lookout tower type – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

29.Matsumoto Castle Part2

When you arrive at Matsumoto Castle, in the present time, the first thing you have to do is to enjoy its Main Tower. It is one of the only two remaining five-level Main Towers, followed by Himeji Castle, one of the five Main Towers of Japan’s National Treasures, and one of the twelve remaining Main Towers.

Features

Beautiful but Strong Main Tower

It may be a good idea to walk around the inner moat surrounding the main enclosure to enjoy a beautiful view of the tower before entering it. The width of the moat in front of the tower is about 60m. It would make enemies shooting up from the side ineffective but defenders shooting down from the tower more effective at that time. In addition, if the enemies could swim across the moat to the tower, they would be heavily counterattacked by the defenders through its defense systems such as machicolations and loopholes.

The aerial photo around the castle

The inner moat in front of the Main Tower

A machicolation and loopholes near the entrance of the tower

Reasons for Black Main Tower

The black-looking Main Tower of Matsumoto Castle (sometimes called “Crow Castle”) is often compared with the Himeji castle’s painted white clearly by contrast. Its black appearance comes from its wooden side walls covered with special Japanese lacquer, which could withstand harsh weathers. Himeji Castle is covered in plaster, which make it look white, and it is newer than Matsumoto Castle. It is said that using plaster on all walls of a castle would not effectively protect against the rain when Matsumoto Castle was built. That meant the improvements in wall painting techniques occurred between the building of the two castles. Another possible reason for the using the black walls is that wooden walls are stronger than plaster walls against the cold winter of inland area like the Matsumoto Basin.

If you look up at the Main Tower, you can see its each level is covered with plaster in the upper part and wooden walls in the lower part

Himeji Castle, a representative of white castles

Some also say black was a favorite color of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, while white was the color which Ieyasu Tokugawa often used for his castles when Himeji Castle was built. Anyway, these speculations are enjoyable to see the contrast.

*Hideyoshi’s Main Tower of Osaka Castle, from “The summer campaign of the siege of Osaka folding screens”, owned by Osaka Castle Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons*)

Nagoya Castle, another representative of white castle, during Ieyasu’s period

Unique Lookout Tower

The Main Tower of Matsumoto Castle actually consists of the large main tower, the Inui small main tower, and three turrets (Watari Yagura, Tatsumi-Tsuke Yagura and Tsukimi Yagura) which are connected to each other. This is called “multiple attached style”. The large one is generally considered “the Main Tower”. The tower has five levels but six floors inside. This type of the tower is called the lookout tower type, which refers to a small lookout tower on a large turret. In the case of Matsumoto Castle, the turret part is the first and second floors and the fifth and top floors is the tower part, binding the middle part of the third and fourth floors. However, the third floor is built as the attic of the turret part, with no roof. That’s why the numbers of its levels and floors are different.

(From the left) The Inui small main tower, (simple) Watari Turret, the large main tower, Tatsumi Turret, and Tsukimi Turret)

In addition, the Main Tower has a striking appearance for a lookout tower. One of the reasons for this is that the top floor doesn’t have a veranda, which lookout towers usually had, and is covered with walls. The fact is that it had been first planned to have a veranda, but was changed to its current state during construction. As a result, the tower looks a little top-heavy.

The top level is covered with the walls, which looks a little top-heavy.

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

79.Imabari Castle Part1

The monumental castle-building techniques of Takatoro Todo

Location and History

Takatora Todo builds Castle as his ideal Home Base

Imabari Castle is located in Imabari City in the northern part of Ehime Prefecture which was called Iyo Province in the past. The castle was built in 1604 by Takatora Todo who was a well-known master of castle construction. So far, he built several castles, for example, Wakayama and Akagi Castles when he was a retainer, Uwajima and Ozu Castles after he became a feudal lord of some parts of Iyo Province. However, Imabari Castle was his first home base which was built form the ground up independently. That means he was able to throw all his ideas and experiences in building the castle. That resulted in the castle becoming the monumental work of his castle construction.

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

The range of Iyo Province and the location of the castle

Before the construction, Takatora joined the invasion of Korea in 1597 as the leader of the Japanese Navy. From the experience, he thought his new castle would need a good location for naval support and water transportation. That’s why the castle was built facing the Seto Inland Sea, as a sea and plain castle. Such a location could had been difficult and dangerous because the seaside ground was too soft to build a castle and enemies could attack the plain land easily. To prevent them from happening, berms called Inubasiri were first built for the base of the stone walls. The berms would also be used for standing fences when enemies would attack the castle. The castle was also surrounded by water moats tripled, to which the sea supplied water.

The stone walls of Imabari Castle were built on the berms

Simple but Defensive Layout

Other than the specific conditions for Imabari area, Takatora introduced new common and easy ways of building castles to Imabari Castle but it was strongly protected from sudden attacks. The main portion of the castle, which combined the Main and Second Enclosures, was simply square shaped, which was easy to construct and accommodate large troops. While it may be weak for defense, the portion was surrounded by the wide Inner Moat, high stone walls, and many turrets on the walls. The gates of the portion were strongly guarded with a square defensive space called Masugata. Moreover, to enter the Main Gate, visitors had to pass other small enclosure called Demaru or the Barbican in front of the Inner Moat, which had another Masugata, and go across the earthen bridge over the moat. Such structures can be seen in other castles which Takatora would later be involved in, such as Nagoya, Nijo, and Sasayama.

The illustration of Imabari Castle in Iyo Province, exhibited by Cultural Heritage Online

The miniature model of Sasayama Castle, exhibited by the Large Study Hall of Sasayama Castle

Takatora creates Multi-storied type Main Towers?

Another Takatora’s invention of building castles is a new type of Main Towers, called multi-storied type or “Soto-shiki”. The Main Towers had usually been built in a method, called look-tower type or “Boro shiki”, which had many decorations such as gables or “Hafu” and bell-shaped windows or “Kato-mado”. The new method had simply square floors diminished towards the top with minimal roofing. That made the Main Towers more efficient and also made the tower easier to protect. The Main Tower of Imabari Castle is said to be the first multi-storied type with five levels, which was built in the Main Enclosure.

The Main Tower of Shimabara Castle, a typical multi-storied type one

The Main Tower of Inuyama Castle, a typical look-tower type one

In fact, it is not scientifically proven by excavation whether or not the Main Tower was really built in Imabari Castle. This is because the tower was demolished to be moved to another place when Takatora was transferred to Iga-Ueno Castle in 1608 after his short stay in Imabari Castle. Takatora once thought the tower should be used for his Iga-Ueno Castle, but he finally presented it to the Tokugawa Shogunate for the construction of Kameyama Castle which was ordered by the shogunate. According to the old photo of the castle’s Main Tower, it is certainly a five-level multi-storied type tower. This story was recorded only in Takatora’s biography or his clan’s annuals. There has been no evidence for the tower found in Imabari Castle such as the trace of its stone wall base. Some historians speculate that the Main Tower of Imabari Castle might have been built directly on the ground, not using any stone wall base.

The old photo of the Main Tower of Kamayama Castle *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

The castle itself was followed by Takatora’s relative, Takayoshi Todo until 1635 and finally the Hisamatsu-Matsudaira Clan. The clan had been originally called just Hisamatsu, then it was allowed to use the family name Matsudaira which meant the shogun’s relatives after its lord accepted Ieyasu Tokugawa’s mother as the later wife. The clan governed the castle and the area, called the Imabari Domain, until the end of the Edo Period.

To be continued in “Imabari Castle Part2”

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”
Back to “Maruoka Castle Part1”