You will finally reach the front of the main portion, the Main Gate Ruins. If you go out of the ruins, you can see how well the gate was protected. There is another enclosure in front it, divided by a long and deep dry moat. The moat has double ditches and you need to go across them on a small bridge and a large one. These bridges are zigzagged so that enemies would sometimes be stuck when they attacked the hall. There are thick and high earthen walls with restored wooden fences around the gate ruins, where you can imagine defenders could counterattack with arrows.
Arriving at the Main Gate RuinsLooking at the ruins form the outsideThe two bridges were built being zigzaggedThe restored wooden fences on the earthen walls around the gateAround the Main Gate of the Kaminokuni-Katsuyama-Date miniature model, exhibited by the Katsuyama Castle Guidance Facility
Later History
Kaminoyama-Katsuyama Date Ruins were the place of ancestor worship for the Matsumae Domain during the Edo Period. As castle ruins, they were designated as a National Historic Site in 1977, considered one of the “Kaminokuni Hall Ruins” including Hanazawa Tate, one of the Dounan 12 Halls. After that, they have been excavated and researched since 1979. That’s why the new discoveries about the mainland and Ainu people were found.
the miniature model of Kaminokuni-Katsuyama-Date, exhibited by the Katsuyama Castle Guidance FacilityThe ruins of the Main Gate
My Impression
I think Kaminokuni-Katsuyama Date deserves not only a hall, but definitely a castle or a medieval city, too. That was the destination of the halls which the mainland people going to Ezo built. That also created a unique way of life where the mainland and Ainu people lived together. I recommend visiting the ruins even though it may take a long time for you to get there.
The Iouzan Tombs seen from the Katsuyama Castle Guidance FacilityThe ruins of the Stable
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 70km drive away from Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station. From Hakodate Airport or the center of Hakodate City, it takes about 90km to get there. You can use the parking lot beside the Katsuyama Castle Guidance Facility. It may be a good idea to rent a car at the station or the airport. To get to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station from Tokyo: Take the Hokkaido Shinkansen super express at Tokyo Station.
The parking lot beside the Katsuyama Castle Guidance Facility
Ruins can be accessible either from Seaside or Mountain side
Today, the ruins of Kaminokuni-Katsuyama Date have been well developed by Kaminokuni Town. The ruins spread from 70 to 110m high on the hill. You can access the ruins either on the Main Route near the seaside or on the Back Route near Iouzan Mountain which is 159m high.
The aerial photo around the castle
The Main Route
If you drive to the ruins, it may be better to park and visit the Katsuyama Castle Guidance Facility below the top of the mountain before going to the ruins. You can learn about the history and the findings of the hall. The mountain top has a good view of the sea and has the Iouzan Shrine as well which worships Nobuhiro Takeda, the founder of the hall. The top was thought to be used as the final part in case of an emergency.
The Katsuyama Castle Guidance FacilityThe interior of the guidance facilityThe top of Iouzan Mountain seen from the parking lotA view from the topThe Iouzan Shrine gateway on the top
Going to Back Route and Back Gate from Mountain
From the facility, you can walk to the Back Gate of the hall ruins passing the Iouzan Tombs which have over 600 burial mounds. Many of them are for Buddhists which are related to the mainland Japanese, but some of them are for the Ainu people. This is one of the reasons that both people lived together in the hall. Nobuhiro Takeda is thought to be buried somewhere around there.
The Iouzan TombsThe replica of an excavated Ainnu tomb, exhibited by the Katsuyama Castle Guidance Facility
The trail will bring you to the Back Gate Ruins with a dry moat in front of them. You can go across the moat over the restored bridge and you will see some restored wooden fences around the ruins. Inside the gate is the highest point of the ruins, which had the Tategami-Hachimangu Shrine as the guardian god of the hall. The shine remained even after the hall was abandoned. The lords of the Matsumae Domain visited it to worship for their ancestors during the Edo Period. The shrine was finally moved to another location in 1876 of the Meiji Era.
The Back Gate RuinsThe dry moat and the restored Back BridgeThe ruins of Tategami-Hachimangu ShrineAround the shrine ruins
Center of Hall Ruins
The 3.6m wide central passage goes through the ruins. Next comes the main portion of the hall, a long and wide area gently going down to the Main Gate Ruins.
The center of the hall ruinsThe imaginary drawing of the central passage with a turret gate on it, from the signboard at the site
There are no buildings, but lots of flat exhibits of what buildings were built, according to the excavation achievements. The exhibits show the Main Hall, the chief retainer’s house, a public well, a blacksmith‘s workshop, a stable, warehouses, residential houses, and so on.
The imaginary drawing of buildings of the hall, from the signboard at the site, adding the English lettersThe ruins of the Main HallThe interior model of the Main Hall, exhibited by the Katsuyama Castle Guidance FacilityThe ruins of the blacksmith‘s workshopThe interior model of the workshop, exhibited by the Katsuyama Castle Guidance FacilityThe ruins of the public wellThe miniature model of the public well, exhibited by the Katsuyama Castle Guidance Facility
The excavation team also found about 100 thousand relics such as weapons, religious equipment, trading goods, tools, hunting and fishing items as well as household items including accessories. That means people lived their daily life there. In particular, some of the relics came from the Ainu people, such as their own penknives and poisoned arrows for hunting. This could be another evidence that the mainland and Ainu people lived together. You can also enjoy a good view of the Japan Sea and the seaside area.
The excavated lacquerware bowls, which were probably brought to the site by trading, exhibited by the Katsuyama Castle Guidance FacilityThe excavated fishing items of Ainu (below) and a replica of an Ainu harpoon, exhibited by the Katsuyama Castle Guidance FacilityThe hall ruins with a view of the area below
Japanese people get active in Hokkaido where Ainu people live
Kaminokuni-Katsuyama Date was a hall which was built in the Middle Ages in the western part of Oshima Peninsula of Hokkaido. At that time, the island was called Ezo, where the Ainu people lived. They spoke a different language and had a different way of life from the Japanese people that lived on the mainland. They earned a living by hunting, fishing and trading, unlike the mainland Japanese people, who farmed.
The location of the castle
The painting of Ainu men, attributed to Isabella Lucy Bird, in the 19th Century (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
In the late 14th Century, some Japanese people were active in the Oshima Peninsula, in particular the southern edge of Hokkaido. The leaders started to build several halls for living and trading alongside this peninsula. The halls were called the Dounan (southern region) 12 Halls, such as Shinori Tate in the eastern part of the peninsula which was called “Shimonokuni” or the lower province. While the western part was referred to as “Kaminokuni” or the upper province.
The ruins of Shinori Tate
Nobuhiro Takeda repels Ainu Rebellion
The Ando Clan, which led the Japanese people in Ezo, also tried to rule the island aggressively. Because of this, it caused an uprising of the Ainu people, who was led by their leader Koshamain in 1456. The angry Ainu people managed to capture 10 of the 12 Dounan Halls, including Shinori Tate. One of the two surviving halls was Hanazawa Tate located in the upper province, which was owned and controlled by The Kakizaki Clan, who was affiliated with the Ando Clan. They were obviously at a disadvantage however, because the rebellion was ultimately crushed when Koshamain was shot with an arrow by Nobuhiro Takeda, a guest commander of The Kakizaki Clan.
The portrait of Nobuhiro Takeda (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Nobhuhiro is originally from Wakasa province, which at that time was located in the central region of the mainland of Japan, which did a lot of trading with Ezo, via the Sea of Japan. For example, potteries like Echizen ware that were made in the surrounding areas were often used in Ezo. The province sold kelp, processed from Ezo. Nobuhiro might have been a vagrant on this well-known route. Therefore, he managed to only become the adopted son of The Kakizaki Clan, but also the chosen leader of the Japanese people in Ezo Island.
A jar of Echizen ware in the Middle Ages, owned by Hakone Museum of Art (licensed by Daderot via Wikimedia Commons)
Nobuhiro builts Kaminokuni-Katsuyama-Date
Nobuhiro would eventually build a new hall near Hanazawa Tate, on a hill located below Iouzan Mountain, which is now known as Kaminoyama-Katsuyama Date, in 1470. The word “Date” means “hall”, however because of its size, it looked more like a mountain castle or a sort of medieval city on the mountain. Nobuhiro probably built his stronger hall based on his experience because most of his previous halls ended up being captured. The hill of the hall had deep valleys on both sides, and dry moats in both the front and the back. There were lots of houses on the hill as well, which were surrounded by fences. A famous region was the Oma Port, located below the hill, so the lord of the hall managed to control the trading that happened at the coast of this region.
The miniature model of Kaminokuni-Katsuyama-Date, exhibited by the Katsuyama Castle Guidance Facility
Even after the completion of the new hall, some Ainu people would sometimes rebel and attack the hall. The Kakizaki Clan under the command of Nobuhiro, managed to repel the Ainu attacks, mainly because of the robust construction of the hall, and by the use of traps. The Kakizaki Clan were very cunning, as they managed to convince the Ainu people to join them in a peace treaty. After filling up on liquor, the Ainu people were too intoxicated to fight back, and were ultimately murdered during the party. Ainu people never doubted the Kakizaki’s intentions. On the other hand, both Japanese and Ainu people somehow managed to live in harmony together, in the medieval city. You can even find burial sites where both Japanese people and Ainu people were buried in. This led to a long and complex relationship between the Japanese people and the Ainu people.
The defense system of the front of Kaminokuni-Katsuyama-Date, from the miniature model aboveburial mounds of Ainu people around the hall
The Kakizaki Clan eventually moved their home base to Matsumae, the southern edge of the peninsula because it was more convenient location for trading. That lead to the launch of both the Matsumae Domain, as well as Matsumae Castle during the Edo Period. Soon after that, the clan renamed themselves The Matsumae Clan. Eventually, Kaminokuni-Katsuyama Date would be abandoned during early stages of the Edo Period.
