Hideyoshi Toyotomi – ページ 11 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

137.Fukui Castle Part3

The castle ruins are still the center of Fukui Prefecture.

Features

Ruins of First Kitanosho Castle

I also recommend visiting the ruins of the first Kitanosho Castle which Katsuie Shibata built, about 300m away from Fukui Castle Ruins to the south. You can only see the base stones for the castle because Fukui Castle was built on the Kitanosho Castle Ruins.

The ruins of Kitanosho Castle in Echizen Province

These are the stone walls of Fukui Castle

The base stones of the first Kitanosho Castle

However, you can also see the statues of Katuie, his wife and his three daughters. These women are well-known in Japanese history. One of the daughters was the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s wife. Another was the wife of Hidetada Tokugawa who was a little brother of Hideyasu Yuki, the founder of Fukui Castle.

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Fukui Castle was abandoned. All the buildings of the castle were demolished and all its area except for the center of the castle was turned into the city area. In 1873, the former lord of the castle, the Matsudaira Clan opened Matsudaira Agricultural Experimental Station in the center of the castle until it was moved to another in 1921. Instead, The Fukui Prefectural Office was moved to the Main Enclosure in 1923. Since then, the castle ruins have been the center of the local government like the castle used to be.

Matsudaira Agricultural Experimental Station (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The buildings of the Fukui Prefectural Office (on the right) and Fukui prefectural police headquarters (on the left) at the Main Enclosure

My Impression

A Main Enclosure was usually the center of a castle. It often had the Main Tower and (or) the Main Hall to govern the area around in the Edo Period, like Fukui Castle. Many remaining Main Enclosures have now become historical parks, shrines, or facilities like a museum. However, the Main Enclosure of Fukui Castle is still used by the local government. I think this is the only example of the Main Enclosure being used for a prefectural office. Some people call it the strongest prefectural office in Japan.

The Main Enclosure of Fukuoka Castle (an example of being a historical park)

The Main Enclosure of Takaoka Castle (an example of being a shrine)

The Main Tower of the Main Enclosure of Osaka Castle (an example of being a museum)

The Fukui Prefectural Office which looks like the strongest

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car:
It is about 15 minutes away from Fukui IC on Hokuriku Expressway.
There are several parking lots around the ruins.
You can also use the underground parking lot of the prefectural office on weekdays.
(You need to have the parking ticket stamped at the reception counter.)
By public transportation, it takes less than 10 minutes walking from JR Fukui Station.
To get to Fukui Station from Tokyo: Take the Hokuriku Shinkansen super express, transfer to the limited express on the Hokuriku Line at Kanazawa Station.
From Osaka: Take the Thunderbird limited express.

Links and References

・Fukui Castle Ruins, Fukui Prefecture & Fukui Prefectural Tourism Federation

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Fukui Castle Part1”
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137.Fukui Castle Part1

The center of Echizen Province

Location and History

It starts as Kitanosho Castle

Fukui Castle was located in what is now Fukui City, the prefectural capital of Fukui Prefecture. The name of the city originates from this castle. However, the castle was originally named Kitanosho Castle (Kitanosho means like the Northern Manor). Katsuie Shibata under a great warlord, Nobunaga Oda, first built the castle in 1575 when they conquered Echizen Province (now part of Fukui Prefecture).

The location of the castle

The portrait of Katsuie Shibata, from the signboard at the site

When Hideyoshi Hashiba, who would become the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, attacked the castle in 1583, he wrote in his letter that the castle had a nine-leveled Main Tower. It’s quite uncertain if the castle really had the nine-leveled Main Tower because the word nine-leveled also means just “have many levels” in Japanese. Katsuie was unfortunately defeated by Hideyoshi, while Kitanosho Castle was burned and destroyed.

The Portrait of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, attributed to Mitsunobu Kano, owned by Kodaiji Temple, licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

The imaginary drawing of the first Kitanosho Castle, from the signboard at the site

Hideyasu Yuki rebuilds it as Lord of large domain

In 1601, Hideyasu Yuki, the son of the final ruler, Ieyasu Tokugawa, rebuilt Kitanosho Castle as the founder of the Kitanosho Domain. Hideyasu was a big brother of Ieyasu’s successor, Hidetada Tokugawa, but he was sent to Hideyoshi, and the Yuki Clan later to be adopted. It could be because he was not loved by his father, Ieyasu. However, Hideyasu was distinguished in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 before his father became the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Ieyasu finally accepted Hideyasu and allowed him to have a large role in the shogunate. Hideyasu became a lord who had the second largest territory excluding the shogun in Japan with 750,000 kokus of rice. He was also allowed to use the family name “Matsudaira” which means the relatives of the shogun. Echizen Province was very important spot for the shogunate to be near Kyoto, the capital of Japan, and next to the owners of the largest territory, the Maeda Clan.

The statue of Hideyasu Yuki at the ruins of Fukui Castle

The Portrait of Ieyasu Tokugawa, attributed to Tanyu Kano, owned by Osaka Castle Museum, licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

It is said that Hideyasu’s father, Ieyasu designed part of the layout of Kitanosho castle. The Main Enclosure was the center of the castle, which had the four-leveled Main Tower and the Main Hall and was surrounded by the stone walls and the Inner Moat. The Second Enclosure, the Third Enclosure, and the Outbound Enclosure were built around the center concentrically. These enclosures were divided by the water moats. As a result, the castle was surrounded by quadruple or quintuple water moats. The castle had over 10 turrets and 40 gates. The size of the castle reached about 2km square.

The imaginary drawing of the Main Enclosure of Fukui Castle, from the signboard at the site

The range of Fukui Castle in the Edo Period shown on the present map, from the signboard at the site

Echizen-Matsudaira Clan prospers

The castle was completed in 1606 after Hideyasu died in 1604. The Matsudaira Clan, renamed from the Yuki Clan governed the castle and domain until the end of the Edo Period, while the name of the castle and domain were changed from Kitanosho to Fukui by the third lord, Tadamasa. The Main Tower was unfortunately burned down by a fire in 1669 and not restored. The 14th lord, Shungaku Matsudaira was active in the central government during the end of the Edo Period and the Meiji Restoration.

The portrait of Tadamasa Matsudaira, exhibited by Fukui City History Museum, licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

The photo of Shungaku Matsudaira, owned by Fukui City History Museum, licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

In addition, Hideyasu’s descendants prospered greatly. The branch families which started from Hideyasu’s sons became the lords of several castles by the end of the Edo Period, such as Tsuyama Castle, Matsue Castle, Maebashi Castle and Akashi Castle. They are often called the Echizen-Matsudaira Clan including the lord of Fukui Castle. We can say Hideyasu’s efforts were rewarded good enough.

To be continued in “Fukui Castle Part2”

134.Toyama Castle Part1

A castle basically made using earthen walls and water moats

Location and History

Center of Ecchu Province

Toyama City started as the castle town of Toyama Castle and is the capital of Toyama Prefecture. The castle was first built by the Jinbo Clan in the first half of the 16th Century. It was in a flat area in the center of Ecchu Province, what is now Toyama Pref. The area was also the intersection of two of the major roads, the Hokuriku, and Hida Roads. It might have been dangerous to build a castle in such a place at that time. Many battles happened during this time, later known as the Sengoku Period. Warlords in the province usually lived in mountain castles like Masuyama Castle to protect themselves. In the case of Toyama Castle, it was protected by the Jintsu-gawa River and water moats surrounding the castle.

The location of the castle

Narimasa Sassa unifies Ecchu Province

Many warlords such as the Uesugi Clan, the Ikkoshu Sect, and the Oda Clan battled over Toyama Castle. Narimasa Sassa finally took over the castle and governed the whole Ecchu Province in 1582. However, he was against the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi. Hideyoshi attacked the Ecchu Province in 1585. The castle was destroyed for the first time, after Narimasa surrendered to Hideyoshi in the same year. Hideyoshi gave Ecchu Province to Toshinaga Maeda who would be the founder of the Kaga Domain in the Edo Period. In 1605, Toshinaga handed over the head of the domain to his successor, and moved from Kanazawa Castle, the home base of the domain, to Toyama Castle for retirement. He had the power to govern the domain because the successor was still young. He rebuilt Toyama Castle as his new home base.

The portrait of Narimasa Sassa, owned by Toyama Municipal Folk Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The portrait of Toshinaga Maeda, owned by Uozu Museum of History and Folklore (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Toshinaga Maeda completes Castle

It is said that Toshinaga completed the structure of Toyama Castle. The large Jintsu-gawa River flowed in the north of the Main Enclosure as a natural hazard. A floating bridge was built over the river, which would later become popular among the people. There was the Second Enclosure in the south, the Eastern Barbican Enclosure in the east, and the Western Enclosure in the west of the Main Enclosure to protect it. Each enclosure was independent. The enclosures were surrounded by a water moat. They were only connected to the Main Enclosure by an earthen bridge. These enclosures were basically made using earthen walls. They were partly covered with stone walls around the three main gates such as the front gate of the Main Enclosure. It is also thought the Main Hall was in the Main Enclosure and some turrets were built on the stone walls of the gates. The largest Third Enclosure was on the south of all other enclosures, which was used as the warriors’ houses. However, the castle was destroyed a second time when it was unfortunately burnt by an accidental fire in 1609 before Toshinaga had to move to Takaoka Castle.

The illustration of old Toyama Castle in Ecchu Province, owned by Kanazawa City Tanagawa Library, exhibited by Toyama Municipal Folk Museum

”Floating bridge in Toyama, Ecchu Province” from the series “Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces” attributed to Hiroshige Utagawa in the Edo Period (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Home Base of Toyama Domain

In 1639, Toshinaga’s nephew, called Toshitsugu Maeda, was allowed to establish a subsidiary domain called the Toyama Domain. He once thought he could build a new castle but decided to repair and reuse Toyama Castle due to a financial issue. Instead, he built the outermost earthen walls and water moats to protect the castle town. Toshitsugu’s son, Masatoshi, promoted industries, especially a patent medicine. The success of the medicine resulted in the drug sellers of Toyama being known in the whole country. The domain also planned to build the Main Tower but gave up because of a financial issue again. Instead, they built the Chitose Hall in the Eastern Barbican Enclosure to sometimes allow to people to enter it for festivals. In addition, the castle suffered damage from fires, floods, and earthquakes again and again throughout the Edo Period. The domain struggled to restore or repair it. Simple earthen walls and water moats might have protected the castle from many of the disasters and made it easier to restore and maintain.

The statue of Masatoshi Maeda in Toyama Castle Park (licensed by Miyuki Meinaka via Wikimedia Commons)

The remaining front gate of the Chitose Hall

To be continued in “Toyama Castle Part2”