, the enclosures connected to two barbican enclosures outside the plateau.

The ruins of Ishigakiyama Castle
The main tower base of Sakura Castle, Notice that not one stone was used
The current Utsunomiya Castle
The Umadashi enclosure of Sakura Castle
The belt enclosure of Sakura Castle
The barbican enclosure of Sakura Castle, Notice the amount of algae covering the moat

The final feature is about the buildings of the castle. There was the main tower in the main enclosure, which was about 22m high and had three levels (four floors). It was extremely rare for that type of castle to be built at that time. (The shogunate basically didn’t allow new castle constructions after its rules were established.) The tower was said to have moved from Edo castle. Its details are unknown, however, because it was unfortunately burned down by an accidental fire during the Edo Period. Historians speculate that it was similar to that of Koga Castle, which Toshikatsu also built later on. There were also Do-yagura (Copper Turret) and Sumi-yagura (Corner Turret) in the main enclosure. The enclosure also had the main hall inside but was barely used. This was because it was once used by Ieyasu Tokugawa, so it was considered exclusive to the shoguns. Instead, the lord of the castle lived in the main hall of the second enclosure. Atter the hall deteriorated; a new hall was built outside the third enclosure.

The miniature model of the main tower, exhibited by Sakura Castle Park Information Center

Masayoshi Hotta comes up with an idea to Open the Country from Sakura Castle

After Toshikatsu Doi moved to the Koga Domain in 1633, several lord families ruled the Sakura Domain during the Edo Period. In particular, the Hotta Clan owed the domain and castle for a long time until the end of the period. I will describe Masayoshi Hotta who was one of the lords and how he devoted his life to reforming and opening the country to the rest of the world. Masayoshi was born in 1810 and became one of the core members of the central government when he was 32 years old. However, he quit the position 2 years later because he didn’t really get along with Tadakuni Mizuno, the top of the government under the shogun. However, he kept in touch with his colleagues like Masahiro Abe and Naosuke Ii.

Masayoshi Hotta (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

He also reformed the government of the Sakura Domain. He declared the reform to the retainers of the domain at the main hall in the third enclosure of Sakura Castle. One idea was to include the military system of the domain. He changed it to the western style and he allowed the soldiers to exercise in the castle. Another major change from the reform was that Masayoshi introduced the western medicine to the domain. He invited a famous doctor, Taizen Sato from Edo City, who opened a medical school, called Sakura-Juntendo. Lots of students gathered there from all around Japan, which gave Sakura the name Rangaku (Dutch studies) town similar to Nagasaki. (At that time, the western science was provided from the Netherlands, one of the few countries which had diplomatic relationship with Japan.) Masayoshi was also called “Ranpeki” which means a person who devotes oneself entirely to Dutch studies and way of life. As a result, the scenery of Sakura Castle and the town dramatically changed.

Taizen Sato (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

After the arrival of Matthew Perry’s fleet in 1853, Masahiro Abe, who was the top of the government, asked the country to vote on whether or not Japan should open the rest of the world. Despite Masayoshi’s wishes to open Japan, most people voted against it. Masayoshi was suddenly assigned the top of the government (the chief of the members of shogun’s council of elders) in 1855. However, the reason why Masayoshi was appointed the top official was still uncertain. One of his tasks was to negotiate with Townsend Harris, the council of the U.S. about the trade treaty. Masayoshi actively dealt with Harris because both of them really wanted Japan to open to the rest of the world. The treaty was still unfair, however. For example, Japan didn’t have autonomy to tariffs. On the other hand, Masayoshi decided to open Yokohama Port which would become a worldwide port even today.

The portrait of Masahiro Abe, owned by Fukuyama Seshikan High School (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Townsend Harris (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons), An older picture of Townsend Harris

Even after the deal with Harris was finalized, Masayoshi still needed to handle a more difficult task. It was to get approval of the treaty from many relative lords in the government. When Toshikatsu Doi was the top, the system was simpler than the period of Masayoshi. However, the system had completely changed. The result was that only 4 of the 18 relative lords supported it. Therefore, Masayoshi’s second option was to get approval from the emperor, which had ever not been done. It would be the most effective way to overrule the lords. He visited the imperial court in Kyoto in 1558 to persuade the emperor and the nobles but he failed. This was because the emperor Komei himself did not want to open the country to the rest of the world.

The portrait of Naosuke Ii, owned by Hikone Castle Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Masayoshi was unfortunately fired, and the matter of the treaty was contnued by Naosuke Ii. He went back to the hall of Sakura Castle and lived there until his retirement and until his death in 1864. After the Meiji Restoration, the castle was used as a base for the Japanese Imperial Army. The mission of the base was to guard the eastern areas of Tokyo, the new imperial capital and the former shogun’s capital. That meant the role of the castle was the same between the Edo Period and the Meiji Era. After World War II, it became Sakura Castle Park and part of the park is used as National Museum of Japanese Histories today. The location of the castle is very suitable for such a large museum.

The statue of Masayosho Hotta in the third enclosure of Sakura Castle
The miniature model of Sakura Castle when the Japanese Imperial Army used it, exhibited by the National Museum of Japanese Histories
The entrance of Sakura Castle Park
The entrance of National Museum of Japanese Histories

To be continued in “Sakura Castle Part2”

13.Shirakawa-Komine Castle Part1

An epochal event happened to the castle in 1627 when Nagashige Niwa came there as the founder of the Shirakawa Domain. Nagashige was a son of Nagahide Niwa who was in charge of building Azuchi Castle, the fist modernized castle in Japan, under Nobunaga Oda. He was a master of castle constructions by following the know-how and connection from his father.

Location and History

Yuki Clan builds Caste as their Branch

The Shirakawa area, which is modern day Shirakawa City, has been the entrance of the Tohoku Region. There was a famous barrier called Shirakawa-no-seki (meaning the Shirakawa Barrier) in the area during the Ancient Times. Shirakawa-Komine Castle was first built by the Yuki Clan during the 14th Century and simply called Komine (meaning small mountain) Castle. The clan had lived in another castle called Shirakawa Castle. They originally came from the Kanto Region to the south and settled there during the 13th Century. Komine Castle was built on a hill beside Abukuma River as their branch castle to protect their home. Komine Castle would later become more popular and also be called Shirakawa Castle. To avoid confusion, historians and officials classify them and call the second Shirakawa Castle, Shirakawa-Komine Castle.

The range of Shirakawa City and the location of the castle

The ruins of the Shirakawa Barrier
The ruins of Shirakawa Castle
The ruins of Shirakawa-Komine Castle

Nagashige Niwa greatly modernizes Castle

The Yuki Clan was unfortunately fired by the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi during his unification of Japan at the end of the 16th Century. After that, Shirakawa-Komine Castle was followed by the Uesugi and the Gamo Clans as their branch. It was said that the basic structures of the castle were built by them but were still mostly made of soil. An epochal event happened to the castle in 1627 when Nagashige Niwa came there as the founder of the Shirakawa Domain. Nagashige was a son of Nagahide Niwa who was in charge of building Azuchi Castle, the fist modernized castle in Japan, under Nobunaga Oda. Nagashige joined the Western Alliance in the decisive battles in 1600 when he was a lord in the Hokuriku Region, against the Eastern Alliance which won and established the Tokugawa Shogunate. That’s why Nagashige was once fired by the shogunate. However, he was appointed as an independent lord again in 1603. One of the reasons may be that he was a master of castle constructions by following the know-how and connection from his father.

The portrait of Nagashige Niwa, owned by Dairinji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The portrait of Nagahide Niwa, from the database of Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The imaginary drawing of Azuchi Castle, exhibited by Gifu Castle

Nagashige renovated the castle as his home between 1629 to 1632. The shogunate also expected him to build a strong castle to monitor many non-hereditary feudal lords in the Tohoku Region to the north. Nagashige built stone walls, water moats, turrets and residences on the existing castle. He also changed the flow of the Abukuma River from the west to the north to make the castle more spacious and more defensive from that direction. The three-level turret was built at the northeastern corner of the main enclosure to monitor the Oshu Road to the north, too. It was 14m high and the symbol of the castle. It was also called the Main Tower in the first stage of the castle, but eventually stopped. This was probably done after the Main Tower of Edo Castle, the shogun’s home, was burned down in 1657 and not rebuilt. The Shirakawa Domain might have considered the relationship with the shogun.

The miniature model of Shirakawa-Komine Castle, exhibited by Komine-jo Castle History Museum
The Abukuma River flowing north of the castle
The restored three-level turret of Shirakawa-Komine Castle

Sadanobu Matsudaira starts Reform

The castle and the domain were followed by several hereditary feudal lord families such as the Sakakibara, Honda, Matsudaira (Okudaira), and Matsudaira (Yuki) Clans. The Tohoku Region including the Shirakawa area was not fertile at that time, often suffering damages from cold weather, droughts, and floods. Therefore, the Shirakawa domain was always having financial problems. In 1783, Sadanobu Matsudaira (Hisamatsu) became the lord and started to reform the government. His basic policies were to simplify lives and save money. He encouraged academics and military arts to the warriors, and more production to the farmers. In particular, his social policies were excellent. For example, he saved farmers even in the Tenmei Great famine during the 1780’s and supported their infants. He finally became the head of the members of the shogun’s council of elders in 1787 to lead Kansei Reforms in the central government. He also made detailed drawings of the castle buildings which would later give us an unexpected fortune.

The self-portrait of Sadanobu Matsudaira (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Sadanobu also opened Nanko (meaning South Lake) Park for people

Castle falls in Battle of Shirakawaguchi

The Abe Clan finally followed the domain in 1823. However, Masato Abe, who was involved in the central government, but was punished due to his policy’s failure in 1866. As a result, the Shirakawa area was like terra nullius (officially owned by the shogunate), which would bring a big misfortune to the castle. In 1868 during the Meiji Restoration, the new government, which defeated the shogunate, and many domains in the Tohoku Region, which still supported the shogunate, confronted each other, known as the Boshin War. The new government army’s first target was the Shirakawa area, the entrance of the region. The alliance of the Tohoku domains had to protect the area and Shirakawa-Komine Castle together.

The photo of Masato Abe, the last lord of the castle (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

However, the castle had weak points to the south, the direction from which the army was coming. There were three hills (Inari, Tateishi, and Raijin Mountains) around 1km from the castle, which could be used for cannons to target it. In addition, the new government army were equipped with more advanced guns than the alliance troops. The alliance was also undisciplined without excellent commanders. On the 1st of May, the Battle of Shirakawa-guchi occurred. The army occupied these hills and fired at the troops and the castle. The alliance was eventually defeated and the castle was captured in only one day. Many of the castle buildings including the three-level turret were also burned down. After that, the alliance tried to get the castle back several times but failed each time. One of the reasons may be the strong defense of the castle to the north which the alliance withdrew to and was striking back from.

The relief map around the castle

The monument of the Battle of Shirakawa-guchi at the site
The destroyed Shirakawa-Komine Castle (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

To be continued in “Shirakawa-Komine Castle Part2”