タグ: Hachioji castle

22.Hachioji Castle Part2

It may take a whole day to see.

Features

Now, part of Hachioji Castle ruins is designated as a National Historic Site. That part of the ruins is 1.54 million square meters big! It may take a whole day to see enough of the ruins. The entrance of the ruins is the Nekoya Area which has become a modern residential district. You can walk on the road along the Shiroyama River. Then, you will reach the guidance facility which is the starting point for the two other parts.

The map around the castle

The Residence on the Foot Area

The Residence on the Foot Area was recently investigated and developed as a historical park. You can walk on the restored Main Route, and it is easy to access the ruins of the Main Hall. The original route was guarded by several gates such as the Main Gate in the past. You will eventually reach the restored Movable Bridge. This bridge is used by tourists. It looks very nice and is permanent. The original one seemed simpler and movable. The stone walls around the Main Hall were also restored and look great. In fact, part of them is still original.

The entrance of the Residence on the Foot Area
The restored Main Route
The ruins of the Main Gate
The restored Movable Bridge
The stone walls around the Main Hall
The original part out of the stone walls above (from the signboard at the site)

The inside of the hall ruins looks spacious and empty, but a lot of achievement from the excavation is shown. For example, the stone foundation of the Palace remains on the ground. Some of the stones for the garden were reproduced, and the floor part of the Club was rebuilt. The signboards also say what kinds of items, about 70,000, were found during the excavation.

The entrance of the Main Hall ruins
The inside of the Main Hall ruins
The stone foundation of the Palace
The stones for the garden
The ruins of the Club
The signboard which shows the excavated items

The Fortress on the Mountain Area

If you have time, you should visit the Fortress on the Mountain Area which was really a mountain castle. The front trail to the top of the mountain was also developed, but your visit will involve hiking or climbing, so make sure that you wear athletic shoes and watch your steps. The trail is along the ridge of the mountain passing several enclosures such as the Kaneko Enclosure, which were the need for defense. You can see part of the remaining stone walls at many places.

The entrance of the Fortress on the Mountain Area
The remaining stone walls beside the trail
The Kaneko Enclosure
The steep slope to the top

After climbing a steep slope, you will reach a high point called the Takamaru Enclosure near the top. On the way to the top from there, you will see a very nice view of the sides of the mountain. Soon, you will reach the top area, which include the Hachioji Shrine, the Main Enclosure, the Komiya Enclosure, and the Matsuki Enclosure. I recommend enjoying a view of Tokyo city from the Matsuki Enclosure. You can even see the skyscrapers of Shinjuku.

The Takamaru Enclosure
The city view with the sides of the mountain
The Hachioji Shrine
The Main Enclosure
The Komiya Enclosure
The Matsuki Enclosure
The skyscrapers of Shinjuku

Outer Citadel

If you have more time, how about visiting the back area of the top where the ruins of the small forts remain? You can visit there by going through the trail on the ridge of the back. Please take care, as the trail gets rough. You will first see the large deep dry moat between the top and the back areas, which was also for defense. After that, you can go further on the trail where you will see many scattered stones. That is a curious sight because of these covered the ridge in the past. You will eventually reach the main fort called Daitenshu where uncountable stones are also scattered. This was the pivot of the defense for the back of the castle.

The large dry moat
The scattered stones on the ridge
The ruins of the main fort
The stones which once covered the fort

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

22.Hachioji Castle Part1

A completed version of a mountain castle in Japan

Location and History

One of main Branch Castles of Hojo Clan

Hachioji Castle was a large mountain castle located in what is now Hachioji City, the western part of Tokyo Metropolitan, the Kanto Region. In the late 16th Century during the Sengoku Period, the Hojo Clan owned most of the region. The clan was based in Odawara Castle located at the southwest corner of the region, while they built the network of branch castles in the region to maintain their territory. Hachioji Castle was one of the main branch castles for the clan.

The location of the castle

The castle was first built by Ujiteru Hojo at latest in 1584, replacing Takiyama Castle located about 10km northeast of Hachioji Castle. There were several reasons for the replacement, one of which was that the Hojo Clan wanted to have a much stronger castle. The tension between Hojo and the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi was increasing at that time, so Hojo hurried to improve the castle. They put as much of their power and technology as they could into this castle.

The ruins of Takiyama Castle

Three Parts

Hachioji Castle consisted of three parts. The first one is called the Nekoya Area which was used for residences of retainers and craftsmen around the entrance of the castle. This area is alongside the Shiroyama River in a valley terrain.

The three parts (The diorama of the castle at the site, adding the comments)

The second part is called the Residence on the Foot Area where the Main Hall for the lord of the castle was built. This area is also alongside the river and the back of the Nekoya Area but was strictly protected. Visitors had to go across the river to enter the Main Gate, go the Main Route, and go across the river again over the Movable Bridge in front of the Main Hall. The bridge would be removed when a battle happened. The entrance of the hall was zigzagged, and its foundation was covered with terraced stone walls. The hall was made up of several buildings including the formal ones called “Shuden” or the Palace, and “Kaisho” or the Club. It also had a pond garden to host visitors. A lot of items such as utensils, weapons, and imported porcelains were found by the excavation.

The restored or developed Residence on the Foot Area

The last part is the Fortress on the Mountain Area which would be used when a battle happened. The Main Enclosure is on the 445m high top of the mountain (about 200m higher than the foot, which itself is a 200m above ground). Many other enclosures were built around the Main Enclosure and the ridges are used for the trails between the top and the foot of the mountain. In particular, lots of stone walls covered these enclosures and trails. In addition, not only the front of the Main Enclosure, but also the back of it was also protected strictly by small forts and ridges covered with stone walls. Such structures for a mountain castle were very rare, so the castle can be seen a completed version of mountain castles in Japan.

The ruins of the Fortress on the Mountain Area

Captured by Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s troop in One day

However, the castle was taken over by Hideyoshi’s troops in one day. On June 23, 1590, at least 35,000 soldiers attacked the castle, while the number of the defenders was only 3,000 including farmers and women. The lord, Ujiteru wasn’t there because he was at Odawara Castle. In addition, Hideyoshi ordered his troops to charge and capture the castle. The castle was too large for the 3,000 people to prevent from the bare-knuckled attack. There has been a sad story that many women threw themselves into the waterfall basin of the river before the castle fell.

The Portrait of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, attributed to Mitsunobu Kano, ownd by Kodaiji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The waterfall of Go-Shuden (licensed by じゃんもどき via Wikimedia Commons)

To be continued in “Hachioji Castle Part2”