Hiketa castle – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

77.Takamatsu Castle Part1

One of the three greatest sea castles in Japan

Location and History

Chikamasa Ikoma built Castle based on experience

Takamatsu Castle, one of the greatest sea castles in Japan, was located in Sanuki Province which is now Kagawa Prefecture. The name of the prefectural capital, Takamatsu City, actually originates from this castle. Chikamasa Ikoma, who was a warrior in the 16th Century during the Sengoku Period, first built the castle. Chikamasa took part in many battles such as those at Nagashino Castle, Ishiyama Honganji Temple (former Osaka Castle), and Bicchu-Takamatsu Castle under the ruler Hideyoshi Toyotomi. Chikamasa contributed to the unification of the country by Hideyoshi who gave Chikamasa Sanuki Province in 1587.

The location of the castle

The portrait of Chikamasa Ikoma, owned by Kokenji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The present Osaka Castle, which was once Ishiyama Honganji Temple

Chikamasa at first used the existing Hiketa Castle, but he decided to build a new castle as his home base. From his experiences, his concerns about the castle were:
・whether it would be able to get naval support during battles.
・whether it would be able to withstand gun attacks.
・whether it would be able to survive a long siege.
In the end, he devised Takamatsu Castle, which was completed in 1590.

Castle surrounded by Sea and Triples Moats

Takamatsu Castle was built facing the Seto Inland Sea to the north, making it possible to ship directly to the sea. The castle was also surrounded by water moats tripled in the other directions, to which the sea supplied water. The main enclosure which had the three-layer main tower was isolated in the inner moat, connecting to the second enclosure with only a wooden bridge called saya-bashi. The third enclosure was next to the second enclosure, which had the gate opening to the sea. The enclosure also had the main hall for the lord of the castle. Such a castle was classified not only as a plain castle, but also a sea castle. It would be impossible for enemies to completely besiege this castle with technology at that time.

The folding screen of Takamatsu Castle and the castle town, owned by Kagawa Prefectural Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Matsudaira Clan followed and developed Castle

The Ikoma Clan was allowed to maintain their territory of Sanuki Province for a while by supporting the Tokugawa Shogunate in the battle of Sekigahara in 1600. However, the clan was forcibly moved by the shogunate in 1640 due to their internal strife. After that, the Shogun’s relative, Yorishige Matsudaira was sent to Takamatsu Castle as a replacement for the Ikoma Clan. Though lords were basically not allowed to renovate their castles at that time, he developed and improved Takamatsu Castle by rebuilding the main tower and adding the northern and eastern enclosures. This was because he was also responsible for monitoring non-hereditary feudal lords in Shikoku Island, who might have been against the shogunate.

The old photo of the Main Tower Yorishige rebuilt

Part of the whole illustration of Old Takamatsu Castle, the illustration drawn after Yorishige developed the castle, from the signboard at the site

The Matsudaira Clan governed the castle and the area around as the Takamatsu Domain until the end of the Edo Period. In the peaceful time of the Edo Period, the beautiful view of the castle became a famous attraction for people. A guide book at the time says that the castle looks as if it is a floating castle on the waves from the Seto Inland Sea. The castle has also been said to be one of the three greatest sea castles in Japan.

The miniature model of Takamatsu Castle and the castle town, exhibited by Tamamo Park Museum

To be continued in “Takamatsu Castle Part2”

177.Hiketa Castle Part3

The reason why the stone walls exist today

Features

Eastern Enclosure as Lookout

The other one is the Eastern Enclosure which was used as a lookout point. You can actually see a great view of Harima Sea from the enclosure. The primary function of this site was the lookout point. The warriors would have had to watch see transportation in the past. This enclosure was covered with something like rocks which might have been the leftover of the original stone wall.

Harima Sea seen from the Eastern Enclosure

Several meters down the enclosure is the Hiketa-hana light station. It was first built in 1954 which helped lead ships to safety.

Later History

After Hiketa Castle was abandoned, the Takamatsu Domain owned the ruins of the castle. They planted trees while the castle town was eventually turned into a port town and it prospered during the Edo Period. About 100 years ago during the Taisho Era, the ruins of the castle were developed as the Shiro-yama Park built with a hiking trail as well as observation platform. Higashi-Kagawa City which owns the castle ruins started to excavate them back in 2010 and found out the castle was very important in governing the area around. As a result, the ruins were designated as a National Historic Site back in 2020.

The ruins of the observation platform built in the Taisho Era

A view seen from the *ruins of the observation platform*

My Impression

I think that the ruins of Hiketa Castle are very good educational materials for visitors who want to learn what people at that time thought about castles with stone walls and other new structures. They would have felt things would change and a new era would come, otherwise, such stone walls would not have been built on such a mountain castle which basically did not need stone walls to protect it. That’s why the castle ruins which remain now is so valuable.

The remaining stone walls of the Main Enclosure

The remaining stone walls of the *Northern Second Enclosure*

On the other hand, I also think the ruins still have some other things to be improved on. For example, the latest official brochure doesn’t match what the signposts say at the site in several points. Visitors may get confused. I also hope that the original Main Route will be restored in the future, open to visitors.

“The Southern Enclosure” this signpost says isn’t written in the official brochure

In addition, the Hiketa Town still has old rows of merchants’ houses. They are another good place to visit. You can also buy souvenirs there such as local soy sauces and sweets made from refined sugar called Wasanbon.

The old rows of merchants’ houses at the Hiketa Town *(licensed by 663highland via Wikimedia Commons)*

Assorted sweets made from refined sugar called Wasanbon

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car:
It is about 10 minutes away from Hiketa IC on the Takamatsu Expressway.
You can park beside the Tanoura Campsite or Hiketa Port.
By train, it is about 30 minutes away from JR Hiketa Station on foot.
To get to Hiketa Station from Tokyo or Osaka: Take the Tokaido or Sanyo Shinkansen super express and transfer at Okayama Station to the Seto-Ohashi Line. Take a train called the Marine Liner bound for Takamatsu, then transfer again at Takamatsu Station to the Kotoku Line.

That’s all. Thank you.
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177.Hiketa Castle Part2

The great stone walls of the castle, the great view from the castle

Features

Becoming hiking trail now

Now, the ruins of Hiketa Castle has also become a hiking trail. There are two trails to the top of the mountain called the Tanoura Campsite side route and the Hiketa Port side route. If you drive to the castle ruins, it’s better for you to park beside the Tanoura Campsite side route.

The map around the castle

The location map of Hiketa Castle Ruins at the site

The trail is steep, but the top area is relatively flat. That meant it was a good point for a mountain castle as it was difficult to attack but easy to defend. You will first find the Northern Enclosure which has no stone walls. It was thought that the enclosure remained the same as what it had been before the Ikoma Clan came. However, the clan didn’t use it as their castle.

The entrance of the Tanoura Campsite side route

You can see the trail is very steep from above

Great stone walls of Northern Second Enclosure

You will now see the apex of the castle, the doubled tier stone walls which surrounded the Northern Second Enclosure. The upper tier is 2 to 3m high and the lower tier is 5 to 6m high. So together, they are almost 10m high in total. Though the upper one is unfortunately covered to prevent it from collapsing, even just seeing the lower one is great.

Approaching the Northern Second Enclosure

The upper tier of the stone walls of the Northern Second Enclosure

The lower tier of the stone walls of the Northern Second Enclosure

These stone walls are originally form the Ikoma Clan’s period which can’t be seen in other castles like Takamatsu and Marugame Castles. This is because both castles were improved and developed by other lords after the Ikoma Clan. Only the remaining old stone walls at the foot of Marugame Castle might have been built by the Ikoma Clan.

It was said that this enclosure had the Main Hall for the lord and there was the Main Gate under the enclosure. That is the reason why the great stone walls were built to show the authority of the lord to the visitors. Finally, the original Main Route to the Main Gate is not being used now.

The inside of the Northern Second Enclosure

Great view from Main Enclosure

From the Northern Second Enclosure, other enclosures spread into two directions which look like the letter U. One of them is the Main Enclosure in the south. It is long and narrow and faces the Hiketa Port. It also has some remaining stone walls and the ruins of the base for a Main Tower. Therefore, the enclosure would have stood out in the past. You can see a good view of the port and Hiketa town from the enclosure. That meant people in Hiketa would have looked up at the buildings and stone walls clearly in the past.

A view of Hiketa Port seen from around the base for the tower

To be continued in “Hiketa Castle Part3”
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