main enclosure – ページ 31 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

183.Kurume Castle Part2

The stone walls of the castle are still intact.

Features

Great Stone Walls of Main Enclosure

Today, only the Main Enclosure remains as the ruins of Kurume Castle. The ruins have no castle buildings, but its stone walls are still mostly intact. The scale of the enclosure is not so large, about 150m from north to south and about 100m from east to west. It is surprising to imagine there were seven three-story turrets all connected by two-story row-style turrets in such a limited space. There is the Sasayama Shrine which worships the Arima Clan in the enclosure.

The map around the castle

The ruins of Kurume Castle now have only the Main Enclosure

Newer Stone Walls of Southern side

The front side of the enclosure is facing the south, which is also the entrance of the shrine. The only remaining water moat is located on that side. You can see the great high stone walls with a height of 15m. The stone walls of this side are constituted of piled, aligned square cut stones, in a method called Nuno-zumi. This method is newer than the one used in the rest of the castle, so it is thought that they were built by the Arima Clan.

The high stone walls of the southern side

The three three-story turrets; Tatsumi(Southeast), Taiko(Drum) and Hitsujisaru(Southwest) Turrets used to stand on the stone walls. In particular, the Tatsumi Turret was the largest, which meant it was the symbol and the substitute of the Main Tower of the castle.

The stone walls under the Tatsumi Turret Ruins

Inside of Main Enclosure

You can enter the enclosure through the ruins of the Kabuki-gomon Gate, on the paved route turning left. The route used to pass by a defensive square space called Masugata, but it is not visible clearly since the route was paved.

In the enclosure, there is the Arima Memorial Museum which exhibits the legacy of the Arima Clan, which the Sasayama Shrine isn’t a part of. The museum is on the ruins of the Hitsujisatu and Nishishita(West) Turrets. On or beside the ruins of the other turrets, there are several monuments about the local history. For example, there is the monument for remembering the sufferers of the incident in 1871 on the ruins of the Taiko Turret, where you can see its great stone walls close nearby.

the monument for remembering the sufferers of the incident on the Taiko Turret Ruins, on the right of the picture (licensed by そらみみ via Wikimedia Commons)

A view of the high stone walls from the Taiko Turret Ruins

There is also the monument for the 56th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army beside the ruins of the Ushitora(Northeast) Turret, where you can see the Chikugo River.

The Older Stone Walls of Eastern side

You can also enjoy a great view of the stone walls at the eastern side of the enclosure. The surface of the stone walls is made of piled roughly processed stones with small stones filling the gaps. This method is called Uchikomi-hagi. On the other hand, their corners are made of piled processed rectangular stones alternately, following the method called Sangi-zumi. These methods are older than the one used at the southern side, so these stone walls might have been built by the Mori or Tanaka Clans.

The stone walls at a corner, made of piled processed rectangular stones alternately

There is another entrance with stone steps on this side, beside the ruins of the Tsukimi(Moon watching) Turret. It might had also been the front gate as this side had originally been the front side of the enclosure. You can see the Kurume University playground from the turret ruins, which was once a water moat of the castle.

The entrance of the eastern side beside the Tsukimi Turret Ruins

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

89.Saga Castle Part3

The functions of the castle changed.

Features

Remaining Outer Moat

If you have time, consider walking to the remaining Outer Moat from the Main Enclosure. If you walk along the edge of the enclosure, you will see the long line of the stone walls. Some of them were recently restored including the stone wall base of the Southwestern Corner Turret. The original appearance of the castle is returning little by little with the restoration. The Outer Moat is still filled with water and is over 50m wide. It can remind us that the castle was originally protected by many water moats and waterways.

The aerial photo around the castle

The long stone walls of the Main Enclosure

The restored stone wall base of the Southwestern Corner Turret

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Saga Castle was used as the Saga Prefectural Office. That’s why a battle in the Saga Rebellion occurred there. After the rebellion, the surviving Main Enclosure was used as schools. However, the Main Hall was demolished in 1920 while the residential room for the lord was moved to another park. The remaining Shachi-no-mon Gate was designated as an Important Cultural Property in 1957. In 1989, Saga Prefecture decided to restore the Main Hall as a historical museum. After the excavation and research. The official part of the hall, called Omote, was mainly restored combined with the residential room for the lord which returned to its original position. The Main Hall reopened as the Saga Castle History Museum in 2004.

The old photo of the original Main Hall in the Meiji Era *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

The Main Hall has become the Saga Castle History Museum

The miniature models of the remaining or restored structures in the Main Enclosure, exhibited by *the Saga Castle History Museum*

My Impression

Saga Prefecture is trying to show what roles the Saga Domain had in the end of the Edo Period, in the restored Main Hall. There are also other attractions like the stone wall base for the Main Tower. If you compare these structures, you may find the functions of the castle have been changing. The water moats were entirely for defense. The Main Tower added to the castle its authority. The Main Hall was built for governing and residence. They composed the wide variety of functions at Saga Castle.

The Main Tower stone wall base showing authority

How to get There

If you want to visit the ruins by car, it is about 20 minutes away from Saga-Yamato IC on the Nagasaki Expressway.
You can park in the parking lots for visitors in the Main Enclosure.
If you want to use public transportation, you can take the Saga City Bus on the Sagajo-ato Line from JR Saga Station and get off at the Sagajo-ato bus stop.
To get to Saga Station from Tokyo or Osaka: Take the limited express from Hakata Station after using the Shinkansen super express or by plane.

Links and References

・Saga Castle History Museum

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Saga Castle Part1”
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89.Saga Castle Part2

Its Main Enclosure restored like it was at the end of Edo Period.

Features

Remaining Front Gate of Main Enclosure

Today, the ruins of Saga Castle mostly became the area for the official buildings such as the Saga Prefectural Office. The Outer Moat still surrounds the area, but other water moats, such as the Inner Moat, were reclaimed. The Main Enclosure, which survived the Saga Rebellion, has mainly been developed as a historical park. The front gate of the enclosure, called the Shachi-no-mon, is one of the few remaining castle buildings at the site. When you pass through the gate, you can see several bullet holes from the rebellion on the columns and doors. These are physical signs of the reality of the battle during the rebellion.

The aerial photo around the castle

The remaining front gate of the Main Enclosure

Are these smalls holes on the column from gun shots during the Saga Rebellion?

Restored Main Hall of Main Enclosure

Inside the gate, The Main Hall, which Naomasa rebuilt, was partly restored recently in its original form. In front of the entrance, there are some actual objects and replicas of the cannons which the Saga Domain imported from the West at the end of the Edo Period. The cannons the domain itself manufactured unfortunately do not remain. If some of them were still in existence, they would definitely have become some of Japan’s historical treasures.

One of the imported cannons, exhibited in front of the entrance

The interior of the hall is very gorgeous, including the large room with 320 tatami mats. There are also exhibitions introducing the achievements of the domain. For example, the miniature model of the reverberating furnace is exhibited to make visitors easily understand that the domain manufactured iron. At the back area of the hall, the residential room for Naomasa Nabeshima called Gozama, was also restored using the original roof tiles and columns. The panel of his life-sized photo is placed at the same position as he sat, so that visitors can picture how he used the room.

The miniature model of the reverberating furnace

Large scale Stone wall base for Main Tower

Near the restored hall, the stone wall base for the Main Tower is still there. The details of the tower are still not clear because it was burned down much earlier without particular records about it. However, you can imagine the tower would have been rather large from the scale of the base. Historians speculate the tower may have looked like that of Kokura Castle based on their scales and tradition. You can climb up to the top of the base where you can enjoy a view of the Main Enclosure, especially the Main Hall.

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