location – ページ 5 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

177.Hiketa Castle Part1

The forgotten castle in the eastern part of Sanuki Province

Location and History

Castle on Mountain supporting Port

Hiketa Castle was located on an 82m high mountain called Shiro-yama in the eastern part of Sanuki Province which is the modern day Kagawa Prefecture. The Hiketa Port, facing the Harima Sea, beside the mountain which could prevent strong wind from blowing into the port. The port became popular amongst ships waiting for favorable wind from the Ancient Times. It was said that the mountain was also used as a fire beacon platform at that time. In the Middle Ages, several lords used the mountain as Hiketa Castle. For example, in 1583, Hisahide Sengoku under the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi fought with Motochika Chosogabe using Hiketa Castle. Overall, the castle was used whenever it was needed. It was built with natural terrain.

The location of the castle

The aerial photo around the castle

The portrait of Hisahide Sengoku, private owned (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

One of Important Branch Castles in Sanuki Province

During the unification of Japan, Hideyoshi gave Sanuki Province to his retainer, Chikamasa Ikoma in 1587. Initially, Chikamasa lived in Hiketa Castle, but soon after that, he moved to another one, and finally built Takamatsu Castle as his new home base. However, Hiketa Castle was maintained as one of the branch castles of Takamatsu Castle. The stone walls were built surrounding the enclosures on the top of the mountain. Part of them still remain on the mountain. They were specifically built in places where visitors often came and local people could look up from the foot of the mountain. That was the way for Hideyoshi and his retainers to show their authority to the people in their new territories. It was said that the way originated from the castles like Nobunaga Oda’s Azuchi Castle and Nagayosi Miyoshi’s Imori Castle.

The portrait of Chikamasa Ikoma, owned by Kokenji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The remaining stone walls of Hiketa Castle

Some castle buildings were also built on the enclosures, but the details are uncertain because none of them remained. However, it was thought that the buildings looked like those of Takamatsu Castle. That’s because the roof tiles, which were made from the same model, were excavated from both sites. That meant there might have been the three castles which had very similar appearance in Sanuki Province which the Ikoma Clan owned. They were Takamatsu Castle in the center which was their home base, Hiketa Castle in the east, and Marugame Castle, which was the other branch castle in the west. Hiketa Castle was at its peak at the beginning of the 17th Century. The castle town was also built beside Hiketa Port.

Abandoned by Law of One Castle per Province

However, Hiketa Castle was abandoned in 1615 due to the Law of One Castle per Province which was created by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Only Takamatsu Castle was allowed to be used from then on. Marugame Castle was once abandoned at the same time as Hiketa Castle. However, Marugame Castle was rebuilt when Sanuki Province was divided by other lords later on. As a result, Hiketa Castle was the only castle that had peace and quiet and stayed idle eventually becoming forgotten for a long time.

To be continued in “Hiketa Castle Part2”

78.Marugame Castle Part1

A castle covered with great stone walls with advanced technology

Location and History

It starts as Branch of Takamatsu Castle

Marugame Castle was located on a mountain called Kame-yama which means tortoise mountain in the western part of the Sanuki Plain of Sanuki Province (what is now Kagawa Prefecture). The part of the plain has several mountains that stood out like a projection, for example, Ino-yama Mountain is known for its beautiful appearance as Sanuki-Fuji. Kame-yama Mountain is one of the mountains and much lower than the Sanuki- Fuji ( 66m vs 422m), but was more convenient for the warriors to build a castle on it.

The location of the castle

The relief map around the castle

It is said that the Nara Clan first built a fortress on Kame-yama Mountan, but a castle named Marugame Castle was built on the mountain by the Ikoma Clan in 1597. The Ikoma Clan governed Sanuki Province under the Toyotomi Clan and the Tokugawa Shogunate later between 1587 and 1640. Marugame Castle was a branch castle of Takamatsu Castle which was the home base of the Ikoma Clan. However, Marugame Castle was once abandoned in 1615 in accordance with the Law of One Castle per Province by the Tokugawa Shogunate. The castle had unfortunately been destroyed as we found the wreckage of the old stone walls when the excavation was done.

The portrait of Chikamasa Ikoma, the founder of the clan, owned by Kokenji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Rebuilt by Yamazaki Clan and Kyogoku Clan

After the Ikoma Clan was transferred to another due to their internal trouble in 1641, the Yamazaki Clan was given the western part of Sanuki Province by the Tokugawa Shogunate. The Yamazaki Clan was allowed to rebuild Marugame Castle for their new home base. They built the high stone walls with three tiers covering all around Kame-yama Mountain. The stone walls were also built with advanced technology and very valuable because building a new castle was basically not allowed at that time. The re-construction continued for 30 years. The Yamazaki Clan was unfortunately fired by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1657 during the construction because they had no successor. The Kyogoku Clan following the Yamazaki Clan completed the construction building the Main Tower by 1663.

The Main Tower and high stone walls of Marugame Castle

The portrait of Takakazu Kyogoku, who was transferred to Marugame Castle, owned by Marugame Municipal Archives Museum *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

It looks like Stone Fortress

The final appearance of Marugame Castle was as the following. The Main Enclosure, the Second Enclosure and the Third Enclosure were on the mountain. All the enclosures were surrounded by the stone walls making the very high ones stick together. The Main Enclosure, which was at highest, had the Main Tower and the four Corner Turrets connected with the roofed passages called Tamon or the mud walls. The Second and Third Enclosures were below the Main Enclosure and they also had several turrets. The Inner Moat surrounded the mountain, the Main Gate was just inside the moat in the north, and the Back Gate was in the south. In addition, warriors’ houses were built outside the Inner Moat and were also surrounded by the Outer Moat.

The miniature model of Marugame Castle, exhibited by Marugame Castle Main Tower

The Main Gate and Inner Moat of Marugame Castle

Part of the illustration of Marugame Castle in Sanuki Province, in the Edo Period, exhibited by the National Archives of Japan

The Kyogoku Clan governed Marugame Castle and the Marugame Domain until the end of the Edo Period. In fact, the lord of the castle lived in the Main Hall at the foot of the mountain. That was a common way for the lords of the castles in peaceful time. Anyway, Marugame Castle must have looked like a stone fortress.

The ruins of the Main Hall at the foot of the mountain (taken by あけび from photoAC)

To be continued in “Marugame Castle Part2”

34.Nanao Castle Part1

A famous large mountain castle in Hokuriku Region

Location and History

Capital of Noto Province

Nanao Castle was a large mountain castle located in Noto Province, what is now the modern part of the northern Ishikawa Prefecture, the Hokuriku Region. The castle was built on about 300m high mountain ridges and the name “Nanao” originates from the number of the ridges which is seven. The Hatakeyama Clan was a relative of the Ashikaga Shogunate in the Middle Ages. One of the groups of the Hatakeyama Clan was sent to Noto Province as the governor of the province in 1408. Since then, the clan developed Nanao Castle. The castle became the capital of the province with the castle town prospering at the foot of the mountain. A great painter by the name of Tohaku Hasegawa came from this town in the middle 16th Century. He left a portrait of a warlord which was said to be that of famous Shingen Takeda from its impression, but it is now said to be one of the lords of the Hatakeyama Clan.

The location of the castle

The relief map around the castle

The portrait of a warlord who may have been a lord of the Hatakeyama Clan, attributed to Tohaku Hasegawa, owned by Seikei-in Temple, Mt. Koya (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Hatakeyama Clan governed it with senior vassals

The Hatakeyama Clan governed Noto Province and Nanao Castle for about 170 years together with their senior vassals such as the Yusa Clan, the Cho Clan and the Nukui Clan. They often cooperated with each other to defend attacks from the invaders, but they often had to deal with internal conflicts. It was both a strength and weakness for them. The structure of the castle also reflected the formation of the lord and the senior vassals. The main portion of the castle was on the highest one of the seven ridges called Matsuo-yama. There you will be able to see the Main Enclosure on the top, the Yusa Residence, the Sakura Riding Ground, the Nukui Residence, and the Second Enclosure in line with the ridge. The Cho Residence and the Third Enclosure were on the both sides of the main portion divided by the large deep ditches. As shown in the names of the enclosures, the senior vassals had their own enclosures for their residences, which showed the balance of their power.

The imaginary drawing of Nanao Castle (from the signboard at the site)

The imaginary drawing of the main portion of Nanao Castle (exhibited by Nanao Castle History Museum)

Uesugi and Oda Clans battled over Castle

Around Noto Province in the late 16th Century, the two great warlords were dominating, Nobunaga Oda in the west of the Province and Kenshin Uesugi in the east. Kenshin decided to attack Nanao Castle in 1576 despite the lord of the castle being a child who was supported by the senior vassals. Kenshin was said to be the strongest warlord, and he only needed to siege the castle without the need for an aggressive attack. The siege lasted for about two months, and the young lord was unfortunately killed by the epidemic. The senior vassals had different opinions. On one side, the Cho Clan wanted to ask Nobunaga for help, however, the Yusa Clan did not feel the same way. Nobunaga finally sent his reinforcement to the castle, and the Yusa Clan managed to defeat the Cho Clan and supported Kenshin. Eventually, the castle finally belonged to Kenshin.

The portrait of Kenshin Uesugi, owned by the Uesugi Shrine (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The portrait of Nobunaga Oda, attributed to Soshu Kano, owned by Chokoji Temple, in the late 16th century (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Despite the victory, Kenshin died just six months later, and as a result, Nanao Castle was eventually occupied by Nobunaga. Nobunaga gave Noto Province and Nanao Castle to his retainer, Toshiie Maeda in 1581. Toshiie built the Three-layer Main Tower on the Main Enclosure and large scale stone walls which was the front side of the castle. On the other hand, Toshiie also built his new home base called Ko-Maruyama Castle near Nanao Port for the convenience of the government and ease of transportation. Nevertheless, the reason why he continued to improve Nanao Castle was thought to be for the new Main Tower. Furthermore, the stone walls showed his authority and it symbolized the lord of the castle has changed in that area. The castle was eventually abandoned in 1589.

The portrait of Toshiie Maeda, private owned (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The stone walls which Toshiie Maeda built

To be continued in “Nanao Castle Part2”