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

60.Ako Castle Part1

Ako Castle was located on the western edge of Harima Province, facing the Seto Inland Sea, which is now known as Ako City in Hyogo Prefecture. The castle is known as a stage for the Ako Incident, one of the most popular historical events in Japan. It’s also famous for salt industry since salt fields were developed during the Middle Ages. There is little rain in the area.

Location and History

Naganao Asano renovates Castle

The range of Harima Province and the location of the castle

It is said that Nagamasa Ikeda, a little brother of Terumasa Ikeda who was the lord of Himeji Castle, first built the castle in 1600 as their branch castle. A branch family of the clan eventually became an independent lord living in the castle as the Ako Domain in 1615. However, the second lord was fired by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1645 due to his murder from madness. The details of the first stage of the castle are unknown as Naganao Asano, following the castle and domain in the same year, renovated the castle as we know today. He was the lord of a branch family of the Asano Clan which lived in Hiroshima Castle, and was transferred from Kasama Castle. It was very rare to be allowed to renovate castles by the shogunate after 1615 when it defeated the Toyotomi Clan at Osaka Castle and its government became stable.

*The portrait of Naganao Asano, owned by Kagakuji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

The renovation was done between 1648 and 1661. The layout of the castle was designed by scholars of military science, Masazumi Kondo and Soko Yamaga. They designed the stone walls of the castle to be bent sophisticatedly to shoot guns at any direction. The Main Enclosure and the Second Enclosure surrounding it were the main portion of the castle, backed by the sea in the south. The Third Enclosure, including the Main Gate, was added to the main portion in the north. These enclosures were divided by water moats on a flat ground, so the castle can be classified a Plain or Sea Castle. The Main Enclosure had the Main Hall for the lord and the stone wall base for the Main Tower, however, the tower was not built on the base.

The sitting statur of Soko Yamaga at Ako Castle Ruins

The stone walls of the Main Enclosure of Ako Castle

The layout of Ako Castle, from the signboard at the site, adding the red English letters

The stone wall base for the Main Tower of Ako Castle

Naganori Asano causes Ako Incident and is fired

The Ako Incident happened in 1701 when Naganao’s grandson, Naganori Asano (also known as his official position, Takumi-no-kami) was the lord. He was in charge of entertaining the Imperial envoy to the shogun, Tsunayoshi Tokugawa in the Main Hall of Edo Castle, instructed by Yoshihisa Kira (Kozuke-no-suke). On the 14th of March when one of the most important ceremonies would be held, Asano suddenly cut Kira by using a sword at the back, trying to kill him, but failed. Asano was then arrested and ordered by the shogun to kill himself by performing Harakiri on the same day because using swords in the hall was strictly prohibited. Asano was also fired with about 300 retainers and many more of their families. On the other hand, Kira was innocent, as he was just hurt by Asano, by not using swords.

*The portrait of Naganori Asano, owned by Kagakuji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

*The portrait of Tsunayoshi Tokugawa, attributed to Mitsuoki Tosa, owned by Tokugawa Art Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

The reason for Asano’s attempted murder was uncertain. Some records suggested that he said he had a grudge against Kira, but he didn’t tell what it was before his death. According to some recent studies, it was thought as the following. It was the second opportunity of entertaining the Imperial envoy for Asano, so he would think he doesn’t need to pay so much for the instruction from Kira, though Asano was rich because of the income from the salt industry. While Kira would need more money for his duty but unfortunately he didn’t have enough of it because he was poor dispite having a higher position. These resulted in Kira might not having instructed Asano and might have criticized him in public. If they are true, who would generally cause such a serious incident? Some, including those at that time, have thought that Asano was going mad.

The ruins of the Main Enclosure of Edo Castle where the incident happened

The miniature model of the Main Enclosure Main Hall of Edo Castle, exhibited by the Edo-Tolyo Museum

47 Ronin assaults Kira’s Residence

The retainers of the Ako Domain were very confused to hear about the incident and the following order of opening Ako Castle by the shogunate. They discussed protesting against the shogunate’s decision or simply handing the castle over following the order. Some warriors who served Asano closely never accepted the decision and thought their master must have had a reason. Yoshio Oishi (Kura-no-suke), who was the head of the senior vassals, finally decided to open the castle on the 12th of April. He thought the shogunate might allow Naganori’s brother, Daigaku to follow the domain if they would behave.

*The portrait of Yoshio Oishi, owned by Ako Oishi Shrine (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Unfortunately, this didn’t happen. The shogunate decided to banish Daigaku to the head family of the Asano Clan at Hirosima Castle. Oishi eventually became the leader of the 47 Ronin under the influence of the hardliners, which attacked Kira’s residence and killed him on the 14th of Dec in 1702 (according to lunar calendar). Oishi left his verbal notice at the site, which says they would do this to complete their master’s work. They were all arrested but it became complicated and cabinet officials of the shogunate discussed how they would treat the Ronin. Some said the Ronin should be executed strictly because they broke the law by assaulting Kira’s residence and killing the innocent man. Some argued that they were real loyal retainers to show a mirror of knighthood. The shogun, Tsunayoshi’s decision was to compromise both opinions to make the Ronin kill themselves by Harakiri. This was the same judgement as their master’s, but very honorable for their positions and actions.

A Ukiyoe-painting of the assaulting Kira’s Residence, attributed to Kuniyoshi Utagawa *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Domain and Castle is followed by Other Clans

Ako Castle and the Ako Domain was followed by the Nagai Clan and the Mori Clan. The Mori Clan governed the area for a long time from 1706 until 1871 when the feudal domain system was abolished. The salt industry of Ako prospered more and the salt fields increased looking like they surrounded the castle. On the other hand, the domain by the Mori Clan faced financial difficulties because they had much less territory than the Asano Clan. For example, the former residence of Oishi in the Third Enclosure was burned down in 1729, but not rebuilt. This was probably because the domain had fewer retainers and budget than before so that they wouldn’t use the residence again.

To be continued in “Ako Castle Part2”

72.Yoshida-Koriyama Castle Part1

The castle grew as Motonari Mori got more power.

Location and History

Home Base of Generations of Mori Clan

Yoshida-Koriyama Castle was located in Aki Province which is modern day the western part of Hiroshima Prefecture. It was also located in a central mountainous area in the Chugoku Region. It started off as a small mountain castle on one ridge of Koriyama Mountain, which was built by a local lord of the Mori Clan sometime in the Middle Ages. The lord of the clan in the Sengoku Period, Motonari Mori developed the castle covering the whole mountain as he governed almost all the region, he became a great warlord.

The range of Aki Province and the location of the castle

The Mori Clan had been basically a typical local lord which governed Yoshida manor since the 13th Century. As time passed by, their relatives became the clan’s senior vassals such as the Fukuhara and Katsura Clans. Even in the beginning of the 16th Century during the Sengoku Period, the lord of the clan lived in the small Yoshida-Koriyama Castle while the senior vassals lived in their own castles or halls. On the other hand, they had a strong allegiance. This was one of the reasons why they were finally successful in the region.

The relief map around the castle, the home bases of the senior vassals were in different places from the castle

Motonari has many Difficulties

When Motonari first entered Yoshida-Koriyama Castle to become the lord of the clan in 1524, the situation was already bad. The previous lords all died young, as a result, the power of the clan continued to decrease. In addition, the Aki Province was divided by about 30 small local lords like Motonari. Meanwhile, strong warlords were growing in power as the Ouchi Clan in Suo Province, west of Aki, and the Aamago Clan in Izumo Province, north of Aki. The local lords in Aki had to support either clan, otherwise, they would have been defeated. The Mori Clan supported the Amago Clan, however, the clan tried to remove Motonari from being the successor and supported another person whom they can easily control. However, Motonari somehow survived with his senior vassals’ support.

The portrait of Motonari Mori, owned by Mori Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The portrait of Tsunehisa Amago, the lord of the clan at that time, owned by Doukouji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

To survive under these difficult situations, Motonari acted like a mediator, not a ruler, in his province. For example, he proposed making a peace treaty with the competitive Shishido Clan in his province by marrying his daughter with the clan’s successor. The clan eventually became another senior vassal of Motonari. He also made alliances with local lords in Aki and Bingo (east of Aki) Provinces with a round-robin contract. A round-robin contract is an equal opportunity for everyone involved with no true leader. He always managed to persuad his three son’s Takamoto, Motoharu and Takakage to be united for the clan’s prosperity (That would create the popular episode, called Three Arrows, sometime later. It refers that Motonari tried to demonstrate the strength of teamwork by using arrows. First, he asked them to break one arrow which was easy. However, when he asked them to break all three arrows at the same time, it was impossible. This was to show his 3 sons that working together was better than working independently.). After that, he sent Motoharu and Takakage as the successors of the Kikkawa and Kobayakawa Clans which also became his relatives. However, he sometimes decided to fight, for instance, when he defeated his senior vassal, the Inoue Clan because they got out of control.

The portrait of Takamoto Mori, owned by Joeiji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The portrait of Takamoto Mori, owned by Waseda University Library Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The portrait of Takakage Kobayakawa, owned by Beisanji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

A big crisis came to Yoshida-Koriyama Castle in 1540 after Motonari changed his allegiance from the Amago Clan to the Ouchi Clan. The Amago Clan with about 30 thousand troops surrounded the castle in September. The castle seemed to look small, but Motonari was besieged with about 8 thousand people including warriors and farmers for 4 months, waiting for the reinforcement from the Ouchi Clan. It finally came in December before the Amago troops had to withdraw. This failure of the Amago Clan was said to be the first sign of their destruction which was done in the battle of Gassan-Toda Castle in 1566 by Motonari.

The portrait of Haruhisa Amago, the lord of the clan at that time, owned by Yamaguchi Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

A distant view of the ruins of Yoshida-Koriyama Castle

*A distant view of Aoyama (on the left) and Mitsuiyama (on the right) Mountains where the Amago troops encamped*

Retainers gather on Whole Mountain

After that, Motonari became a great warlord through many battles, schemes and tricks, such as the Battle of Miyajima against the Sue Clan which followed the Ochi Clan in 1551. During his enterprise, he appointed the his son, Takamoto to be the new leader in 1546, but he still had the power. He moved from the ridge where the castle was first built to the top of the mountain, which would be called the Main Enclosure. Takamoto continued to live in the ridge, which would be called Honjo or the Main Castle, instead of Motonari. However, he eventually moved closer to Motonari by building a new enclosure because it was tough for him to communicate with his father by coming and going. Other retainers also got together on the mountain, as a result, the castle had about 270 enclosures over the mountain as the clan got more power.

The locations of the top and the Main Castle, from the signboard at the site, adding the red letters

“The whole illustration of Koriyama”, *owned by Yamaguchi Prefectural Archives, from the signboard at the site*

Motonari’s grandchild, Terumoto moves to Hiroshima

After the deaths of Takamoto in 1563 and Motonari in 1571, Takamoto’s son, Terumoto Mori followed them. He also improved and modernized the castle by building stone walls, however, he built and moved to his new home base, Hiroshima Castle in 1591. Yoshida-Koriyama Castle was eventually abandoned.

The portrait of Terumoto Mori, owned by the Mori Museum（licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons）

To be continued in “Yoshida-Koriyama Castle Part2”

75.Hagi Castle Part1

The home base of the Choshu Domain for 270 years

Location and History

Terumoto Mori builds Castle after Lost of Sekigahara

Hagi City is well known for its old town atmosphere. Tourists often plan to visit the set of both Hagi and Tsuwano Town nearby. The city is also popular among history fans as an area which provided many meritorious retainers during the Meiji Restoration, such as Shoin Yoshida, Shinsaku Takasugi, Takayoshi Kido, and Hirobumi Ito who became the first Prime Minister of Japan. That’s because Hagi had been the homebase of the Choshu Domain for 270 years since Hagi Castle was built in 1604.

The range of Hagi City and the location of the castle

Terumoto Mori, who built the castle, originally lived in Hiroshima Castle, governing most of the Chugoku Rerion with an earning of 1.2 million koku of rice. However, he got defeated by Ieyasu Tokugawa who would be the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. As a result, Ieyasu ordered Terumoto to reduce his territory to only two provinces of Nagato and Suo with 370 thousand koku, which are the current Yamaguchi Prefecture. Terumoto needed to look for his new homebase, which was chosen from the three options.

One was Kuwayama beside Seto Inland Sea, another was Hagi beside the Japan Sea, and the rest was Yamaguchi, the current prefectural capital, between the former ones. The result was Hagi. The reason for it was said that the shogunate designated it because they wanted to contain the Mori Clan in the innermost place so that the clan would not rebel against the shogunate. However, some historians recently speculate that Terumoto actively chose Hagi after the discussion with the shogunate as the place was the most defensive. It was also on a delta like his former homebase, Hiroshima Castle.

The range of the Choshu Domain and the location of the castle

The illustration of Hiroshima Castle in Aki Province, in the Edo Period, exhibited by the National Archives of Japan

Castle is located on Delta

The delta was sandwiched by Matsumoto and Hashimoto Rivers, facing the sea in the north. The northern part of it was a sand dune, moreover, its northernmost beside the sea was Shizuki Mountain with its height at 143m. The Main Enclosure of the castle was built in front of the mountain, surrounded by stone walls and the Inner Moat. It had the five level Main Tower and the Main Hall for the lord as the center. The Second Enclosure was the south of the Main Enclosure, surrounded by the Middle Moat. It had two defensive gates and its stone walls covered even the seashore. The Third Enclosure was the south of the former ones, used as the senior vassals’ houses. It was separated by the Outer Moat from the castle town. Shizuki Mountain was also used as a final castle. Terumoto built its own Main and Second Enclosures on the top. There were no buildings inside of them, however, it was surrounded by some turrets and stone walls. It was basically for emergency like a battle while usually used as a lookout as well.

Hagi Castle[/leaflet-marker]

The illustration of Hagi Castle and Town in 1652, from the signboard at the site

An old photo of Hagi Castle, from the signboard at the site

Heros come from Castle Town

As for the castle town, its area was first waterlogged because it was lower than the sand dune in the northern part of the delta. People in Hagi built canals to drain water, which make them possible to build the town. In fact, the heroes of the domain towards the Meiji Restoration came from this town. An interesting thing about them is that the higher class of them like Takasugi and Kido lived near the castle while the lower class like Shoin and Ito lived far from it. That was a common rule for warriors to live at that time.

The relief map around Hagi City, the former castle town is still lower

The birthplaces or ole houses of the four heros

The photo of Shinsaku Takasugi, published in 1933 or 1934 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The photo of Takayoshi Kido when he was named Kogoro Katsura in 1869 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The illustration of Shoin Yoshida, owned by Yamaguchi Prefectural Archives *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

A photo of Hirobumi Ito, by 1909 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Choshu Domain moves its homebase to Yamaguchi

It is said that another interesting ceremony was held in the Main Hall of the castle every new year. In the event, a senior vassal asked the lord “Should we fight the Shogunate this year?”, then he answered “It’s too early”. However, the situation changed and made it possible to defeat the Shogun. The domain was really against the shogunate at the end of the Edo Period. The situation surrounding the castle also changed. Being beside the sea had been defensive when the castle was built but became dangerous because it could be shot by guns from battle ships. In addition, they wanted to communicate with other domains very much, so they thought Yamaguchi would be the best for their homebase. As a result, they eventually left Hagi to Yamaguchi Castle without the shogunate’s permission. The castle was officially abandoned in 1874.

The remaining front gate of the Yamaguchi government office in the Yamaguchi Castle period

To be continued in “Hagi Castle Part2”