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

60.Ako Castle Part3

According to Historians, The 47 Ronin assaulted Kira due to their Samurai Spirit. If it’s true, why is the story still so popular among many current Japanese people?

Features

Many Attractions in Main Enclosure

The Main Enclosure is compact and all surrounded by stone walls and water moats, so you can easily see its complex layout. There are three entrances to it but only two of them are available excluding Hanebashi-mon (meaning Draw Bridge Gate) in the back of the southern side.

The aerial photo around the Main Enclosure of the castle, the red markers indicates its three entrances

The stone walls and water moats of the Main Enclosure

The front gate of the northern side was restored and has the Masugata system as well.

The other one of the eastern side, called Umaya-guchi-mon (meaning Stable Side Gate), was also restored. The gate was simple but the stone walls around are bent elaborately to protect the gate from guns and arrows from the walls.

There was the Main Hall inside where the lords including Asano (Takumi-no-kami) lived. Now, there is a flat exhibition of the hall instead, where you can see its layout and what rooms were in it.

The layout of the Main Hall drawn in the illustration during the Edo Period, from the signboard at the site

The large stone wall base for a Main Tower stands out at its corner and you can climb it and see the view of the area around from the top.

There is also a small but beautiful pond garden which is designated as a National Place of Scenic Beauty, together with that of the Second Enclosure.

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Ako Castle was abandoned and all the castle buildings were sold or demolished. Most of the moats were buried and turned into fields and residences area with other castle’s land. The Main Enclosure was used as a school until 1981. The Oishi Shrine was established in 1912. The restoration of the castle started in 1935 where the moats in front of the Main Enclosure were re-dug. Since then, many other buildings and structures of the castle have been restored probably because of the popularity of the incident and Ronin. The ruins have been designated as a National Historic Site since 1971.

The old photo of the Main Enclosure front gate, from the signboard at the site

*The old photo of the Second Enclosure gate, from the signboard at the site*

The ruins of Ako Castle in the 1930’s *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

My Impression

I honestly say I don’t like the Ako Incident story because there was no good reason for killing Kira (in addition, in the very popular play “Chushin-gura” based on this incident, Asano cuts Kira at the front (in fact, it was from the back) after Kira’s bullying due to Asano refusing the huge bribe or Asano’s wife refusing Kira’s love). Historians say this was done due to Bushi-do (the Samurai Spirit) which refers to their devotion to their master or domain with honor and pride even without any reasons. If it’s true, why is the story still so popular among many current Japanese people? I guess it’s because they still have the same or similar devotion to Samurai in the Edo Period as they sometimes look devoted to their boss or company without any reasons to survive. I also speculate that Oishi might have understood his master was mad but he didn’t have any other choice.

*A Ukiyoe-painting of Asano assaulting Kira in the Edo Castle, attributed to Kuniteru Utagawa (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car, it is about a 10 minutes’ drive away from Ako IC on the Sanyo Expressway. There are several parking lots around the castle ruins.
By public transportation, it takes about 15 minutes on foot to get there from JR Banshu-Ako Station.
From Tokyo or Osaka to the station: Take the Sanyo Shinkansen super express express and transfer to the Sanyo Line at Himeji Station or the Ako Line at Aiou Station.

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “AKo Castle Part1”
Back to “Ako Castle Part2”

57.Sasayama Castle Part2

Visiting the main portion of the castle

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Sasayama Castle was abandoned and all the castle buildings, except for O-shoin or the Large Study Hall out of the Main Hall, were demolished. The hall was used as a school and a community center for a while, however, it was unfortunately burned down by an accidental fire in 1944. After World War II, the Inner Moat out of the double water moats was filled to became a normal park. However, since the castle ruins were designated as a National Historic Site in 1956, the trend changed. Tanba-Sasayama City has been developing the ruins as a historical site such as the hall being restored in 2000 and the moat being dug up again.

The photo of the Large Study Hall, in 1943, private owned (*licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

The Large Study Hall which was restored in 2000

Features

From Main Gate Ruins to Main Portion

Today, the ruins of Sasayama Castle have been developed by Tanba-Sasayama City with the remaining warriors’ houses and the castle town atmosphere. Visitors usually first visit the Main Gate Ruins in the north in front of the Outer Moat. Unfortunately, the gate and its Umadashi system were destroyed, so only their traces remain now.

The ruins of Umadashi system on the Main Route

The aerial photo around the castle

If you walk the path to the center of the ruins passing the Outer and Inner Moats, you will reach the ruins of the Front Gate and Kurogane-mon or the Iron Gate, the entrance of the main portion. These ruins are still surrounded by stone walls of double Masugata system, which you can imagine the main gate had a similar system to it.

The ruins of the Front Gate, which has the first Masugata system behind

Restored Large Study Hall in Second Enclosure

The main portion has the Second Enclosure in the front and the Main Enclosure in the back. You can enter the restored Large Study Hall with the historical museum. You will first get in the museum where you can learn the history of the castle

Then, go in the hall where you can experience what it looked like in the past. The Large Study Hall was used for public ceremonies which has an impressive large hip-and-gable roof above the front entrance. Visitors enter it not from the front but from the side and walk around the corridors surrounding the rooms. There are eight rooms inside such as Honored Guest Room, Dark Room for storing, and Tiger Room for waiting.

Visitors enter the hall form the right side

Here is the inside of the front entrance

There are also the flat exhibitions of the residential area for the lord and the ruins of Uzume-mon or the Small Back Gate behind the hall.

The flat exhibitions of the residential area in the Second Enclosure

Stone Wall Base for Main Tower with Viewing Spot

The Main Enclosure is the highest point of the castle. The inside of it looked to be a square during the Edo Period, but the Aoyama Shrine, which worships the Aoyama Clan, the last lord family of the castle, has been there since its launch in 1882.

The Second Enclosure in the front, the Main Enclosure in the back

The large stone wall base for the Main Tower is at a corner of the enclosure, which is a good viewing spot of the city area. You can also see a triangle-shaped Takashiroyama-Mountain in the distance, where the ruins of Yagami Castle, which was active in the Sengoku Period, is. The stone wall base had a very small single turret for its scale at the edge during the Edo Period.

The appearance of the Main Enclosure during the Edo Period, *exhibited by the historical museum in the Large Study Hall of Sasayama Castle*

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

48.Matsusaka Castle Part2

This castle was protected by high stone walls using large stones and an elaborate defense system

Features

High Stone Walls still surround Castle Ruins

Today, the ruins of Matsusaka Castle have been developed into Matsusaka Park, which was the main portion of the castle on the hill. If you walk around the outside of the park, you may be surprised to see the high stone walls surrounding the park remain in good condition. The walls are piled using round natural stones which are large and uncountable. It is surprising that they were collected and piled so elaborately in a short time during the construction. In addition, the stone walls of the southeastern corner of the park were repaired using processed rectangular stones in the later stage of the castle’s history.

The stone walls seen outside of the park

The stone walls of the lower tier of the Main Enclosure, which use large stones

The repaired stone walls at the southeastern corner of the park

The aerial photo around the castle

Layout of Enclosures

The ruins have only the foundation with the stone walls without any buildings. However, you can still understand how the castle was protected by seeing these stone walls along the routes in the park. There are two entrances of the park, one is the Front Gate Ruins at the eastern side and the other one is the Back Gate Ruins at the southern side. Either of them lead to the Second Enclosure first. Towards the center of the castle, the lower tier of the Main Enclosure is higher than the Second Enclosure. The upper tier of the Main Enclosure is the highest. In addition, the Kitai and Inkyo Enclosures are at the lower part on the opposite side of the Second Enclosure.

The diorama of the castle’s enclosures with stone walls, exhibited by Matsusaka City Museum of History and Folklore

Going to Second Enclosure from Front Gate Ruins

If you enter the Second Enclosure from the Front Gate Ruins surrounded by alternating stone walls, you will see the high stone walls of the lower tier of the Main Enclosure in front of you. To go to the center of the Second Enclosure, you have to turn left and pass one more ruined gate beside the Tsukimi Turret Ruins on the stone walls. If you were an enemy, you would be attacked from two directions. That means the routes inside the castle were made very defensive.

The stone walls of the Main Enclosure lower tier stand in front of you

The high stone walls of the Tsukimi Turret Ruins

The route to the Second Enclosure from the Front Gate (the red arrow) and the counterattack from the castle (the blue arrows)

Going to Main Enclosure from Front Second Enclosure

The Second Enclosure had the Encampment of the Tokugawa Clan. It is now a square with a wisteria trellis where you can see a city view.

The signpost of the ruins of Tokugawa Clan’s encampment

If you want to go inside further, you need to pass the Nakagomon Gate Ruins. This route is also surrounded by alternating stone walls and the ruins of a turret called Taiko-Yagura. After passing it, the lower tier is on the right and the upper tier is on the left of the Main Enclosure.

Looking down The Nakagomon Gate Ruins from the Taiko Turret Ruins

The route to the Main Enclosure from the Second Enclosure (the red arrows) and the counterattack from the castle (the blue arrows)

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