83.Uwajima Castle Part2

The Main Tower of peace time remains

Features

Entrance to Castle

Today, Uwajima Castle has few buildings, but including one of the twelve remaining Main Towers in Japan. The sea and water moats around the castle were removed and only the mountain parts remained. If you want to visit the castle from Uwajima Station, you can walk through the city area and enter the eastern side of the mountain beside the fire station. There was the Third Enclosure in the past. You will see a traditional building like the Main Gate at the entrance. It is actually the Nagaya-mon Gate of the house of the Kori Clan, a senior vassal of the Uwajima Domain, which was moved from another place in 1963.

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Nagaya-mon Gate
Leaflet, © OpenStreetMap contributors
The map around the castle

The entrance to the castle from Uwajima Station
The Nagaya-mon Gate of the house of the Kori Clan

Climbing up with Seeing Stone Walls

You can climb up to the top of the mountain through the zigzagged trail, seeing old stone walls which might have been built in Takatora’s period. You will first be the Well Enclosure on the way. This is one of the many small enclosures of the castle, which had not only a well but also a set of defense; a gate, turret and stone walls. If you go farther, you will be under the high stone walls of the Main Enclosure. You can see half of the stone was built using some old stones and you can also see the trace of some parts that were repaired. After that, you will reach the Main Enclosure, passing the Second Enclosure.

The stone walls along the trail
The Well Enclosure
The high stone walls of the Main Enclosure
The right side of the blue line was built using old stones, while the left side was repaired, from the signboard

Views from Main Enclosure

The Main Enclosure originally had many buildings around the Main Tower which was the only thing that remained. You can enter the enclosure through the stone walls of the Kushigata-mon Gate. You can also enjoy views of the city area in the northeast and the Uwajima Bay in the northwest. In fact, the bay was beside the mountain, but the reclamation of the bay started in the Edo Period, probably it was reclaimed earlier than other castles.

The ruins of the Kushigata-mon Gate
The Main Enclosure
The past Main Enclosure drawn in the “Folding Screen of Illustration of Uwajima Castle and Town”, from the signboard
A view of Uwajima city area from the Main Enclosure
A view of Uwajima Bay from the Main Enclosure

Elegant Appearance of Main Tower

The highlight of the Main Enclosure is, of course, the Main Tower. The tower is not so large (15.7m high) compared with other remaining Main Towers in Japan. However, it looks very elegant with white plaster walls and lots of decorations. It has three levels with three roofs which all have a good design. The top roof has a Chinese styled gable. The second roof has a large triangular shaped gable, and the first roof has two smaller gables. In addition, the entrance of the first floor has another Chinese styled gable on its roof.

The Main Tower seen from below the high stone walls
The front side of the Main Tower
The right side of the Main Tower

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

179.Kagomori Castle Part2

You can enjoy a mountain castle safely.

Features

Unique Natural terrain

Today, the ruins of Kagomori Castle have been re-developed for visitors. If you drive to the ruins, you can park at the south of the mountain, which is below the upside-down U shape. After that, you can first walk to the bottom of the valley called Furogadani, which is likely the inside of the U shape. You will probably feel like you are entirely surrounded by the ridges of the mountain, which has very unique terrain. You can still see the well of the castle, filled with water, but probably can not be consumed now.

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Parking lot
Leaflet|国土地理院
The aerial photo around the castle

Going to Furogadani Valley
The well of the castle, quoted from the website of Matsuno Town
The beginning of the path

Enclosures are in line on U shape Ridge

Visitors typically climb up to the western edge of the U shape from the valley through the steep zigzagged trail. You will reach the Western 10th Enclosure, which is approximately 70m above the bottom of the valley. There is the restored gate, a barrack with horse stable and earthen walls, thanks to the results from the excavations. The excavation team also discovered that the enclosure had the hall turrets, which was called Tamon-Yagura, beside the earthen walls. From there, you can see the area around including the Shinjo Enclosure, which is located on the opposite edge of the U shape. Overall, this enclosure was the pivot point of the castle.

Closing to the Western 10th Enclosure
The restored gate
The Western 10th Enclosure
The horse stable part of the barrack
A view from the Western 10th Enclosure

If you want to get closer to the center of the castle, the Main Enclosure, you will have to go through as many as eight enclosures. Each enclosure is small, but all are in a line on the long and the narrow ridge of the mountain. These enclosures were divided by artificial ditches called Horikiri. The route to the Main Enclosure is much narrower and goes along the side of these enclosures. If enemies were to attack the castle using this route, they would have found it very challenging. However, visitors today can walk on the same route safely because steps and bridges were installed.

The steps and bridge installed on the trail
The trail goes beside the enclosures
One of the artificial ditches

Main Enclosure, Center of Castle

When you reach the entrance of the Main Enclosure, you will find some remaining stone walls. They are part of the alternative entrance called Koguchi, which replaced the old ditch in the later stage of the castle. The Main Enclosure is on the top of the mountain (approximately 90m from the foot) and the center of the U shape ridge. From here, you can enjoy views of Matsuno Town in the north and both edges of the ridges, the Sinjo Enclosure and the Western 10th Enclosure you passed through. This was ideal for the headquarters.

The Main Enclosure
A view of Matsuo Town
A view of the Western 10th Enclosure from the Mian Enclosure
A view of the Shinjo Enclosure from the Mian Enclosure

There are also some restored pillars and floor of the Main Hall to show visitors its layout based on the excavation. It was thought that this is where the lord lived and some ceremonies were held in the same hall. In addition, relics like stone foundations and rooftiles, which might have been used for the Main Tower, were discovered in the enclosure.

The partially restored pillars and floor of the Main Hall

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

179.Kagomori Castle Part1

A castle located around the border between provinces

Location and History

Area of Border Dispute

The ruins of Kagomori Castle are now located in Matsuno Town in Ehime Prefecture, near the Kochi border. Similarly, the castle was located in Iyo Province which was near the border of Iyo Province and Tosa Province in the past. This location was often tense because it was important to the lords of both provinces in order to maintain their territories.

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Kagomori Castle
Leaflet, © OpenStreetMap contributors
The range of Iyo Province and the location of Kagomori Castle

It is often said The Watanabe Clan owned the castle since the 12th Century. The clan eventually followed the Saionji Clan which governed the southern Iyo Province, and became one of the fifteen commanders of Saionji. Kanesada Ichijo, the lord of Tosa Province in the first 16th Century, sent one of his relatives, to the Watanabe Clan to become their adopted heir. In fact, this was his preparation for the invasion of Iyo Province. The adopted Noritada Watanabe did nothing for his master, Kinhiro Saionji when Kanesada actually invaded the Iyo Province in 1567. Kinhiro got angry and decided to attack Noritada in Kagomori Castle before Noritada could surrender. This event happened at the castle near the border.

The portrait of Kanesada Ishijo, owned by Ryushu-ji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Castle is built on U shape Ridge

Kagomori Castle was built on a mountain where the ridge looked like the letter U. A lot of its enclosures were in a line on the long and narrow ridge. The Main Enclosure was on the center of the U shape, in the northernmost section. Nine enclosures were from the western edge of the U shape which was the next to the Main Enclosure. Another three enclosures were east of the Main Enclosure. In addition, the two Kojo Enclosures and the Sinjo Enclosure were in the eastern edge of the U shape. There were 16 enclosures in total, though each of them was small. They were basically made of soil, divided by artificial ditches, and the slope of the mountain which was intentionally cut vertically. Moreover, the mountain was surrounded by rivers in three directions except for the south. Overall, the castle can be seen as a stronghold using natural terrain.

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Main Enclosure
Leaflet|国土地理院
The relief map around the castle

During the unification of Japan by Hideyoshi Toyotomi in the 1580s, his retainer, Katsutaka Toda became the lord of the southern Iyo Province which included Kagomori Castle. Katsutaka became the leader, and then, Takatora Todo became the next leader in 1595 after Katsutaka died. Kagomori Castle continued to be an important castle near the border of Tosa Province even during the unification of Japan. This is because the governance of Japan was still unstable. The lord of Iyo Province needed to keep monitoring the movements of the Chosogabe and Yamanouchi Clans.

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

Castle is improved during Unification of Japan

Kagomori Castle had basically been a simple mountain castle, but was eventually improved with the latest technology from Katsutaka or Takatora. For example, stone walls were built around the Main Enclosure. The enclosure originally had the Main Hall for the lord, and a building like the Main Tower was added. The excavation team managed to find large sized rooftiles including grampuses at the site, which could have been used for the Main Tower. According to Takatora’s biography, the Main Tower of Kagomori Castle was moved to his home base, Uwajima Castle and used as a turret. However, this is still not entirely proven, but Kagomori Castle might have looked like a modern castle.

The partially remaining stone walls at the Main Enclosure of Kagomori Castle
Uwajima Castle

In 1615, Ieyasu Tokugawa, who was the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, defeated the Toyotomi Clan in Osaka Castle. After that, the authority of the shogunate was established. The shogunate ordered all of the lords in Japan to follow one castle rule, the Law of One Castle per Province to make its government more stable. Because of the new law, Kagomori Castle, which was owned by the Date Clan after Takatora was moved to another province, was eventually abandoned.

The ruins of Kagomori Castle

To be continued in “Kagomori Castle Part2”

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