Goryokaku observation platform – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

Later History

Tatsuoka Castle was eventually abandoned in 1871. All the buildings of the castle excluding the Kitchen House were sold and demolished. Its stone walls and water moats were buried to be used as the school and fields. Norikata Matsudaira, the founder of the castle, changed his name to Yuzuru Ogyu, throwing the outdated family name “Matsudaira” away. He helped the establishment of the former Japanese Red Cross Society, called Hakuaisha, in the Meiji Era.

This photo was taken after he changed his name to Yuzuru Ogyu (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The drawing that Prince Arisugawa Taruhito grants Sano Tsunetami the permission to create Hakuaisha, attributed to Takeo Terasaki (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)The drawing that Prince Arisugawa Taruhito grants Sano Tsunetami the permission to create Hakuaisha, attributed to Takeo Terasaki

People in Tatsuoka started to restore the castle ruins in 1932 by digging the moats up and repairing the stone walls. As a result, the ruins were designated as a National Historic Site in 1934 while the bridge in front of the Main Gate Ruins was restored at the same time. In addition, the Taguchi Primary School in the ruins has just closed in March, 2023 due to the school integration. Saku City, which owns the ruins, is thinking about restoring the castle as much as in the Edo Period after the closing. It plans to restore the Main Gate in the near future as well. It is also considering to restore the Main Hall by moving the Kitchen House to its original position, re-building some missing structures, and asking the owners of some removed buildings to return them to their original positions.

My Impression

I guess if a battle happened, Norikata would not use Tatsuoka Castle for the battle. Instead, he would use the former Taguchi Castle which could easily target Tatsuoka Castle. When the enemy reached the castle, he would counterattack it. Tatsuoka Castle was an outstanding landmark which could easily pull the enemy in. That is my speculation. I am looking forward to how the new Tatsuoka Castle will appear in the future.

Tatsuoka Castle Ruins seen from Taguchi Castle Ruins (the observation platform)

How to get There

If you want to visit the castle by car, it is about a 20-minute drive away from Saku-minami IC on the Chubu-odan Expressway. There are several parking lots around the castle ruins.
If you want to use public transportation, it takes about 20 minutes on foot from JR Usuda or Tatsuokajo Station.
To get to Usuda of Tatsuokajo Station from Tokyo: Take the Hokuriku Shinkansen super express and transfer to the Koume Line at Sakudaira Station.

The parking lot beside the information center

In addition, if you want to visit the Goryokaku observation platform, go on Nagano Prefectural Road 120 from the castle ruins to the north for about 500m. Once you see the signpost of the platform, turn right. The platform is 2.1km away from it along the forest road. You can reach it by following other signposts. If you drive there, you will need a small off-road vehicle to be able to reach the top. If not, you can park around the first signpost.

The parking lot near the entrance is on the right

That’s all. Thank you.
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Features

Castle Ruins are used as School

Today, the ruins of Tatsuoka Castle are used as the Taguchi Primary School, which are still surrounded by the five pointed star shaped perimeter. Local people often called them “Tatsuoka Goryokaku (which means Pentagonal Style Fort)”. They are also famous for cherry blossoms. Because of the current usage, the facilities for visitors, such as the information center called “Goryokaku deai-no-yakata”, are located outside of the ruins.

The aerial photo around the castle

Visitors usually go to the Main Gate Ruins first which have the most precise stone walls in the castle, such as the Tortoise Shell and Hanedashi styles. The restored wooden bridge is over the water moat, where you can feel a traditional atmosphere. There are also two other gate ruins you can pass, one is Kuro-mon and the other is the side gate.

The water moats and stone walls around the Main Gate

Walking around Castle Ruins

You can easily walk around the perimeter of the ruins because they are not so large. You will see the moats expire and the stone walls look rough as you go to the back. This is because the construction of the castle, in fact, ended halfway through due to the lack of budget or because of another priority. Please make sure that you don’t walk across the route around the ruins because it is private property.

Only one remaining building

You can also enter the inside of the ruins except for the facilities and playground of the school. If you look around the inside, you will see the five pointed star shape is basically made out of soil. There is the only one remaining building in the castle, called the Kitchen House. It was originally used as part of the Main Hall, then turned int o a school house, a warehouse, and finally moved to the current position as a historical item. Only group tours which has a previous booking can enter this building. Therefore if you want to see it you have to be part of a group.

The ruins are surrounded by the earthen walls inside

View of Castle Ruins from Observation Platform

Tatsuoka Castle was designed flat, so today’s visitors might not be able to grasp its shape. Therefore, I recommend you consider visiting the Goryokaku observation platform, located on a mountain in the northside, about 500m away from the ruins. In fact, that spot is the ruins of another castle called Taguchi Castle in the Sengoku Period, where you can see several enclosures made of soil.

The relief map around the castle

Of course, you can also see a nice view of the five pointed star shape clearly. This has probably been the best spot to overlook the area around. You could easily target Tatsuoka Castle if you were an artillery man attacking the castle during the end of the Edo Period.

A view of Tatsuoka Castle Ruins from the observation platform

To be continued in “Tatsuoka Castle Part3”
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タグ: Goryokaku observation platform

129.Tatsuoka Castle Part3