The Main Tower remained, but was burned down, then restored.
Later History
After the Meiji Restoration, Ogaki Castle was abandoned and almost all the buildings of the castle were demolished. A lot of moats were also reclaimed except the Outer Moat called Suimon-gawa River. They were turned into the city area.
Suimon-gawa River, the former Outer Moat
Only the Main Tower and two turrets at the Main Enclosure remained. Especially, the external design of the Main Tower was used when the Main Tower of Gujo-Hachiman Castle was rebuilt in 1933.
The old photo of the original Main Tower, from the signboard at the site The rebuilt Main Tower of Gujo-Hachiman Castle
However, those of Ogaki Castle were unfortunately burned down by the Ogaki Air Raid in 1945. After World War II, they were externally restored in 1967 using the design of the original ones and Gujo-Hachiman Castle instead.
The externally restored Main Tower of Ogaki Castle
Features
Around Main Tower as Ogaki Park
The map around the castle
Today, only around the Main and Second Enclosures remained as the Ogaki Park. Part around the Second Enclosure is a normal park and the Main Enclosure has a historical atmosphere. No moats unfortunately remained around the enclosure while the roads around it are probably the former moats.
Ogaki ParkA road around, probably the former moat
It has two gates, the Western Gate was built in the present time, and the Eastern Gate is the original, but was moved from another place which was once called Yanagikuchi-mon Gate. There are also the externally restored Inui and Ushitorra Turrets alongside the gates.
The Western Gate built in the present timeThe Eastern Gate, moved from the Yanagikuchi-mon GateThe externally restored Inui TurretThe externally restored Ushitora Turret
The restored four-level Main Tower is inside the enclosure, which is actually a modern building and used as a historical museum.
The inside of the Main EnclosureThe remaining stone walls of the Main Enclosure
From the Eastern Enclosure, you can enter the Main Enclosure by passing through two gate ruins and the Nagatsubone Enclosure between them.
The past Eastern Enclosure (front) and Nagatsubone Enclosure (back), drawn in the signboard at the siteThe present Eastern EnclosureThe Nagatsubone-uzumi-mon Gate Ruins, the entrance of the Nagatsubone EnclosureThe long and narrow Nagatsubone EnclosureThe Front Gate Ruins of the Main Enclosure, the exit of the Nagatsubone EnclosureThe Front Gate Ruins seen from the inside of the Main Enclosure
The inside of the Main Enclosure is a square now. You can see from there views of the city area far away and the castle area around such as the Demaru Enclosure which also protected the Main Enclosure, but it is now used as a parking lot.
The past Main Enclosure, drawn in the signboard at the siteThe inside of the Main EnclosureA view from the Main EnclosureThe past Demaru Enclosure, drawn in the signboard at the siteA view of the Demaru Enclosure seen from the Main EnclosureA side view of the Demaru Enclosure
You can also see the Uzumi-mon Gate Ruins which is the entrance from the Second Enclosure. It is interesting to see the stones on the steps are all cut in the shape of a triangle.
The past Uzumi-mon Gate, drawn in the signboard at the siteThe Uzumi-mon Gate RuinsThe stones on the steps cut in the shape of a triangle
Later History
After the Meiji Restoration, Iwamura Castle was abandoned and all the buildings of the castle excluding the Main Hall at the foot were demolished. The hall was also burned by a fire in 1881. Iwamura History Museum opened in 1972 at the site of the former hall and part of the hall was also restored in 1990. On the mountain side, Ena City, which owns the ruins, recently excavated and researched them to develop and preserve them. The city aims to someday make the ruins designated as a National Historic Site.
Iwamura History MuseumThe partly restored Main Hall (taken by HiC from photoAC)
My Impression
When I visited the ruins of Iwamura Castle, I made a mistake choosing my parking spot. I wanted to walk around the ruins from the foot to the top. However, my car navigation system led me to the parking lot near the top automatically. Therefore, I had to climb down to the foot first, then I returned back to the top. For visitors who want to see the entire ruins should park at the foot. If you want to see only the great stone walls on the top, you can park at the Demaru Enclosure, which is few minutes on foot from the Main Enclosure on the top.
The parking lot in the Demaru EnclosureThe Six Tier Stone Walls near the top
How to get There
I recommend using a car when you visit the castle ruins. It is about a 20-minute drive away from Ena IC on the Chuo Expressway. There are two parking lots near the top and at the foot of the ruins If you want to use public transportation, It takes about 30 minutes on foot from Iwamura Station on the Akechi Railway to arrive at the foot. To get to Iwamura Station from Tokyo or Osaka: Take the Tokaido Shinkansen super express, transfer to the Chuo Line at Nagoya Station and transfer to the Akechi Railway at Ena Station.
Today, the ruins of Iwamura Castle have been well developed for visitors. If you climb up from the foot to the top of the mountain, you can understand how strong the castle was. There is the partly restored Main Hall for the lord with the Drum Turret on the foot. From the foot, you will need to climb to the top for about 800 m long and about 170 meters high. Only stone walls and foundations of the castle remain on the mountain. However, if you have a smartphone, you can see the re-produced image using CG and hear the explanation (however only available in Japanese) at each signboard by scanning the QR code on it.
The starting point to the castle ruins
The map around the castle
An example of the re-produced images (around the Main Gate)
Lots of Gateway to protect Castle
The first part of your climb may be very tough because the trail is steep and it’s on a winding road which is as long as 500m, which is called Fijisaka. You will pass three defense points called Hatsu-mon Gate, Ichi-no-mon Gate and Toki-mon Gate before reaching the Main Gate Ruins. Enemies in the past must have also found it tough when they attacked the castle through the same route.
The long Fujisaka roadThe past Hatsu-mon Gate drawn in the signboard at the siteThe present Hatsu-mon Gate Ruins seen from aboveThe past Ichi-no-mon Gate drawn in the signboard at the siteThe present Ichi-no-mon Gate RuinsThe past Toki-mon Gate drawn in the signboard at the siteThe present Toki-mon Gate RuinsThe Toki-mon Gate Ruins seen from above
Main Gate, Pivot for Defense
The Main Gate was the pivot for the defense, which had a complex system protecting the castle. The Three-level Turret was built beside the gate, which was also the symbol of the castle. The current trail goes around to the left, but visitors in the past had to go across a bridge called the Tatami-bashi which went straight to the gate. The floor boards of the bridge could be removed like tatami mats (traditional mats in Japanese homes) if enemies were to attack. Moreover, visitors had to turn left on the bridge when they entered the gate. If visitors were enemies, they would have been stuck and counterattacked from the turret and gate.
The past around the Main Gate drawn in the signboard at the siteThe present around the Main Gate RuinsThe current trail goes around to the leftThe Tatami-bashi Bridge was built here
After passing the Main Gate Ruins, the trail becomes easier, and the area around it is relatively spacious. There used to be some warriors’ houses in the past. You will go though the area seeing the Hachiman Shrine Ruins on the left and the Kirigai Well which was said to never run out of water on the right. There were two routes in the past to reach the Main Enclosure on the top, the one from the Second Enclosure and the other from the Eastern Enclosure. However, the Second Enclosure is not well developed for visitors now, so most visitors usually go towards the Eastern Enclosure instead.
The ruins of the warriors’ housesThe Hachiman Shrine RuinsThe Kirigai WellThe Second Enclosure on the right
Six Tier Stone Walls, Highlight of Castle
One of the highlights of the castle is the Six Tier Stone Walls of the Main Enclosure beside the Eastern Enclosure. They look so great. In fact, these stone walls had originally been a single high stone walls, but the other tiers were added later to prevent them from collapsing. Other than that, the Main Enclosure is all surrounded by great stone walls, especially, the high stone walls on the western side are also so nice.
A front view of the Six Tier Stone WallsA view of the Six Tier Stone Walls from the right sideA view from the top of the Six Tier Stone WallsThe high stone walls on the western side of the Main Enclosure
