Ieyasu Tokugawa – ページ 3 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

18.Hachigata Castle Part3

I climbed Kuruma-yama Mountain to its top to confirm that the idea of the attackers firing upon the castle in the battle in 1590 would was realistic.

Features

Well-Restored Dry Moats

Zigzagged large dry moats with wooden fences between the Third and Second Enclosures, which allowed the defenders to attack enemies’ sides, have also been restored. Only two routes were available between them – the one via the Main Route and the other via the well restored Umadashi system. Also, if you compare the two enclosures, you will find the Third is higher than the Second. In other castles, the Second (which is closer to the Main Enclosure) is usually higher than the Third. However, in the case of Hachigata Castle, it is the other way around. In addition, the Third Enclosure had strong defense systems with four Umadashi which are originally designed by the Hojo Clan. That’s why author, Jun Ito says the Hojo Clan might have moved the center of the castle from the Main Enclosure to the Third in the final stages of the castle.

The aerial photo around the castle. the red markers indicates the four Umadashi systems

The dry moats between the Third and Second Enclosures

The Umadashi system connecting the Third and Second Enclosures

The Third Enclosure is higher than the Second one

Panorama of Main Enclosure

A paved car road goes between the Second and Main Enclosures, so it may be difficult to imagine what it used to look like. According to information at the Hachigata Castle History Museum, there used to be a large gate to the Main Enclosure and a wooden bridge over the deep dry moat in front of the gate.

The map around the castle

The paved car road between the Second and Main Enclosures

The part of the entrance to the Main Enclosure in the diorama

The enclosure has the other peak of the castle, standing beside a 30m tall cliff. no castle buildings remain, and it is purely made of soil, but the ground is still leveled so you can imagine the Main Hall for the lord as it was in the past. You can enjoy a great view of the Arakawa River and the surrounding area from the peak. You can also understand how the castle was naturally protected.

You will finally reach the Sasa Enclosure, near the tip, which is lower than the Main Enclosure. It is another entrance to the castle ruins, beside Shoki-bashi Bridge.

The Shoki-bashi Bridge beside the castle ruins

The tip area is a private area where visitors can’t enter, so you can only see this area from the opposite side of the river. If you cross to the opposite, you should check out another great view of the castle ruins on the cliff from the Tamayodo riverbed beside the bridge.

The tip area seen from the opposite side

The castle ruins seen from the Tamayodo riverbed

Later History

At the beginning of the Showa era (around 1930), the JR Hachiko line was planned to be constructed through the ruins. Locals argued the plan needed to be changed and asked the government to preserve the ruins. They were successful and the ruins was designated as a National Historic Site in 1932. Yorii Town excavated and researched the Second, Third and Sasa Enclosures between 1997 and 2001. Based on these achievements, the town developed the Hachigata Castle Park and restored some structures of the castle. It also opened the Hachigata Castle History Museum in 2004 to display and educate people about the history of the castle and the studies into it.

My Impression

I climbed Kuruma-yama Mountain to its top to confirm that the idea of the attackers firing upon the castle in the battle in 1590 would was realistic. It is widely accepted that General, Tadakatsu Honda brought large guns, fired upon the castle, and broke the Main Gate. The mountain is 227m above sea level and about 100m above the castle, which is about 1km away (the Third Enclosure). A view of the castle ruins from above was actually not good because of the trees surrounding. My conclusion is that not all of the wildly accepted lore is correct. I think the firing itself is the fact, because a large gun shell of several cm in diameter was excavated from the Outer Enclosure of the castle. However, I don’t think shooting from the mountain would have been useful. In the winter campaign of the siege of Osaka in 1614, Ieyasu Tokugawa borrowed the large Western guns and fired upon Osaka Castle from his stronghold on a river delta , about 500m away the castle. Considering this case, shooting at the castle using (probably) Japanese guns 24 years previously, from more than 500m away, even from a mountain could not be done. My speculation is that Tadakatsu put his stronghold on the mountain but fired upon the castle from a place much closer to it than the mountain.

The Kurumayama Mountain seen from around the southern entrance of the ruins

I could just see part of the Main Enclosure from the top due to the trees surrounding

The portrait of Tadakatsu Honda, owned by Ryogenji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The relief map around Hachigata Castle

The relief map around Osaka Castle, using the same reduced scale as above

How to get There

I recommend using a car when you visit the castle ruins because there are only a few buses available. It is about a 20-minute drive away from Hanazono IC on the Kanetsu Expressway. There are several parking lots in the park.
If you want to use public transportation, it takes about 30 minutes on foot to get there form Yorii Station.
From Tokyo to Yorii Station.: Take the Tobu-Tojo line from Ikebukuro Station, or take the Joetsu Shinkansen super express from Tokyo Station to Kumagata Station, and transfer to Chichibu Railway.

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Hachigata Castle Part1”
Back to “Hachigata Castle Part2”

14.Mito Castle Part1

Mito Castle was located in the modern day Mito City which is the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture. The castle became the home base of the Mito-Tokugawa Clan, one of the three branches of the Tokugawa Shogun family. However, the castle looked very different from those of the other branches the shogun.

Location and History

Castle is built using Natural Hazzard

The range of Mito City and the location of the castle

It was said that the castle was first built by a local lord, the Baba Clan sometime in the early Middle Ages. It was built on a diluvium plateau sandwiched between Nakagawa River in the north and Senba Lake in the south. Its original location was defensive due to the natural hazard, so it could be easy for the lord to build the castle on it. However, it was thought that the early stage of the castle was still small probably with only the lord’s residence on the eastern edge of the plateau.

The relief map around the castle

As time passed by, the castle was followed by greater lords, the Edo and Satake Clans, and was developed larger and larger. The Satake Clan was one of the greatest warlords in the Kanto Region during the 16th Century in the Sengoku Period. The clan completed the basic structures of the castle, establishing the Main, Second and Third Enclosures in a straight line from the east to the west on the plateau. These enclosures were made of soil and divided by deep dry moats, which were typical methods for building castles at that time in eastern Japan. However, the clan was transferred to the Tohoku Region (they would build Kubota Castle there) in 1602 by Ieyasu Tokugawa, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, since they didn’t support Ieyasu in the decisive battle in 1600.

Home Base of one of Three Tokugawa Branches

Ieyasu sent his sons to Mito Castle as it would be an important northern strongpoint to defend Edo Castle, the home base of the shogun. His youngest son, Yorifusa finally became the lord of the castle as the founder of the Mito Domain in 1609. Since then, the domain governed the castle and the area around it until the end of the Edo Period as one of the three branches of the Tokugawa Shogun family. The castle was also developed further, for example, the Main and the Second Enclosures were combined to make a new Main Enclosure, the Third Enclosure was renamed the new Second Enclosure, and the new Third Enclosure was built outside the others in the west.

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

*The Portrait of Yorifusa Tokugawa, owned by The Tokugawa Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

The relief map around the castle

However, unlike Nagoya, Wakayama and Edo Castles other Tokugawa relatives built using advanced items, such as Main Towers and high stone walls, Mito Castle was still made of soil using conventional technologies from eastern Japan. The reason for it could be that the lords of the Mito Domain usually lived in the Main Hall near the shogun in Edo, or there was no need to improve it more after the government of the shogunate became more stable. However, the most likely reason is that Mito Castle was strong enough without stone walls.

Mito Domain creates Imperialism and Exclusionism

The second lord, Mitsukuni Tokugawa, known as Mito-Komon in several historical plays, promoted arts and started to edit Dainihonshi or the History of Great Japan at the Shokokan institute in Edo, which would later be moved to the Second Enclosure of Mito Castle. This activity uniquely resulted in the idea of Imperialism although the domain was a relative of the shogunate which had taken the power from the Imperial Court.

*The Portrait of Mitsukuni Tokugawa, attributed to Tsunenobu Kano, owned by The Tokugawa Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

The ruins of the Shokokan institute in the Second Enclosure of Mito Castle

Some copies of the History of Great Japan, exhibited by the Second Enclosure Museum

The ninth lord, Nariaki Tokugawa, during the end of the Edo Period, established the domain school called Kodokan in the Third Enclosure of the castle in order to educate the retainers and open Kairakuen Garden to all the people. While the Western foreign ships were often seen around Japan, he opposed the policy of the shogunate to open the country to foreigners. As a result, the Imperialism of the Mito Domain led many other domains’ retainers to the movement for Imperialism and Exclusionism over the country, which finally caused overthrowing the shogunate, which was later called the Meiji Restoration. However, in the domain, the retainers were divided into Tengu Party (believing the movement) and Shosei Party (supporting the shogunate), which would bring into a serious tragedy.

*The Portrait of Nariaki Tokugawa, owned by Kyoto University Library (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Sad Killing each other by Mito Domain at Mito Castle

The final version of Mito Castle was like that the largest Second Enclosure became the center of the castle. It had the Main Gate, the Main Hall (also used as the government office), the Shokokan institute, the Corner Turret, and the Three-level Turret. In particular, the Three-level Turret was built as a substitute for a Main Tower. It was about 22m tall, which was too high for a three-story building, in fact, it had five floors inside.

The miniature model of Mito Castle, exhibited by the Second Enclosure Museum (the Third Enclosure Museum on the left, the Second Enclosure in the center, and the Main Enclosure on the right)

The old photo of the Three-level Turret *(licensed under Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons)*

The Tengu Party started a rebellion to ask the shogunate to stop trading with foreigners and to exclude them in 1864. In this war, the Tengu Party attacked Mito Castle the Shosei Party resided in, but failed. They eventually went west to ask Yoshinobu Hitotsubashi in Kyoto, who was a son of Nariaki and would become the last shogun, for what they wanted. However, they were arrested by Yoshinobu’s instructions and many of them were executed. The Shosei party also killed or persecuted the families in Mito of the Tengu Party. After that, the situation dramatically changed that the New Government was established and the shogunate was defeated in 1868. The survivors of the Tengu Party returned to Mito Castle and avenged against the Shosei Party. Some of the Shosei Party, who were on the run, attacked the castle the Tengu Party were resided in this time, but failed again. The strength of the castle was ironically proven by the tragedy between the retainers of the owner domain. Records say the number of the retainers was reduced from 3,449 to 892 during the internal conflict, which meant competent personnel from the domain ran out to modernize Japan.

The rebellion of the Tengu Party drawn on an Ukiyoe painting, attributed to Kuniteru Utagawa *(licensed under Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons)*

*The photo of Yoshinobu Hitotsubashi, by 1867 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

To be continued in “Mito Castle Part2”

57.Sasayama Castle Part1

One of the castles which were built to surround Osaka Castle

Location and History

Tanba, Important Province for Rulers

Sasayama Castle was located in modern day Tanba-Sasayama City, in Hyogo Prefecture. Hyogo is a large prefecture which covers the western part of the Kansai Region. However, the castle was located at that time in Tanba Province which is much smaller than Hyogo Prefecture but was located in mountain areas just behind the northwest of Kyoto, the previous capital of Japan. That meant governing Tanba Province was very important to protect Kyoto and monitor if the lords in western Japan would do something effective to the central political circles.

The range of Tanba Province and the location of the castle

Castle construction is ordered by Shogunate

Ieyasu Tokugawa defeated Mitsunari Ishida supporting the Toyotomi Clan in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 and established the Tokugawa Shogunate by becoming the shogun in 1603. However, the situation was still unstable because the Toyotomi Clan was still living in Osaka Castle, which was uncontrollable by the shogunate. In addition, there were many lords in western Japan, who were in favor of the Toyotomi Clan and might have been against the shogunate in the future. The response of Ieyasu to the situation was to build several strong castles around Osaka Castle to contain the Toyotomi Clan and divide the Toyotomi Clan and its favors. They are known as Nagoya, Iga-Ueno, Hikone, Zeze, Nijo in Kyoto, Kameyama and Sasayama Castles. These castles were built as the construction orders by the shogunate, which made lords including the Toyotomi Clan favors join at their own expenses. The side effects of the constructions were to reduce the lords’ money and force them to give up their rebellious split to be against the shogunate by showing the strong network of the castles.

The network of the castles around Osaka Castle, which Ieyasu built

The construction of Sasayama Castle launched in 1603, which was instructed by Terumasa Ikeda who was the lord of Himeji Castle, with the help of 20 lords from 15 provinces and was designed by Takatora Todo who was considered as a master of castle constructions. The castle was built on a hill called Sasayama, in the Sasayama Basin. The main portion of the castle was on the hill, using the natural terrain and building high stone walls over the hill. Other than that, the castle had simple flat square enclosures and double water moats surrounding it. That designs made it easier to build the castle, but it would made it weaker to protect the castle instead.

The Portrait of Terumasa Ikeda, owned by Tottori prefectural art museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The portrait of Takatora Todo, private owned (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The main portion of Sasayama Castle, from the miniature model of the castle, exhibited by the historical museum in the Large Study Hall of Sasayama Castle

The castle was surrounded by the double water moats, from the miniature model of the castle, same as above

Castle is designed by Takatora Todo

To prevent enemies from attacking it easily, Takatora designed the castle’s entrances to be strictly protected using the Masugata system. The Masugata refers to a defensive square space which was surrounded by gates and stone walls where enemies would be locked out. Another defensive system that Takatora designed was the Umadashi. It refers to a square enclosure sticking out from the entrance connected by a narrow path among the moat. The enclosure had another moat in front of it, so its entrances were at both sides where the defenders could counterattack from them. Takatora established these structures in his own Imabari Castle which was completed in 1604.

The Umadashi and Masugata systems at the Main Gate of Sasayama Castle, from the miniature model of the castle, same as above

The Masugata system of Imabari Castle, from the signboard at the site

Main Tower is not built

On the other hand, Sasayama Castle didn’t have its Main Tower in the Main Enclosure on the top. In fact, the stone wall base for the tower was built, however, the tower was not built. This was because the shogunate determined the castle would not need it as it would be enough to protect the castle without it. Another reason was that the lords working for the construction also needed to move to the another site for Nagoya Castle. That’s why Sasayama Castle was completed after only a half year of construction. Instead, several turrets were built in the Main Enclosure and the Main Hall for the lord was built in the Second Enclosure, which constituted the main portion of the castle.

The stone wall base for the Main Tower of Sasayama Castle

The Main Enclosure of Sasayama Castle, where its Main Tower was not built, from the miniature model of the castle, same as above

The Large Study Hall, the restored building of the Main Hall in the Second Enclosure of Sasayama Castle

The castle was first owned by Yasushige Matsudaira, a relative of Ieyasu Tokugawa. After the shogunate defeated the Toyotomi Clan in 1615, several hereditary feudal lords followed the castle to monitor non-hereditary feudal lords in western Japan as the Sasayama Domain, such as the Aoyama Clan which governed the area until the end of the Edo Period.

The portrait of Yasushige Matsudaira (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

A general view of Sasayama Castle, from the signboard at the site

To be continued in “Sasayama Castle Part2”