タグ: Fukiage park

79.Imabari Castle Part3

This castle is beautiful and firmly built.

Features

Walking outside Inner Moat after getting out of Back Gate

The castle park also has the back gate called Yamazato-mon which was restored in 1990. To get out of the castle area, you have to go down a few stone steps, pass another Korai-mon style gate, and go across a narrow earthen bridge. The earthen bridge was originally wooden made which would have been fallen if a battle happened. The area around the gate is sunken, on the other hand, the area over the bridge extends upward.

The aerial photo around the castle

Yamazato-mon Gate
Seeing Yamazato-Yagura Turret connecting the gate from outside of the Inner Moat
The stone steps below Yamazato-mon Gate
The Korai-mon style gate and the earthen bridge
The area over the bridge extends upward

After you go out of the park, you can try walking around the Inner Moat. The moat is about 50 to 70m wide and the stone walls inside are 9 to 13m tall. They look like a floating fortress!

The perimeter of the Main Enclosure
The castle looks as if it is floating
Seeing the castle from the Second Enclosure side

Imabari Port, Source of Inner Moat

After looking around, you can check out how the sea water gets inside the Inner Moat of the castle. You can also see the water reservoir near the main entrance of the park. If you go along the waterway towards the source, you will reach the Imabari Port which was the castle port. It was located at the edge of the Middle Moat in the past. Because of that source, the surface level of the Inner Moat is changing depending on the tide.

The water reservoir at the Inner Moat side
The waterway for the Inner Moat
Imabari Port
The water reservoir at Imabari Port side

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Imabari Castle was abandoned and all the castle buildings were eventually demolished or burned. The Main Enclosure was turned into the Fukiage Shrine in 1872 before the Fukiage Park was established including the Second Enclosure in 1914. That’s why the main portion of the castle inside the Inner Moat still remains, while the outside of the moat was all turned into the city area. Since the castle ruins were designated as a Prefectural Historic Site of Ehime in 1953, Imabari City has been developing and restoring them as a historical park as mentioned above.

The main portion of the castle as the park
Bugu-Yagura Turret, the other restored turret

My Impression

After walking around the Inner Moat to see the great view of the moat and the high stone walls, I noticed Imabari Castle was quite practical. Why did Takatora Todo make the Inner Moat around 50m wide and the stone walls around 10m high? I speculate that the defenders on the stone walls were able to hit the attackers outside the Inner Moat effectively by guns and arrows. On the other hand, the guns and arrows from the attackers could not be useful. I think Takatora built this castle that way. Imabari Castle was beautiful as well as so strong.

The height of the stone walls and the width of the Inner Moat may have been the best to protect the castle
A view of the castle from the Imitation Main Tower

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car, it is about 15 minutes from Imabari-Kita IC on the Nishi-Seto Expressway or about 20 minutes from Imabari-Yunoura IC on the Imabari-Komatsu Expressway. There is a parking lot beside the main entrance of the park.
By public transportation, you can take the Setouchi Bus bound for Imabari-Eigyosho from Imabari Station and get off at the Imabari-jo-mae bus stop or it takes about 30 minutes on foot from the station to get there.
From Tokyo or Osaka to Imabari Station: I recommend traveling by plane and when you get there you can take the bus or train to get to Imabari station.

The parking lot beside the main entrance of the park

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Imabari Castle Part1”
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79.Imabari Castle Part2

A great appearance of a sea castle

Features

Entering Castle over Inner Moat using Sea Water

Today, Imabari Castle, which is now also called the Fukiage Park, has only its main portion surrounded by the Inner Moat, but still looks so great. The contrast of the high stone walls and Inner Moat is very impressive and may also be artistic. Some buildings were rebuilt that include the Main Tower on the stone walls to make it more attractive. It is still near the Imabari Port and uses the sea water for the Inner Moat, and maintains the sea castle atmosphere.

The aerial photo around the castle

The remaining main portion of Imabari Castle as a park
The sea water comes from the right side

Visitors usually enter the castle from the main entrance which was one of the square Masugata spaces in front of the Inner Moat. You can go across the earthen bridge over the moat towards the main gate called Kurogane-gomon or the Iron Gate like the past visitors used to do. The gate is still surrounded by great stone walls, forming a Masugata space. It was actually restored in 2007 based on the Imabari Domain’s records and the excavation results, including some of the walls.

The earthen bridge seen from the main entrance
The Masugata space of the Iron Gate

The stone walls use some huge ornament stones and one of which is the largest one in the castle. It is called Kanbe Stone, which was named after Kanbe Watanabe who was responsible for the castle construction under Takatora Todo. In fact, the gate space had another Korai-mon style building in the front, and in the past some visitors could be completely locked up in the gate. That was a way to protect the castle.

Kanbe Stone, the largest stone in the castle
The original structure of the Masugata system, from the signboard at the site

Several Turrets are restored in Second Enclosure

Inside the gate is the Second Enclosure, which is rectangular shaped. It had the Main Hall for the lord, and now has the statue of Takatora Todo riding a horse.

The front square is the Second Enclosure
The statue of Takatora Todo

The three turrets at each corner were also restored in the present time, which were used for exhibitions. (the other corner of it is shared with the Main Enclosure.) Part of the Hall Turrets called Tamon-Yagura connecting the turrets above were also restored on the stone walls.

Olane-Yagura Turret, one of the restored turrets in the Second Enclosure
The entrance of Okane-Yagura Turret

Imitation Main Tower is built in Main Enclosure

The Main Enclosure is next to the Second Enclosure, which is quadrate and around half the size of it. It now has the Fukiage Shine inside, but both enclosures look the one because there is no partition between them. In the past, there were mud walls between them, so visitors going to the Main Enclosure had to pass another Masugata space as well.

The Fukiage Shine

There were also four turrets at each corner, but only their stone wall bases are remaining except for the northern corner. This is where you can see the Imitation Main Tower. This tower was built in 1980 when it was still uncertain where the original Main Tower had been. It also doesn’t resemble the Multi-story type Main Tower Takatora created because the current one looks like a Look-out tower. This is probably due to the designer considering the popular design of the some towers at that time.

No turrets were restored in the Main Enclosure except for the one corner
The Imitation Main Tower was built on the northern corner of the Main Enclosure

You can enter the tower passing the former Masugata space which is surrounded by the stone walls. It is actually a modern building which is used as a historical museum and an observation platform.

The gate to the Imitation Main Tower
The entrance of the Imitation Main Tower
A view of Imabari Port from the Imitation Main Tower

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