main enclosure – ページ 4 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

114.Karasawayama Castle Part3

The stone walls of the main enclosure entrance are not so high, but use several huge ornament stones.
In addition, the entrance was recently researched and it was found that it had a turret gate. Overall, these structures made the castle stronger as well as more authorized.

Features

Great Stone Walls of Main Enclosure

The stone walls are around 8m high and about 40m long. They were built by piling natural or roughly processed stones in a way called Nozura-zumi. They look rough but really great! It was said that the last lord, Nobuyoshi Sano built them by inviting an excellent guild of stone craftsmen celled Ano-shu from western Japan.

The map around the castle

The stone walls seen from the second enclosure side

You will eventually enter the second enclosure just below the main enclosure. Therefore, you will see the entrance of the main enclosure, which was also surrounded by great stone walls. They are not so high (at 2.5m), but use several huge ornament stones, called Kagami-ishi (meaning mirror stones).
In addition, the entrance was recently researched and it was found that it had a turret gate. Overall, these structures made the castle stronger as well as more authorized.

The second enclosure in the front and the main enclosure in the back

The enclosure is on top of the mountain and is used for the shine buildings. It is unknown what buildings it had in the past, but it might have had buildings like the Main Hall and the Main Tower.

Defensive Spots in North and South

There is another enclosure, in the south of the main enclosure, called Nanjo (meaning southern castle). It was built to protect the southern ridge of the mountain where you can see stone walls and dry moats around. The shrine office is on the enclosure and this is another great viewing spot. If the weather is fine, you can enjoy a view of both Tokyo Sky Tree and Mt. Fuji. Nobuyoshi might have had no choice but to accept the shogunate’s close questioning that looking down on Edo Castle from the mountain would be rude.

The dry moats around the enclosure, called the First Moat

A view from the enclosure, it was clouded when I visited there

There is also other enclosures on the northern ridges, such as the Northern Castle. They are basically made of soil, divided by earthen ditches and connected by earthen bridges, which were older parts of the castle.

The double ditches between the Sugi and northern enclosures

Hiking Course has other Castle Ruins

For hikers, it is recommended to try part of Karasawayama Shuyu(Round) Course, from the castle to Imori-yama Mountain via the Kagami-iwa Rock, Byobu-iwa Rock and Gongen-do Hall Ruins. The course is on another ridge connected to the Karasawayama Mountain, which was a defense point for the castle.

The map around the mountain

The relief map around the mountain

That’s why you can see a set of a narrow bridge with artificial ditches on the way. You can also enjoy a great view of the whole Kanto Region on each peak of the ridge. The Imori Mountain is where Kenshin Uesugi and Masatsuna Sano fought against each other in their last battle in 1570.

Later History

After the Sano Clan was banished by the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Ii Clan which was a senior vassal family of the shogunate owned the Sano area as its detached territory during the Edo Period. The clan banned people from entering the mountain, the former castle area. That’s why the ruins of the castle have been preserved in a good condition. After the Meiji Restoration, locals established the Karasawayama Shrine in 1883. Establishing shrines on castle ruins was a popular way to maintain them at that time. The ruins also became part of Karasawayama Prefectural Natural Park in 1965. That’s why several approaches and hiking courses have been developed there. As for castle ruins, Sano City has been researching and studying them since 2007. As a result, they were designated as a National Historic Site in 2014.

My Impression

The current people often say Kenshin Uesugi attacked Karasawayama Castle and approached its main enclosure, but failed. Meanwhile, Kenshin himself wrote on his letter in 1567 when he owned the castle and was attacked by the Hojo Clan that “Only the Main Enclosure remained”. I’m not sure if similar things happened twice whether the people misunderstood Kenshin’s sides. Either way, Kenshin and the castle were closely involved. I think the people are still borrowing his name even today to explain about the strength of the castle.

The main enclosure of Karasawayama Castle

How to get There

If you want to visit the castle ruins by car, it is about a 10-minute drive away from Sano-Tanuma IC on the Kitakanto Expressway.
There are parking lots at the foot, the mid slope and top of the mountain.
By public transportation, it takes about 40 minutes on foot from Tanuma Station on the Tobu-Sano Line to the top.
From Tokyo to the station: take the train on the Joban Line from Tokyo or Ueno Stations, transfer to the Tobu-Isesaki Line at Kitasenju Station, and transfer to the Tobu-Sano Line at Tatebayashi Station.

The parking lot on the way of the hiking course

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Karasawayama Castle Part1”
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108.Tsurugaoka Castle Part2

Today, the ruins of Tsurugaoka Castle have been developed as Tsuruoka Park. The site seems to have a different atmosphere from other castles or castle ruins. One of the reasons may be that the castle originally had water moats and earthen walls but few stone walls, giving the park a more scenic look for the visitors.

Features

Site looks Scenic and Retro-Modern

The map around the castle

Another reason is that there are several historical modern buildings around the park, most of which are in the Chido Museum. The museum is in the former Third Enclosure of the castle, where the lord’s residence was built. That’s why there is the Sakai Clan Garden which probably originates from the residence inside. The garden has also been designated as a National Place of Scenic Beauty. In addition, the current residence beside the garden was part of the retreat for the 9th lord, Tadaaki Sakai during the end of the Edo Period. The modern historical buildings, such as the former Tsuruoka Police Office built in the Meiji Era, were collected from somewhere in the city. Surprisingly, the museum director is a descendant of the Sakai Clan, who still live in the city.

The Chido Museum on the left and the Tsuruoka Park on the right

Entrances of old and current site

The park consists of the Main Enclosure in the center and partially the second enclosure surrounding. It has five entrances, the same number as in the past, but each has a different appearance or location. For example, the eastern entrance of the park was the Main Gate in the second enclosure, which was protected by the Masugata system. However, the system was removed and turned into the city area. The current path from the entrance goes straight to the center but past visitors had to go around to Naka-no-mon Gate (meaning the Middle Gate) at the southern side of the Main Enclosure after crossing Naka-no-hashi Bridge (meaning the Middle Bridge) over the Inner Moat.

The part of the Main Gate in the miniature model exhibited by the Chido Museum

The eastern entrance of the park (the Main Gate Ruins)

Past visitors had to go around from the Main Gate on the right to Naka-no-mon Gate in the front, according to the miniature model above

Current visitors can go straight to the center using the approach to Shonai Shrine

Meanwhile, the current southern entrance may be similar to the original Naka-no-mon Gate, where you can go across a bridge over the moat like the visitors used to cross the Naka-no-hashi Bridge. There is another traditional and beautiful modern building, called Taihokan Museum, behind the bridge, which was originally built in 1915 as a commercial museum, but has now become another historical museum. Therefore, you may feel a retro-modern atmosphere rather than from the castle’s period.

The part of the Naka-no-mon Gate in the miniature model above

The current southern entrance of the park, *taken by FRANK211 from photo AC*

The Naka-no-hashi Bridge was built near the current bridge

The Naka-no-mon Gate was built at the current Taihokan Museum

Shonai Shrine and Corner Turret Ruins in Main Enclosure

There are no castle buildings in the park. Instead, Shonai Shrine is in the Main Enclosure, which worships four ancestors of the Sakai Clan including Tadakatsu Sakai, the founder of the Shonai Domain. The shrine was established in 1877 in a part of a trend at that time of establishing shrines at abandoned castle sites. If you want to see something of castle-like items, you can go to the back of the shrine at the northern side of the enclosure. There are still surrounding earthen walls and also the ruins of the Corner Turret which was the substitute for a Main Tower.

The earthen walls surrounding the Main Enclosure

To be continued in “Tsurugaoka Castle Part3”
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162.Izushi Castle/Arikoyama Castle Part3

Next comes Izushi Castle Ruins. Visitors usually first go across Tojo-bashi Bridge over Taniyama-gawa River in front of the ruins and enter Tojo-mon Gate. You will climb gentle stone steps while seeing great stone walls of the Second Enclosure on the left.

Features

Easy Route to Izushi Castle Ruins

Next comes Izushi Castle Ruins which casual visitors can easily get to. The ruins consist of several tiered enclosures at the foot of the mountain. Visitors usually first go across Tojo-bashi (meaning the bridge for going to the castle) over Taniyama-gawa River in front of the ruins and enter Tojo-mon (meaning the gate for going to the castle). You will climb gentle stone steps while seeing great stone walls of the Second Enclosure on the left. The stones used for the walls look more processed and newer than those of Arikoyama Castle on the mountain, because of the difference of their periods. The enclosure is empty now, which was used as the domain’s offices.

The map around the castle

The stone walls of the second enclosure on the left

The main enclosure is above the second enclosure, which has two rebuilt turrets on both front corners (called the Eastern and Western Corner Turrets). Their designs are different from the original ones, but are made out of wood in a traditional way and look good matching the remaining stone walls.

The interior of the Western Corner Turrret, it is sometimes open to the public

There was the Main Hall in the enclosure, and is now Kannoden Shrine instead, which worships Hisahide Sengoku, the founder of the clan.

Inari Enclosure at Highest of Castle

The Inari Enclosure is at the highest of the castle. It also has the highest stone walls in the castle at 13.5m. This is very rare among Japanese castles as other castles’ main enclosures are usually at the highest and have the greatest stone walls in the castle. The Arikoyama Shrine building has been constructed in the Inari Enclosure since the early stage of the castle. The current building was rebuilt during the late Edo Period and looks very old.

The high stone walls of the Inari Enclosure on the right

Attractions of Castle Town

Part of the old castle town is the former third enclosure which had the Main, Eastern and Western Gates. You can still see the partially remaining stone walls of the Main and Western Gates there. You can also visit Karo Yashiki (meaning the Senior Vassal’s Residence) which is the only remaining Samurai residence in this area. It is interesting that it looks like a single-storied house, but in fact, it has a secret chamber as the second floor.

The map around the castle town

The hidden second floor of the residence, the host on the right can see who is coming from the steps on the left through the hole in the central wall

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Izushi Castle was abandoned and all the castle buildings were demolished in 1871. Instead, locals built a new drum tower called Shinkoro at the Main Gate in the same year. The tower was turned into a clock tower in 1881 and has become a symbol of the area. The area once declined because it deviated from a railway line. However, locals made great efforts to boost tourism by rebuilding castle buildings, promoting Izushi Soba noodles, Izushi Pottery which originated from the castle’s period, and so on. The area was also designated as a Preservation District for Groups of Historic Buildings in 2007. As a result, the area has become an attractive traditional town as we can see now.

Izushi Soba Noodles, they are usually served on a plate

My Impression

As a fact, visiting the Izushi area takes a lot of time no matter which transportation you take. However, lots of people often visit the area. That’s because there are many attractions including the two castle ruins of Izushi and Akikoyama. Other attractions also came from the long history of this area. In my case, I would like to visit that place again to get to the ruins of Konosumi-yama Castle which the Yamana Clan first lived and I didn’t know about during my last visit. Other than castles and ruins, I would also like to buy another Izushi Pottery which has white skin and engraved patterns.

How to get There

If you want to visit the castle ruins by car, it is about a 30-minute drive away from Wadayama IC on the Bantan Renkaku Road.
There are several parking lots around Izushi Castle Ruins.
By public transportation, you can take the Zentan bus bound for Izushi from JR Toyooka Station and get off at the final bus stop.
From Tokyo to Toyooka Station: take the Tokaido Shinkansen super express and transfer to the Sanin Line at Kyoto Station.

The Toyooka Station, the bus terminal is around the center

That’s all. Thank you.
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