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

89.Saga Castle Part3

The functions of the castle changed.

Features

Remaining Outer Moat

If you have time, consider walking to the remaining Outer Moat from the Main Enclosure. If you walk along the edge of the enclosure, you will see the long line of the stone walls. Some of them were recently restored including the stone wall base of the Southwestern Corner Turret. The original appearance of the castle is returning little by little with the restoration. The Outer Moat is still filled with water and is over 50m wide. It can remind us that the castle was originally protected by many water moats and waterways.

The aerial photo around the castle

The long stone walls of the Main Enclosure

The restored stone wall base of the Southwestern Corner Turret

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Saga Castle was used as the Saga Prefectural Office. That’s why a battle in the Saga Rebellion occurred there. After the rebellion, the surviving Main Enclosure was used as schools. However, the Main Hall was demolished in 1920 while the residential room for the lord was moved to another park. The remaining Shachi-no-mon Gate was designated as an Important Cultural Property in 1957. In 1989, Saga Prefecture decided to restore the Main Hall as a historical museum. After the excavation and research. The official part of the hall, called Omote, was mainly restored combined with the residential room for the lord which returned to its original position. The Main Hall reopened as the Saga Castle History Museum in 2004.

The old photo of the original Main Hall in the Meiji Era *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

The Main Hall has become the Saga Castle History Museum

The miniature models of the remaining or restored structures in the Main Enclosure, exhibited by *the Saga Castle History Museum*

My Impression

Saga Prefecture is trying to show what roles the Saga Domain had in the end of the Edo Period, in the restored Main Hall. There are also other attractions like the stone wall base for the Main Tower. If you compare these structures, you may find the functions of the castle have been changing. The water moats were entirely for defense. The Main Tower added to the castle its authority. The Main Hall was built for governing and residence. They composed the wide variety of functions at Saga Castle.

The Main Tower stone wall base showing authority

How to get There

If you want to visit the ruins by car, it is about 20 minutes away from Saga-Yamato IC on the Nagasaki Expressway.
You can park in the parking lots for visitors in the Main Enclosure.
If you want to use public transportation, you can take the Saga City Bus on the Sagajo-ato Line from JR Saga Station and get off at the Sagajo-ato bus stop.
To get to Saga Station from Tokyo or Osaka: Take the limited express from Hakata Station after using the Shinkansen super express or by plane.

Links and References

・Saga Castle History Museum

That’s all. Thank you.
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36.Maruoka Castle Part2

The attractive Main Tower that is discussed by many, from then until now.

Features

Old looking Main Tower

Today, Maruoka Castle has only the remaining Main Tower on the hill at the site. The Main Tower is about 12m high with two levels and three stories, not so large compared with the other remaining Main Towers in Japan. However, it stands out when you see it from the area around. It has a 6m high stone wall base and is on a 27m high hill.

The map around the
castle

If you drive to the castle, you can park at the parking lot in the former Second Enclosure and walk to the Main Tower on the well-developed route for visitors.

The parking lot, former Second Enclosure

You may feel the Main Tower looks very old like many other people who feel the same way. This type of the tower is called the Lookout Tower Type, which refers to a small lookout tower on a large turret with the hip-and-gable roof. This type is considered the first one among the Main Towers in Japan. The top floor of Maruoka Castle’s Main Tower has a veranda, which is a feature of the early Lookout Tower Type. Its many wooden parts were left bare in the tower, which is also a feature of that type. In addition, the rooftiles of the tower are made of stone because of the cold climate in the winter around this area. This is the only case in the twelve remaining Main Towers. These rooftiles make the tower look older, too. For these reasons, many people expected the Main Tower of Maruoka Castle to be the oldest remaining one in Japan.

The old-fashioned Main Tower of Maruoka Castle

The stone rooftiles seen through the window of the second floor of the tower

Is Main Tower of Maruoka Castle Oldest or not?

On the other hand, some specialists argued that the Main Tower of Maruoka Castle is not as old as the other remaining ones. One of the reasons for it is that the veranda is not practical, just for decoration. Using verandas for decoration can be seen in castle buildings much later than the period the people, who wanted Maruoka Castle to be the oldest, expected. Other architects also argued that the structure of the tower can also be seen much later designs.

You can’t go out to the veranda at the top floor of the tower

The Main Tower of Maruoka Castle has been designated as an Important Cultural Property since 1950. Sakai City thought the tower would become a National Treasure if it was confirmed as the oldest Main Tower in Japan. In 2018, the city conducted research to find out when the tower was built with the latest technology. It was mainly done by the growth ring dating method to confirm when the wooden materials of the tower were cut. The result was that the materials were cut in 1620s, and the tower was built in the period or later. It was much later than what the city expected. Overall, the tower is thought to have been built after the Honda Clan became an independent lord of Maruoka Castle. That means the builder of the Main Tower, probably the Honda Clan, built the tower with the old style intentionally.

The Main Tower of Maruoka Castle is not the oldest

Interior of Main Tower

The Main Tower is not the oldest, but of course, it is worth visiting. You can climb up on the original stone steps to the first floor of the tower.

The floor is the large room in the turret part, and it has a lot of columns to support the weight of the tower including the stone rooftiles.

The floor also has loopholes for guns and bay windows used for machicolations along the walls to protect the tower.

You can also climb up the very steep stairway at 65 degrees to the second floor, with the rope to help you. The second floor is the attic of the tower part, but it has windows in the roof of the first floor.

Be careful when you go up to the top floor because the stairway to the floor is steeper at 67 degrees! The top floor has windows in all directions, so is open and bright. You can see a good view of the city area and the back of the ridge-end tiles made of stone from the floor.

To be continued in “Maruoka Castle Part3”
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37.Ichijodani Castle Part2

You can imagine and see the medieval city.

Features

Unending Ruins of Ichijodani

If you visit the ruins of Ichijodani Castle by driving or walking on the route along the valley, you will be surprised to see unending residence ruins on both sides of the route. The area of 278 hectares was designated as a National Special Historic Site named the Ichijodani Aasakura Clan Ruins. Over 2,300 unearthed items from the site were also designated as Important Cultural Properties.

The aerial photo around the castle

You can also see the ruins of fortress entrances at both edges of the site. The ruins of the Outbound Fortress Entrance still have an alternate entrance using huge stones. The entrances resemble a castle gate. The Inbound Fortress Entrance was restored in 1990 and it is 105m long and 5m tall earthen walls.

The alternate entrance using huge stones

Restored Castle Town of Sengoku Period

Thanks to the achievement of excavation, you can visit the about 200m long restored streets and residences at the center of the ruins. If you stand in the streets, you will feel like you were in a real medieval city.

You can also enter these restored residences. For example, in a merchant house, the mannequins of merchants sell something like potteries.

The inside of the restored merchant house

In a warrior’s house, the male mannequins play Japanese chess in the Japanese style drawing room, while the servant mannequins prepare a meal in the kitchen. These items were all restored based on the relics from the site, the remaining pictures, and buildings in other sites.

The mannequins playing Japanese chess in the Japanese style drawing room

Asakura Clan Hall Ruins in Center

You should check out the ruins of the Asakura Clan Hall Ruins which is located on the opposite side of the restored streets separated by the Ichijodani River. The hall was largest building in Ichijodani, which was used by the lord of the clan. The ruins are about 120m square, and still have earthen walls and water moat surrounding them. The ruins also have a Chinese style gate building in front of them. The remaining gate is that of the Shounin Temple which was built on the ruins in the Edo Period after the hall was burned. The ruins and the temple gate fit in with each other very much.

The Asakura Clan Hall Ruins surrounded by the earthen walls and water moat

The Chinese style gate building at the ruins entrance

Inside the ruins, the location of each building is shown as a flat exhibition, so you can understand what buildings were built in the past.

A view of the hall ruins from the upper back side

Actual Special Places of Scenic Beauty Gardens

There are also several hall ruins for the Asakura Clan’s relatives. Moreover, four of the ruins of the clan’s gardens around the halls have also been designated as Special Places of Scenic Beauty since 1991. It is surprising that the gardens as they were in the 16th Century, still impress people in the present time.

The ruins of Nakanogoten Hall, one of the hall ruins for the Asakura Clan’s relatives

For example, Yudono Garden Ruins above the Asakura Clan Hall Ruins have the combination of wild rocks. It is said that the atmosphere of the garden is similar to that of the Sengoku Period.

It is said that Suwa Residence Garden, now called the Suwa Residence Garden Ruins, was originally built for Yoshikage Asakura’s wife. It is a beautiful waterfall garden made using huge stones. The largest stone in the garden is said to be the largest one for a waterfall garden in Japan.

To be continued in “Ichijodani Castle Part3”
Back to “Ichijodani Castle Part1”