great view – ページ 9 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

75.Hagi Castle Part3

The destination of the Mori Clan’s castle construction

Features

From Third Enclosure to former Castle Town

Going back to the parking lot, walking around the Third Enclosure is also good. This area is designated as Horiuchi Preservation District for Groups of Historical Buildings. The blocks of the senior vassals’ houses remain as they were. Though the insides of them are used as public facilities, Hagi ware shops, summer orange fields, and so on, there are several remaining stone walls, mud walls, and house gates surrounding the blocks. This is where you can feel as if you were on the real castle area.

The map around the castle

The Third Enclosure (Horiuchi Preservation District for Groups of Historical Buildings)

The front gate of the Mori Clan’s villa, it was built in the Meiji Era in another place and moved the current position in the Third Enclosure, it is used for the Hagi Seminar House

The remaining mud walls at the Toida Masuda Clan’s residence

Stone walls along the street with the background of Shizukiyama Mountain

There are summer orange fields inside the stone walls

Over the Outer Moat, you can also enjoy the castle town attractions such as Kikuya family residence and Kido’s old residence.

Kido’s old residence (licensed by そらみみ via Wikimedia Commons)

Shizuki Mountain as Final Castle

Finally, if you have more time, you should consider climbing Shizuki Mountain as the final castle ruins. It will be an about 20 minute little hard climb, but it worth the trouble. The top has the gate ruins surrounded by stone walls, like ones at the foot.

The entrance of the route to the mountain

This gate also has a defensive square space

The two-tier enclosures on the top are also surrounded by stone walls. Six turrets were on them in the past. You can see nice views of Hagi City and the Japan Sea there.

A view of the Japan Sea from the enclosure

Here comes the upper tier as the Main Enclosure

A view of the Hagi City area from the enclosure

You can also see the reservoir inside for preparing for besieged. There are also many notched huge rocks which look outstanding. These notches are usually understood as a process of making stone walls. However, some people speculate these rocks could have been used by the defenders to counterattack their enemies by cutting and throwing the stones at them.

Later History

After Hagi Castle was abandoned, all the buildings of its center were demolished. People are still wondering why the Choshu Domain, which was one of the winners of the Meiji Restoration, had to do it. Many speculate that they gave an example to a new era by doing so. However, the fact seemed that local people in Hagi had no money to maintain these buildings as the local government had moved to Yamaguchi. As a result, the castle ruins have been a park since 1877 as we see now. They were designated as a National Historic Site in 1951.

The Main Tower was scraped in 1874, the same year as the castle was abandoned

My Impression

I think that Hagi Castle was the destination of the Mori Clan’s castle construction. It was a plain castle, a mountain castle, and also a sea castle. The clan built the castle using all their experiences they got before to make it the strongest. That’s why I also think they didn’t reluctantly choose its location, but actively decide it. I hope Hagi City would repair the restored mud walls on the top of the mountain as there are some writings on the wall.

Shizuki Mountain was integrated with the castle

How to get There

If you want to visit the castle by car, it is about 50 minutes away from Mine IC on the Chugoku Expressway. There is a parking lot in front of the Second Enclosure.
By public transportation, It takes about 30 minutes on foot from Hagi Bus Center or Higashi-Hagi Station. Or it may be a good idea to use a rental bicycle from either place as many other historical attractions, such as Shoin Shrine and Ito’s old residence, are disseminated around the city.
To get to Hagi Bus Center or Higashi-Hagi Station from Tokyo or Osaka: Take the Sanyo Shinkansen super express and transfer to the Highway bus “Super Hagi-go” at Shin-Yamaguchi Station.

The building of Shokason-juku, which was established by Shoin, has been preserved in Shoin Shrine (*licensed by ぽこるん via Wikimedia Commons)*

Ito’s old residence (licensed by そらみみ via Wikimedia Commons)

Links and References

・HAGI Sightseeing Guide

That’s all. Thank you.
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75.Hagi Castle Part2

There are so many historical attractions in the castle and town.

Features

Going to Main Enclosure through Second Enclosure

Today, Hagi City has a lot of historical attractions. It is said you can even use its old map of the Edo Period when you visit the city. If you want to visit the center of the castle ruins at first by car, you can use the parking lot for visitors in front of the Second Enclosure. The area around it was the Middle Moat in the past, which was buried by the dug up soil when the Hagi Canal was built nearby in 1924. That’s why the Southern Gate Ruins of the Second Enclosure is the north of it and the remaining Asa Mori Clan Residence in the Third Enclosure is the south of it.

The map around the castle

The Southern Gate Ruins of the Second Enclosure

The Hagi Canal near the center of the castle

The Sothern Gate had doubled defensive square spaces surrounded by turrets and stone walls. You can now see their shapes by the remaining stone walls. There are Hagi ware shops and tea rooms inside the gate ruins because the Second Enclosure is divided by private sections.

The statue of Terumoto Mori in the gate ruins

A Hagi ware shop in the Second Enclosure

Beautiful Main Tower Stone Wall Base

You will soon reach the Main Enclosure which has no remaining buildings, but its stone walls and the Inner Moat are still intact. In particular, the stone wall base for the Main Tower, which has corner lines like the Slope of a Folding Fan, looks very beautiful with the background of Shizuki Mountain. The base is about 10m high, and the Main Tower was said be nearly 20m, so the total was about 30m.

The base with the background of Shizuki Mountain

Another old photo of the Main Tower, in the Meiji Period (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

You can see Large Scale of Each Item in Main Enclosure

The Main Enclosure has become part of Shizuki Park. You can enter it by going across the Gokurakubashi Bridge over the Inner Moat and passing the Main Enclosure Inner Gate Ruins. The shape of its interior is square but there is the Shizukiyama Shrine established in the Meiji Era and some buildings, such as tea rooms, which were moved from another area to the park. You can walk up to the top of the Main Tower base. You will see a lot of stone foundations on it and you can imagine how large the tower was.

Going to the top of the Main Tower stone wall base

A view of around the gate from the Main Tower base

You should also check out Gangi, the wide stone steps which are not very conspicuous but have a significant role in history. They are between the gate and the base. This is said to be one of the widest Gangi among Japanese castles. Mud walls were built on these stone walls so that defenders could counterattack through the walls using the steps if enemies would attack the castle.

The top of the stone walls above the steps, the mud walls were built on it

Castle even protests Seashore

I also recommend seeing the castle from the eastern side, for example, the Kikugahama Beach, by going out from the Eastern Gate Ruins of the Second Enclosure. The scenery of the beach with Shizukiyama Mountain is beautiful. Also, if you look at the foot of the mountain, you will find long stone walls still lie along the foot. There were as many as five turrets between mud walls on them in the past.

The Eastern Gate Ruins of the Second Enclosure.

A view of Shizukiyama Mountain from the Kikugahama Beach

The long stone walls built along the seashore

There are now partly restored mud walls. You can also get close to the stone walls and go out to the seashore from the Shioiri-mon Gate Ruins.

To be continued in “Hagi Castle Part3”
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66.Tsuwano Castle Part3

Tsuwano Town is making great efforts to maintain the ruins.

Features

Sanjukken-dai and Main Tower Bases

The next is the highest point of the castle, called Sanjukken-dai or the about 54m long base. It was surrounded by mud walls in the Edo Period, and it is a square now which is definitely a great view spot. Please enjoy a view of Tsuwano Town with reddish brown colored roofs.

The map around the castle

The view of Tsuwano Town with reddish brown colored roofs

A view of the Hostage Turret Ruins from the Sanjukken-dai base

A steep slope beside the Sanjukken-dai base where many of its stone walls have collapsed

The next is the stone wall base for the Main Tower just blow the Sanjukken-dai Base. It was rare that the Main Tower was not at the highest point among Japanese castles.

The Main Tower base blow the Sanjukken-dai Base

Attractions of former Castle Town

If you have time, you should check out many historical items in the former castle town such as the restored domain school, some remaining gate buildings of senior vassals, the old houses of Amane Nishi and Ogai Mori, and the carps in the waterways which Naomori started to breed.

The restored domain school called Yorokan

The front gate of the residence of the Tako Clan, a senior vassal of the Tsuwano Domain

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Tsuwano Castle was abandoned and most of the castle buildings were demolished. One of them, a gate at the foot was used as the front gate of Hamada Prefectural Government and finally moved to the ruins of Hamada Castle. The Tsuwano Domain was just merged to the prefecture at that time. The gate is still remaining at the site. Tsuwano Castle Ruins were designated as a National Historic Site in 1942. Tsuwano Town has been researching and repairing them one by one to maintain them.

The gate of the Tsuwano Castle at Hamada Castle Ruins

My Impression

I can’t imagine how tough the castle construction including the stone walls on such a steep mountain was in a short period of Naomori Sakazaki at only 16 years. I hope Tusuwano Town will somehow maintain and develop the castle ruins, which should be hard work. I would like to visit the ruins again by climbing the trail from the foot next time, where the older castle ruins the Yosimi Clan first built can be seen.

The stone walls of the Southern Turret Gate Ruins on the mountain

How to get There

If you want to visit the castle ruins by car, it is about 40 minutes away from Muikaichi IC on the Chugoku Expressway. There is a parking lot in front of the lift platform at the foot of the mountain.
By public transportation, It takes about 20 minutes on foot from Tsuwano Station. Or you can take the Iwami-Kotsu Bus or Tsuwano Town Bus from the station and get off at the Mori bus stop to get the lift.
To get to Tsuwano Station from Tokyo or Osaka: Take the Sanyo Shinkansen super express and transfer to the Yamaguchi Line at Shin-Yamaguchi Station.

That’s all. Thank you.
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