lookout tower type – ページ 2 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

84.Kochi Castle Part2

You can sense the original state of the castle.

Features

Spot for seeing both Main Tower and Main Gate

As a visitor to Kochi Castle today, you will likely enter the remaining Main Gate first, where you can also see the remaining Main Tower over there. In fact, this is a very rare spot where you can see the two kinds of remaining buildings together in Japan.

The Main Tower and Main Gate of Kochi Castle

The aerial photo around the castle

From Suginodan Enclosure to Iron Gate Ruins

After entering the gate, you can climb on the stone steps to the Suginodan Enclosure where the statues of Kazutoyo Yamanouchi’s wife, called Chiyo, and a horse stand. These statues show that she spent her dowry to buy a fine horse for Kaszutoyo’s parade which was the chance for his promotion. You can also see the great high stone walls of the Third Enclosure above.

The high stone walls of the Third Enclosure

If you go further by climbing the stone steps, you will be at the ruins of the Iron Gate which was an important point for defense. The gate was next to the Third Enclosure and led to the Second Enclosure. That’s why the tricky system which could lead enemies to the false gate to the Main Tower, called Tsumemon, was built.

The Tsumemon Gate seen from the iron Gate Ruins

Third and Second Enclosures

The Third Enclosure is the largest enclosure in the castle where a large building for ceremonies was in the past. In addition, the stone walls of Chosogabe’s period were found there by excavation.

The Main Tower seen from the Third Enclosure

The Second Enclosure had another Main Hall for the lord where he usually lived, as the hall in the Main Enclosure was too small for daily life. However, the Second Enclosure is just a square now.

From the Iron Gate Ruins to the Second Enclosure

Main Enclosure, almost same condition as original

You can finally reach the Main Enclosure by crossing the remaining Tsumemon Gate from the Second Enclosure. Surprisingly, this enclosure is in almost the same condition as its original, with the 11 remaining buildings. This is also the only spot where the original Main Tower and Main Hall remain at the same place in Japan.

Going to the Tsumemon Gate from the Second Enclosure

The buildings of the Main Enclosure seen from the Main Tower

You will need to enter the Main Hall first to reach the Main Tower as they are directly connected to each other. The hall is not large because the space of the enclosure is limited, but important ceremonies for the domain were held there.

The Main Tower has four layers and six stories, that means two of the stories are attics (3F and 5F). Its style is called the lookout tower type. In the case of Kochi Castle, there is the small two-layer lookout tower on the large two-layer turret with a hip-and-gable roof. The tower also has decorations like Chinese style gables and triangular shaped gables on the roof and a veranda with the lacquered handrail at the top floor. It looks traditional and very beautiful.

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

84.Kochi Castle Part1

The Yamanouchi Clan’s unique castle

Location and History

Pre History of Kochi Castle

Kochi City originated from the name Kochi Castle and is the capital of Kochi Prefecture on Shikoku Island. Kochi Castle is one of the most popular tourist spots of the prefecture. It has many remaining castle buildings including the Main Gate, the Main Hall, and the Main Tower. The castle was built on a low mountain called Mt. Otaka-sakayama, but it is uncertain when it was first built. In 1588, Motochika Chosogabe, the lord of Tosa Province, what is now Kochi Prefecture, moved his home base from Okoh Castle to Kochi Caste, which was called Otaka-sakayama Castle at that time. However, he moved again to Urado Castle after only a three-year stay in Otaka-sakayama Castle. This could be because the area received a lot of rain but had poor drainage.

The location of the castle

The portrait of Motochika Chosogabe, owned by Hada Shrine (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Kazutoyo Yamanouchi built Kochi Castle

In 1601, Kazutoyo Yamanouchi was promoted by the Tokugawa Shogunate to a new lord of Tosa Province and became the founder of the Tosa Domain. He tried to rebuild and live in Otaka-sakayama Castle which had enough space to build the castle town. The castle was rebuilt with advanced technology at that time, such as building stone walls and large-scale buildings. After the completion of the castle, it was renamed Kochi Castle. As a result, the Yamanouchi Clan governed the castle and the province all through the Edo Period.

The statue of Kazutoyo Yamanouchi in front of Kochi Castle

Part of the illustration of Kochi Castle in Tosa Province, in the Edo Period, exhibited by the National Archives of Japan

The miniature model of Kochi Castle in its Main Tower

Features of Kochi Castle

Kochi Castle had several interesting features. First, the castle had a lot of stone troughs to allow for proper drainage if it rained a lot. Such a system was very rare for castles in Japan and can even now be seen when you visit the castle.

One of the stone troughs on the stone walls

Secondly, the castle had an old-style Main Tower, called the lookout tower type, for the period of its construction. It is said that Kazutoyo wanted to build the Main Tower resembling the Main Tower of Kakegawa Castle, where he lived before he went to Tosa Province. For this reason, when people in Kakegawa restored the Main Tower of Kakegawa Castle in the present time, they used the design plans of the remaining Main Tower of Kochi Castle.

The restored Main Tower of Kakegawa Castle, taken by Oshiro-man from photo AC

The remaining Main Tower of Kochi Castle

Most of the castle buildings including the Main Tower were unfortunately burned down by a great fire in 1727. When the Tosa Domain rebuilt the castle after the fire, they restored the Main Tower in 1749 in a way which was almost the same as the original one, not using a new style. This could be because the shogunate just allowed the domain to use the original style even for rebuilding. It is also said that the warriors in the domain still loved the style of their founder, Kazutoyo. The Main Tower also didn’t stand on a stone wall base and was connected directly to the Main Hall in the Main Enclosure on the top of the mountain. It is thought that this is also one of the styles of old castles.

The Main Tower, connected directly to the Main Hall

The castle also had a feature using both buildings and natural terrain of the mountain for defense. If enemies attacked the castle to reach the Main Tower, they had to pass through the Suginodan Enclosure and the Second Enclosure which were built around the slope of the mountain. In addition, if enemies passed the Iron Gate before the Second Enclosure, they could be near the Main Tower and see the Tsumemon-Gate which looked like the gate to the tower. However, it was just a bridge between the Main Enclosure and the Second Enclosure, which the enemies could never go across from that point. This is a tricky system to prevent enemies from reaching the center of the castle.

The route from the Main Route to the Main Enclosure and Main Tower (The illustration of Kochi Castle adding the red colored letters)

The Main Tower that can be seen close from the front of the Tsumemon Gate

To be continued in “Kochi Castle Part2”

59.Himeji Castle Part3

Every time you go the castle, you will have a new perspective.

Features (The Large Main Tower)

The Large Main Tower has five layers, but its inside has six levels with a basement. The tower was built using the lookout tower style. This type of tower usually has a small look-out tower on a large-scale turret with hip-and-gable roofs. But Himeji’s tower looks smart and doesn’t have a veranda at the top floor that other look-out towers usually have. The tower is categorized as the late lookout tower type that would evolve into the multi-storied type later.

The Large Main Tower of Himeji Castle (the late lookout tower type)

The Main Tower of Inuyama Castle (the lookout tower style)

The Main Tower of Fukuyama Castle (the multi-storied type)

Its roofs are decorated with many Chinese style gables and triangular shaped gables. White plaster is painted thickly over its walls as well as the gaps among the roof tiles to protect against fire, that makes it looks like a white heron. On the other hand, it is also equipped with lots of machicolations and loopholes for battles. You can enter into the tower, but please note that you may have to stand in a line over an hour because the tower is very popular. In addition, only a limited number of visitors are allowed inside at a time. Unlike its gorgeous appearance, its inside is built very practically. The tower was actually built as a place just for battle.

The beautiful decorations of the Main Tower

The interior of the Main Tower (licensed by alisdair via Wikimedia Commons)

The inside has kitchens, toilets and warehouses to accommodate many soldiers for a long siege. You can also see how soldiers could use machicolations and loopholes inside. The Large Main Tower is mainly supported by two large pillars (the East and West). The West Large Pillar had actually been spoiled, so it was replaced with new one when The Showa Great Repairs were done in 1959. The foot of the East Large Pillar was also fixed then. You can now see these large pillars clearly above the third floor.

A kitchen in the Main Tower (licensed by Corpse Reviver via Wikimedia Commons)

The West Large Pillar (taken by あけび from photoAC)

Features (Sides and Back of Castle)

The map around the castle

Himeji Castle has a lot of perspectives even in the sides and back. Let me introduce some of them. First, on the front foot of Himeyama mountain, you can see terraced stone walls which are piled with natural stones, a primitive method called “Nozura-zumi”. They are said to be built by Hideyoshi Hashiba or Kanbe Kuroda. They also surround Kamiyamazato Enclosure which is one of the oldest enclosures in the castle.

The old stone walls surrounding Kamiyamazato Enclosure

Moving to the right side of the castle, you can see the edge of the moat which is separated from the Inner Moat. There was the warehouse for freight called Uchisenba-gura nearby. This meant that the moat was used as a port.

The stone walls on the eastern side of Ido Enclosure are among the highest stone walls in the castle. In addition, the right side of the Large Main Tower is outstanding where you can see the great hip-and-gable roof on the second layer. The combination of them is perfect for a picture.

The high stone walls under Ido Enclosure

The combination of the Main Tower and the high stone walls

On the back side of the castle, you can see another edge of the moat. In fact, the edge is the starting point of all the swirling moats in the castle. The back of Himeyama mountain still remains natural, so its appearance with the Main Towers has a unique perspective. The area around has the doubled Inner Moats as the second turn of the moats starts there and they offered strong protection to the back of the castle.

The Main Tower on the back of the mountain

To be continued in “Himeji Castle Part4”
Back to “Himeji Castle Part2”