great stone walls – ページ 2 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

186.Kaneda Castle Patr3

Features

Three Gate Ruins

There are branch paths from the first turning point of the main hiking course to other attractions of the castle ruins. The paths are not the former military road and are a little rougher than it. These are not as popular as the military road. However, it is worth to visit. If you walk down the path for a while, you will be at the junction of another path to the first and second gate ruins, and the other path to the third gate ruins.

The map around the castle

The junction is near a hill called Bingushi Mountain where the ruins of other buildings were discovered. These buildings are thought to have been used as barracks for the Sakimori soldiers.

*The diorama of Kaneda Castle Ruins, exhibited by the sightseeing information center Fureaidokoro Tsushima*, adding the branch paths (the red lines), and the places of the second gate (marked by the blue circle) and the third gate (marked by the yellow circle)

The path to the ruins of the first and the second gates

Around the Bingushi Mountain, you can see a rest station on the left

Around the Bingushi Mountain on the diorama

The three gates were built using stones at the eastern side as castle and water gates near the seaside. The stones used in the castle are mainly natural while part of the stones of the first gate are rectangular- processed. However, it is said that they were piled by the Tsushima Domain during the Edo Period to guard the coast. They’ve been restored and repaired so that visitors can see them as if they used to look.

The second gate ruins seen from the bottom

The types of the stones were different in the upper and lower parts of the first gate

Going to the third gate ruins after once returning the junction

Wonderful Stone Walls along Sea

After you visit the third gate ruins, you can return by the same route or by another path though the southeast stone fortress. If you take the latter, you will see the great long stone walls of the eastern side on the right and beautiful Aso Bay on the left. Please watch your step as the path is partially unstable.

Going towards the southeast stone fortress

There are great stone walls along the sea

The southeast stone fortress is really great, too! The corner of the fortress was protruded outward to build a salient with enhanced defense in preparation for an enemy’s attack. It looks like a Gusuku (Okinawan castle) or a small Great Wall of China. If you walk up along the fortress, you will return to the route you passed.

It’s a good contract of the fortress and the sea

Around the southeast fortress on the diorama

Later History

People alway knew about Kaneda Castle because it had been recorded in the Nihon-shoki chronicles, however, they didn’t know about where it was as it had been abandoned too early to remember. For example, trade with Korea was done at a shrine near the first gate during the Middle Ages and the Tsushima Domain used the gate during the Edo Period, but they didn’t notice it was a ancient mountain castle. There is no telling how the Imperial Japanese Army treated it. Historians discovered the ruins on the mountain in the Taisho Era (1910-1925) and they finally confirmed it as Kaneda Castle after World War II. As a result, the ruins were designated as a National Special Historic Site in 1982.

The ruins of Kaneishi Castle, the home of the Tsushima Domain

My Impression

I was very surprised to see that the Joyama Mountain has become dual historical sites of the ancient times and modern times. Both sites show us there were strained relations with foreign countries at those times. Other than that, Tsushima also had dramatic events such as during the Mongolian Invasions and the invasion of Korea by Hideyoshi Toyotomi. On the other hand, there were also peaceful relationships such as with the Korean Envoys. We can now see many tourists visiting Tsushima from Korea recently, too. There is no need to say which is better.

The figures of the Korean Envoys, exhibited by Kokura Castle Tower

How to get There

I recommend using a car to get there. It takes about 20 minutes from Tsushima Airport or about 30 minutes from Izuhara Port. There is a small parking lot at the starting point of the hiking course.

The small parking lot at the starting point of the hiking course

That’s all. Thank you.
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186.Kaneda Castle Patr2

Today, the ruins of Kaneda Castle have become part of the popular hiking course on the Joyama Mountain. The course has been well maintained because it is based on the military road that the Imperial Japanese Amy developed over 100 years ago. The road was built for the constructions of Joyama Batteries on the top area to prepare for the Russo-Japanese War.

Features

Hiking Course as Fomer Military Road

Today, the ruins of Kaneda Castle have become part of the popular hiking course on the Joyama Mountain. Visitors first drive to the starting point of the course via the Prefectural Road 24, which branches off into a forest road. The hiking course has been well maintained because it is based on the military road that the Imperial Japanese Amy developed over 100 years ago. The road was built for the constructions of Joyama Batteries on the top area to prepare for the Russo-Japanese War.

The map around the castle

It was constructed largely on the slopes to make it gentle so that carriages could carry materials. That’s why the road crossed the circular stone walls of Kaneda Castle several times. The constructions resulted in the stone walls partially being destroyed. The reasons for it may have been that the walls were unknown for the castle and the constructions were the priority at that time.

*The diorama of Kaneda Castle Ruins, the white line shows the hiking course and the gray line shows the stone walls, exhibited by the sightseeing information center Fureaidokoro Tsushima*

Road crosses over Stone Walls several times

There are a few switchbacks in this hiking course that interest with the stone walls. If you walk up the road for a while, you will see a great view of Aso Bay before meeting the first crossover point with the stone walls.

This point is the southern side of the castle, so you can see the stone walls going down on the east to the southeast stone fortress, which is amazing scenery as well.

The stone walls go down to the southeast stone fortress

The first intersection of the road and the stone walls on the diorama, the south gate is on the left and the building is on the right of the point

There are also the ruins of the south gate on the west of the point, which were recently discovered in 2003. They have stone paving and foundations which were probably for gate buildings. The ruins of a building with dug-standing pillars were also found near the gate, which might have been used as a guardhouse.

You can see the building ruins on the left of the stone walls

You will meet the second intersection with the wall after the first switchback. The stone walls climb the ridge at that point. The road also goes with the walls in parallel for a short time. It is surprising to see how well the walls were built, so long, on such a steep mountain over 1350 years ago!

The hiking course on the left and the stone walls on the right

Looking up at the stone walls from the hiking course

At the third crossover point, you will see not only stone walls but also something like a gate structure. It might be the ruins of a drainage system.

The remaining stone walls at the third intersection

The fourth crossover point mostly consists of the ruins of a military facility, so you can only see few remaining stone walls of the castle above. The top of the mountain will be soon.

The ruins of the military facility at the fourth intersection

You can see few remaining stone walls above

*The fourth intersection on the diorama*

Battery Ruins, Stone Walls and Panoramic Views on Top

You will first reach the ruins of the batteries below the top. About 100 years ago, there were four 28-inch howitzers at this site, with their gun barrels facing the bay to the west. There are only their huge platforms remaining now where you can even understand their scales.

The Aso Bay which the batteries once faced

The mountain top on the left and the batteries on the right, on the diorama

You can also climb the ridge to the top, which is the same as the western line of Kaneda Castle. Therefore, you will see some remaining stones of the castle walls on the way.

You can see some remaining stone walls on the way

At the summit, there’s very limited space, so it might be difficult to stay long, but this spot offers breath-taking, panoramic views of Aso Bay.

To be continued in “Kaneda Castle Part3”
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105.Shiroishi Castle Part2

The restored three-level Main Tower is on the corner of the stone walls of the main enclosure, which looks really great! Not only is it a symbol of the castle but also of the city. It could also had been seen as the authority of the lord as well as a threat to enemies when the original tower was there.

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Kuniori Katakura, the last lord of the castle moved to Hokkaido with his some retainers. All the castle buildings and stone walls were demolished and sold to earn their expenses. The vacant castle ruins were turned into Masuoka Park which has became famous for cherry blossoms for some time. In 1987, a NHK drama called “Dokuganryu (one-eyed hero) Masamune” aired and became very popular. The drama featured not only Masamune Date but also the Katakura Clan, so many visitors visited the Shiroishi Castle Ruins but were disappointed at the ruins with few historical items. The mayor of the city saw the situation and decided to restore the castle in 1988.

One of the most important topics about it was that the castle would be restored using the traditional wooden construction. However, there was a big problem with the law. The original Main Tower was 16.7m high. Meanwhile, Japan’s Building Standard Act basically doesn’t allow builders to build wooden buildings which are over 13m tall. According to this law, the tower would not be able to be built. After that, The city negotiated with the central government, and finally got an exemption by the competent minster to build the tower at its original height. The restoration was completed in 1997.

The restored Main Tower of Shiroishi Castle

Features

Many Historical Items in Main Enclosure

Today, the Shiroishi city area still has a traditional atmosphere of Shiroishi Castle and its castle town. This is probably because the Main Tower was restored on the hill and the old waterways are still intact in the city area. There were several enclosures on the hill in the past, but they were turned into shrines, parks, and playgrounds, excluding the main enclosure with the restored items.

Shinmeisha Shrine in the second enclosure

The Masuoka Park in the second enclosure

That’s why most visitors go to the main enclosure by walking on the eastern or northern slopes on the hill. If you take the eastern one, you will see the few remaining original stone walls at the base of the enclosure. The other stones above were all demolished and sold during the early Meiji Era. You will next see the restored stone walls which were piled up using natural large stones in Nozura-zumi method. They look mild rather than wild as most of the stones were round-shaped.

The map around the main enclosure

The walls were piled up using natural stones

Well restored Main Tower and Main Gate

The restored three-level Main Tower is on the corner of the stone walls, which looks really great! Not only is it a symbol of the castle but also of the city. It could also had been seen as the authority of the lord as well as a threat to enemies when the original tower was there. In fact, there were three-generation towers on the walls during the Edo Period, which meant it had been rebuilt twice, according to the excavations. The current tower was restored on the second stone foundations because they remain in the best conditions. In addition, the appearance of the tower came from the third generation which was drawn in some pictures. The second and third ones are probably almost the same or similar since the third one was restored in 1823 after the second one burned in 1819.

Part of the Illustration of Shiroishi Castle, attributed to Unyo Koseki, owned by Shiroishi City, exhibited in the Main Tower

The main gate of the enclosure was also restored at the same time as the Main Tower. The gate consists of two gates and stone walls, which form a defensive space called Masugata. The Masugata systems in other castles are usually a square and closed space but that of Shiroishi Castle is very unique. The first gate is always open with no doors (according to the excavations so far) and the space inside is half occupied by a corner of the stone walls of the enclosure. Visitors can’t clearly see the inside, because it is blocked by the walls. That may be the reason for the first gate having no doors.

The second gate is half blocked by the stone walls

The Masugata system seen from the Main Tower

Other Ruins in Main Enclosure

The inside of the main enclosure is empty with the signboard of the Main Hall which was built there. The other sides of the enclosure look like earthen walls which remained after the covering stone walls had been removed. There are the Back Gate Ruins on the opposite side of the Main Gate. There are also the ruins of Tatumi (southeastern) Turret and Hitsujisaru (southwestern) Turret at other corners of the enclosure.

The Back Gate is marked by the red circle, the Southeastern Turret is marked by the blue circle and the Southwestern Turret is marked by the green circle, in the miniature model exhibited by the Shiroishi Castle History Museum

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