good view – ページ 3 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

102.Kaminokuni-Katsuyama Date Part2

A mountain castle with a medieval atmosphere

Features

Ruins can be accessible either from Seaside or Mountain side

Today, the ruins of Kaminokuni-Katsuyama Date have been well developed by Kaminokuni Town. The ruins spread from 70 to 110m high on the hill. You can access the ruins either on the Main Route near the seaside or on the Back Route near Iouzan Mountain which is 159m high.

The aerial photo around the castle

If you drive to the ruins, it may be better to park and visit the Katsuyama Castle Guidance Facility below the top of the mountain before going to the ruins. You can learn about the history and the findings of the hall. The mountain top has a good view of the sea and has the Iouzan Shrine as well which worships Nobuhiro Takeda, the founder of the hall. The top was thought to be used as the final part in case of an emergency.

The top of Iouzan Mountain seen from the parking lot

Going to Back Route and Back Gate from Mountain

From the facility, you can walk to the Back Gate of the hall ruins passing the Iouzan Tombs which have over 600 burial mounds. Many of them are for Buddhists which are related to the mainland Japanese, but some of them are for the Ainu people. This is one of the reasons that both people lived together in the hall. Nobuhiro Takeda is thought to be buried somewhere around there.

The replica of an excavated Ainnu tomb, exhibited by the Katsuyama Castle Guidance Facility

The trail will bring you to the Back Gate Ruins with a dry moat in front of them. You can go across the moat over the restored bridge and you will see some restored wooden fences around the ruins. Inside the gate is the highest point of the ruins, which had the Tategami-Hachimangu Shrine as the guardian god of the hall. The shine remained even after the hall was abandoned. The lords of the Matsumae Domain visited it to worship for their ancestors during the Edo Period. The shrine was finally moved to another location in 1876 of the Meiji Era.

The dry moat and the restored Back Bridge

Center of Hall Ruins

The 3.6m wide central passage goes through the ruins. Next comes the main portion of the hall, a long and wide area gently going down to the Main Gate Ruins.

The imaginary drawing of the central passage with a turret gate on it, from the signboard at the site

There are no buildings, but lots of flat exhibits of what buildings were built, according to the excavation achievements. The exhibits show the Main Hall, the chief retainer’s house, a public well, a blacksmith‘s workshop, a stable, warehouses, residential houses, and so on.

The imaginary drawing of buildings of the hall, from the signboard at the site, adding the English letters

The interior model of the Main Hall, exhibited by the Katsuyama Castle Guidance Facility

*The interior model of the workshop, exhibited by the Katsuyama Castle Guidance Facility*

The miniature model of the public well, exhibited by the Katsuyama Castle Guidance Facility

The excavation team also found about 100 thousand relics such as weapons, religious equipment, trading goods, tools, hunting and fishing items as well as household items including accessories. That means people lived their daily life there. In particular, some of the relics came from the Ainu people, such as their own penknives and poisoned arrows for hunting. This could be another evidence that the mainland and Ainu people lived together. You can also enjoy a good view of the Japan Sea and the seaside area.

The excavated lacquerware bowls, which were probably brought to the site by trading, exhibited by the Katsuyama Castle Guidance Facility

The excavated fishing items of Ainu (below) and a replica of an Ainu harpoon, exhibited by the Katsuyama Castle Guidance Facility

The hall ruins with a view of the area below

To be continued in “Kaminokuni-Katsuyama Date Part3”
Back to “Kaminokuni-Katsuyama Date Part1”

154.Tamaru Castle Part2

Castle ruins coming from several periods

Features

Going through Main and Second Gates

Today, the ruins of Tamaru Castle have been maintained by Tamaki Town and still located in the center of the town. The ruins of the Main Gate behind the remaining Outer Moat are also the entrance of the ruins and the town hall. The route on the entrance is paved and straight, not like the originally bent road, probably because of convenience for cars. If you drive to the ruins, you can use the parking lot of the hall.

The map around the castle

The Outer Moat in front of the Main Gate Ruins

The paved road goes up to the hill passing through the Second Gate Ruins surrounded by stone walls and the partially remaining Inner Moat. The route is still bent similar to the original one. Next comes the Third Enclosure in the past, however, the present route goes around it which is used as a school. You can see one of the few remaining buildings of the castle, the Fujimi-mon Gate, which had been sold, but moved to the present position, not like in the original one, on the way.

The Third Enclosure Ruins which is used as a school

the Fujimi-mon Gate which was moved to the present position

You can enjoy both Earthen and Stone Walls at Northern Enclosure

You can go directly to the Main Enclosure along the way but you should consider going the separate promenade around the Northern Enclosure. This is because you will be able to feel the long history of the castle when you see it. It is surrounded by old stone walls, and earthen walls outside. Earthen walls were commonly used in the Middle Ages before stone walls were used, so the earthen walls might have been built in the early stage of the castle.

The entrance of the promenade around the Northern Enclosure

The earthen walls of the Northern Enclosure outside

The stone walls also look like those of Azuchi Castle, one of the earliest examples of stone walls for castles, which Nobukatsu’s father, Nobunaga built. You might think the stone walls were built by Nobukatsu, but historians point out most of the castle’s stone walls were built by the Inaba Clan.

The stone walls of the Northern Enclosure

The combination of stone and earthen walls of the Northen Enclosure

Main Enclosure has several Attractions

Going back to the main route, the paved road reaches the Main Enclosure, so you can easily enter it. Its alternating entrance surrounded by stone walls, called Koguchi, which was restored in the present time based on the achievements of the excavation.

A view of the entrance from above the stone walls

One of the highlights of it is the stone wall base for the Main Tower. Part of it such as the stone steps were added later than the original. However, the basic type, called Anagura-siki or the Cellar Type, is a very early method for Main Tower bases. Historians say the base might have been built by Nobukatsu.

The inside of the base (the Cellar Type)

The second one has a good view of the town from it. The area around the town looks rich and peaceful, probably the same as in the past. That proves the good location of the castle.

The rest is the stone walls surrounding the enclosure, you can look around. They look newer and more processed than those of the Northern Enclosures, so the Kuno Clan might repaired them.

Part of the stone walls were made with two tiers

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

136.Torigoe Castle Part2

Well developed ruins of a mountain castle

Features

Enclosures built using Natural Terrain

Today, the ruins of Torigoe Castle are well restored for visitors. If you drive to the ruins, you can easily go up to the parking lot near the top of the mountain. After parking, you can walk on the path to the center of the ruins. This path goes through the Rear Third Enclosure and the Rear Second Enclosure. These enclosures protected the Main Enclosure in the north. Similarly, the Third Enclosure and the Second Enclosure also protected the Main Enclosure in the south. Moreover, the Belt Enclosures surrounded the enclosures mentioned above for connection or a defense perimeter.

The aerial photo around the castle

For example, if you look at the Rear Second Enclosure, you can see it has a deep dry moat and is highly heaped. You can imagine the builders dug the moat and made the enclosure by heaping the soil from the moat on natural terrain. Some wooden fences were probably built along the enclosure. Some buildings were also built in the enclosure, where you can see the remnants of them now.

The Rear Second Enclosure seen from the Main Enclosure

Restored Buildings and Stone Walls

You can go further to the Central Enclosure in front of the Main Enclosure. Due to the achievement of the excavation, some buildings were restored. One of them is the Central Enclosure Gate, which may have been the front gate of the castle. Another is a barrack which is also currently used as the rest house.

The restored barrack and rest house for visitors

You can finally enter the Main Enclosure through the Masugata-mon Gate which is surrounded by the only stone walls in the castle. They were also restored in recent times, and originally built by Nobunaga Oda’s troops. This was because the castle was changing hands between the Kaga Ikko uprising and Oda during the conflict. Masugata refers to a square space inside or outside of the entrance, which has made it more defensive. In the back of the Masugata, there is, likewise, the restored turret styled Main Enclosure Gate, which was originally built by the Kaga Ikko uprising.

You can enjoy View and see Good Location

Inside the Main Enclosure, there were a lot of buildings discovered during the excavation. However, the purpose of them is still uncertain, so only columns and stone foundations are shown for visitors. In addition, some wooden fences on the earthen walls, a well, and large jars for storage are restored in the enclosure. From the enclosure, you can see a good view of both sides of the mountain in the east and west, being at a good location for lookout and protection.

A view from the Main Enclosure (the eastern side)

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