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

78.Marugame Castle Part2

Great stone walls, great view and the remaining Main Tower

Features

Today, Marugame Castle is open to the public as Marugame Castle itself or the Kame-yama Park. The range of the park is inside the Inner Moat. When you stand in front of the moat, you would be surprised to see the amazing high stone walls with the remaining Main Tower on them. The high stone walls are about 60m which is said to be the highest stone walls among other multiple tiers in Japan. (the highest in single tier is the stone walls of Osaka Castle which is about 33m high).

The aerial photo around the castle

From Main Gate to Third Enclosure

Visitors usually enter the castle through the remaining Main Gate after crossing the bridge over the moat from the north. This gate has a typical defensive gate building style called Masugata. It consists of a square space surrounded by two gate buildings, mud walls, and stone walls.

Then, you will walk up on the long steep slope called Mikaeri-zaka or the Look-back Slope to the eastern direction. On the way of the slope, you will see the highest single tier stone walls in this castle which is 22m high of the Third Enclosure. In particular, the corner of the stone walls is very beautiful called the Slope of a Folding Fan which means its lower part is not steep, but its upper part becomes vertical.

The high stone walls of the Third Enclosure

You will eventually arrive at the eastern part of the Third Enclosure. You can see a great view of the Sanuki-Fuji from the ruins of Tsukimi-Yagura or the Moon Watching Turret.

The ruins of the Moon Watching Turret at the Third Enclosure

A view of the Sanuki-Fuji from the ruins of the Moon Watching Turret

From Second Enclosure to Main Enclosure

After that, you will enter the Second Enclosure between the Main and the Second Enclosures. The enclosure once had several turrets connected with mud walls like the Main Enclosure, now has a square with cherry trees and which local people are familiar with.

You will finally enter the Main Enclosure at the highest in the castle. A 360-degree view from there is so great. You can see not only the Sanuki-Fuji but also the islands and the Great Seto Bridge on Seto Inland Sea.

A view of Marugame City area and Seto Inland Sea from the Main Enclosure

The Great Seto Bridge on Seto Inland Sea

Devised Remaining Main Tower

The enclosure now has only the Main Tower, one of the twelve remaining main towers in Japan. It is a kind of three-story turret and, in fact, the smallest one among the twelve main towers.

The back side of the remaining Main Tower that can be seen from the Main Enclosure

However, it was improved in some points to look bigger than it is when looking up it from the foot of the mountain. The first point is the reduction rate to the top of the tower is relatively large. The second one is that the decorations of the tower like the hip-and-gable roof and the Chinese styled gable are facing outside. They help the Main Tower looks big from below.

The front side of the remaining Main Tower that can be seen from the foot of the mountain

You can also enter the tower and may feel it was made practical as a turret. The steps to upstairs are very steep. It equips machicolations and loopholes for battles. It also exhibits the historical explanation and miniature model of the castle now.

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

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”

59.Himeji Castle Part2

The castle and the town are united as one.

Features (From Himeji Station to the Main Towers)

When you go out of the north (Himeji-jo) exit of Himeji Stataion, you can see the Main Towers towards the main street in front of the station in the distance. You get the feeling that the castle and the town are united as one. The Outer Moat was built around this area. The Main Towers are still over 1.5 km away. On the way to the castle along the street, you will see the stone walls of Nakanomon Gate Ruins on the left, where the Middle Moat existed. The area around there has become the city area now, but the street looks like the approach to the castle.

The aerial photo around the castle

Himeji Castle that can be seen from Himeji Station

Soon, you will reach the front of the Inner Moat. The inside of the moat is the main portion of the castle called “Naikaku”. The Main Gate called Sakura-mon is the entrance of Naikaku, which is accessible after walking across the bridge. The gate was once demolished but was restored. You can see a large empty square called the Third Enclosure where many halls once stood. You can now get to see the Main Towers on Himeyama mountain up close.

The restored Sakura-mon Gate (the Main Gate)

The ticket office is at the back of the square. After buying the ticket, you will enter Hishinomon Gate, the entrance of the Second Enclosure. You can go to both the Main Towers on Himeyama mountain and Nishinomaru Enclosure on Sagiyama mountain from the gate because it is located in the valley between the mountains. Inside the gate, you can also see Sangokubori Moat which is said to once be a water reservoir. The Main Towers start to look bigger.

Sangokubori Moat *(taken by わゆすけ from photoAC)*

To reach the Main Towers, you will need to go through many gates in front of you. In fact, the shortcuts to the Main Towers are set on the right of Sangokubori Moat, but the routes can be hard to find for visitors. That meant enemies could be led to the difficult route easily. You can see a lot of loopholes on the plaster walls along the route. The loopholes have several interesting shapes, but they were also a threat to enemies.

The map around the castle

The farther you go, the closer the Main Towers get; however, the route suddenly changes direction before the Ninomon Gate. In addition, the entrance of the gate is very low and narrow under the turret building for the gate. Enemies would have been very confused to see such a defense system. You will enter the Main Tower Enclosure after passing the next gate called Honomon. You can see a mud wall on the right, which looks different from the castle’s other white plaster walls. It is called “Abura-kabe” or the Oil Wall and said to derive from Hideyoshi’s period. The wall actually hid other gates to the Large Main Tower. You will need to go through five more gates to reach the tower! The three Small Main Towers are along the route to protect the Large Main Tower.

Ninomon Gate *(licensed by そらみみ via Wikimedia Commons)*

The Oil Wall *(licensed by 663highland via Wikimedia Commons)*

The Small Main Towers protecting the Large Main Tower

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