Ieyasu Tokugawa – ページ 4 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

50.Hikone Castle Part1

The home base of the Ii Clan, a senior vassal of the shogunate

Location and History

Shogunate sent Ii Clan to Important Military Base

Hikone Castle is located near Biwa Lake in Shiga Prefecture and considered as one of the most popular historical sites in Japan. It has its Main Tower which is one of the twelve remaining and the five national-treasure Main Towers in Japan. It also has five castle buildings which are designated as Important Cultural Properties. The main portion of the castle also remains in a good condition with the buildings above, stone walls, and other structures. Because of it, the castle site has been designated as a National Special Historic Site since 1956.

The remaining Main Tower of Hikone Castle, as a National Traesure

The Western Enclosure Three-level Turret of Hikone Castle, as an Important Cultural Property

After the Battle of Sekigahara between Ieyasu Tokugawa and Mitsunari Ishida in 1600, Ieyasu got the power as the ruler of Japan. Ieyasu promoted his senior vassal, Naomasa Ii to the lord of the territory beside Biwa Lake, which Mitsuanri had owned. Naomasa first lived a mountain castle called Sawayama Castle Mitsunari lived. However, Naomasa thought it was not enough because he needed a stronger and more convenient castle. The Toyotomi Clan was still at Osaka Castle and there were many lords in western Japan, who thought their master was Toyotomi, not Tokugawa. They might have gotten together and attacked the Tokugawa Shogunate which Ieyasu established in eastern Japan. Naomasa’s territory was located in the area which could avoid the attack to eastern Japan.

The location of the castle

The portrait of Naomasa Ii, owned by Hikone Castle Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Castle is built as Construction Order by Shogunate

After Naomasa died in 1602, his young son, Naotsugu conducted the new castle’s location with Ieyasu. They finally decided to build it on a low mountain at 50m high near Biwa Lake, which would be called Hikone Castle. The castle was built as a construction order by the shogunate with help of over 10 other lords. In order to hurry to complete the construction, they used waste materials from other abandoned castles like Sawayama Castle. However, the construction continued long since 1603, as the scale of castle was huge.

Hikone Castle was built from the top to the foot of the mountain

The Main Tower, Main Hall and other turrets were built together, surrounded by stone walls, on the ridge of mountain to make it easy to protect. Deep ditches were dug around both edges of the ridge to avoid enemies’ invasions to the center of the castle. Moreover, five long-line stone walls were built along the slopes of the mountain to prevent the enemies from moving smoothly.

The main portion of the castle on the mountain, from the signboard at the site

The large ditch in front of the Taiko-yagura Turret

The long-line stone walls behind the Main Gate

The mountain was surrounded by tripled water moats and the Main Gate was built behind them. The gate was open to the southwest direction towards Osaka Castle where the Toyotomi Clan lived. Seri-kawa River flowed out of the moats in this direction, so it could have been the forth moat.

The illustration of Hikone Castle and Town, *exhibited by Hikone Castle Museum*

The past Main Gate drawn in the signboard at the site

It becomes Castle for Peaceful Time

The castle was completed in 1622, about twenty years after its launch. However, the situation dramatically changed in 1615 during the construction. The Tokugawa Shogunate defeated the Toyotomi Clan in that year. After that, the construction was done only by the Hikone Domain building houses for living and government. As a result, the new Main Hall for the lord was built at the foot of the mountain on the opposite side of the Main Gate. The gate to the hall was called the Front Gate just like a new Main Gate. The castle town was also developed around the castle. They were either connected to Biwa Lake through waterways or ponds for water transportation.

Fortunately, no battles happened at Hikone Castle throughout the peaceful Edo Period. The lord of the castle, Ii Clan also played an important role in the central government as the head of hereditary feudal lords. Out of ten, five heads of the shogun’s council of elders came from the Ii Clan and it happened once in 265 years during that period. The most famous one is definitely Naosuke Ii at the end of the Edo Period. He decided to open more doors to foreign countries by signing the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the US and Japan in 1858. However, he was unfortunately assassinated by the opposite Ronin outside the Sakurada-mon Gate of Edo Castle in 1860. This incident decreased the power and authority of the Tokugawa Shogunate and would be a trigger of the Meiji Restoration.

The portrait of Naosuke Ii, owned by Hikone Castle Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

To be continued in “Hikone Castle Part2”

143.Mino-Kaneyama Castle Part1

The home base of the brave Mori Clan

Location and History

Mori Clan’s Severe History

Mino-Kaneyama Castle was located in the eastern part of Mino Province, what is now modern day Gifu Prefecture. The castle was built on a mountain which was sandwiched between Kiso-gawa River in the north and Nakasendo Road in the south. That meant it was an important point for controlling transportation during the Sengoku Period when many battles occurred. It was said that it was first built by the Saito Clan in the first 16th Century, and called Uho Castle in its first stage. After that, it was featured since the Mori Clan owned the castle in 1565 and renamed it Kaneyama Castle. The Mori Clan worked under the three rulers; Nobunaga Oda, Hideyoshi Toyotomi and Ieyasu Tokugawa from the Sengoku to the first Edo Periods. If you look into the history of the clan, you will see how severe their lives were and what they did to survive.

The location of the castle

The relief map around the castle

Lords and Brothers are killed in battles one after another

Yoshinari Mori was the lord of the clan in the late 16th Century, who served Nobunaga Oda since Nobunaga did not own many territories. That’s why he was promoted to be the lord of Mino-Kaneyama Castle during Nobunaga’s reign of Mino Province. However, Yoshinari had to join many battles in other provinces through Nobunaga’s instructions. Yoshinari was killed in a battle against the Azai and Asakura Clans in Omi Province (now modern day Shiga Pref.) in 1570. Yoshinari’s son, Nagayoshi followed his father’s position and was also active under Nobunaga.

Yoshinari Mori drawn in the Ukiyo-e painting “Mori Sanzaemon Yoshinari”, attributed to Yoshiiku Ochiai, in 1867 *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

The illustration of Nagayoshi Mori, owned by Joshoji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

He was often referred to Daredevil Musashi (it is part of his official title as the governor of Musashi Province). His three young brothers became Nobunaga’s pages, one of whom was Ranmaru, a famous historical person in Japan. This is because the cast for him is always performed with that for Nobunaga in modern plays showing the Honnoji Incident in 1582 where Nobunaga was killed. Nobunaga actually showed favor to Ranmaru who became the 3rd lord of Mino-Kaneyama Castle after Yoshinari was promoted to be another lord. However, the truth is that all the three brothers were killed in the incident.

The picture of the Honnoji Incident, attributed to Nobukazu Yousai, in 1896 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Ranmaru Mori drawn in the Ukiyo-e painting “Mori Ranmaru Nagayasu”, attributed to Yoshiiku Ochiai, in 1867 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Only One Brother is left as Next Lord

After the Honnoji Incident, Nagayoshi went back to Mino-Kaneyama Castle and followed Hideyoshi Toyotomi who was Nobunaga’s successor. In 1584 when the Battle of Komaki-Nagakute between Hideyoshi and Ieyasu Tokugawa happened, Nagayoshi joined a feint attack. However, Ieyasu noticed this plan, so he then ambushed and suddenly attacked it. Unfortunately Nagayoshi was instantly killed by a gun shot. As a result, Only Tadamasa, the youngest brother would be left to became the next lord of the Mori Clan. Nagayoshi actually left a will before his death, stating that Tadamasa shouldn’t be the lord of Mino-Kaneyama Castle. His intention is uncertain, but it might have been because he did not want Tadamasa to join battles and risked being killed.

The folding screens of the Battle of Komaki-Nagakute, owned by Toyota City Museum of Local History (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Tadamasa followed Nagayoshi’s position which included the lord of Mino-Kaneyama Castle through Hideyoshi’s instructions. He worked under Hideyoshi, but changed his master to Ieyasu Tokugawa who killed his brother, but would be the next ruler after Hideyoshi died. There might have been other reasons for him to do this, but the main reason was to make a cool-headed decision in order to survive. He was finally promoted as the lord of Mimasaka Province which was a larger territory than before in 1603. He was transferred from Mino-Kaneyama Castle to another in 1600.

The statue of Tadamasa Mori at the ruins of Tsuyama Castle in Mimasaka Province

One of Shokuho Style Castles

As for Mino-Kaneyama Castle itself, it was improved as the Mori Clan was becoming more powerful. The castle had several enclosures on many tiers on the mountain. There were the Main Enclosure on the top, the Barbican Enclosure on the mid slope, and the Second and Third Enclosures between them. It was one of the typical Shokuho style castles which Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and their retainers built around Japan at that time. The style had three major features; building stone walls, stone foundations for buildings and roof tiles. These items were originally used for temples, high-class government houses and Imperial Palaces before that time. Nobunaga started to use them on his and his retainers’ castles to show his authority and power similar to his Azuchi Castle. The enclosures of Mino-Kaneyama Castle were surrounded by stone walls. At least, some buildings on the Main Enclosure were built on stone foundations using roof tiles. However, the castle was abandoned after Tadamasa moved to another castle in 1600.

The imaginary drawing of Azuchi Castle, exhibited by Gifu Castle Museum

The imaginary drawing of Mino-Kaneyama Castle, exhibited by Sengoku Yamashiro Museum

To be continued in “Mino-Kaneyama Castle Part2”

144.Ogaki Castle Part3

Let us feel a water of city and an atmosphere of the castle town.

Features

Walking along Former Outer Moat

The map around the castle

If you want to know what a Water Castle is like, consider walking around Suimon-gawa River, the former Outer Moat. The river still surrounds the northern and western sides of the castle. If you walk from the north to the west along the flow of the river, you can understand how large the castle was in the past. You can also see the ruins of the Tatsunokuchi-mon Gate on the northern side and the ruins of the Takebashiguchi-mon Gate on the western side.

The illustration of the Tatsunokuchi-mon Gate in the past, from the signboard at the site

The ruins of the Takebashiguchi-mon Gate

In addition, there are the Spring of Ogaki at the northwest corner and the Suito Park at the southwest corner where you can see Ogaki is still a city of water.

Walking along Old Mino Road

If you arrive at the Suito Park, you can walk along the old Mino Road as the road still goes on the southern and eastern sides of the castle through the former castle town. The pavement of the road is painted in a different color (beige) from other roads, so you can easily follow it.

The road is painted in a different color from other roads

You will see some traditional items such as an old sweet beans jelly shop, the ruins of Honjin (officially appointed inn) of Ogaki-juku Station on Mino Road and the ruins of Toiyaba (administration office). You can still feel what the castle town was like there.

The elegant roof of the sweet beans jelly shop

The ruins of Toiyaba (administration office)

My Impression

Before the Battle of Sekigahara, there might have been a chance for Mitsunari to defeat Ieyasu. If Mitsunari stayed in Ogaki Castle for longer time, the number of his supporters, including his master Hideyori, could increase. However, I think Ieyasu was much superior to Mitsunari as a general. Ieyasu trapped Mitsunari by wining Mitsunari’s allies like Hideaki Kobayakawa over to Ieyasu’s side. Ieyasu made Mitsunari leave Ogaki Castle by choice. I think Ieyasu learned a lot from his lost in the Battle of Mikatagahara in 1573 when he was young. He was trapped by Shingen Takeda to leave his Hamamatsu Castle by himself and defeated. As a result, he did a similar way in Sekigahara to what he had been done in Mikatagahara.

The statue of Ieyasu Tokugawa at Hamamatsu Castle

The monument of the Battle of Mikatagahara

How to get There

If you want to visit the castle by car, it is about 15 minutes away from Ogaki IC on the Meishin Expressway. There are several parking lots around the park.
By public transportation, it takes about 10 minutes on foot from the JR Ogaki Station.
To get to Ogaki Station from Tokyo or Osaka: Take the Tokaido Shinkansen super express and transfer to the Tokaido Line at Nagoya Station.

That’s all. Thank you.
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