main enclosure – ページ 40 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

84.Kochi Castle Part1

The Yamanouchi Clan’s unique castle

Location and History

Pre History of Kochi Castle

Kochi City originated from the name Kochi Castle and is the capital of Kochi Prefecture on Shikoku Island. Kochi Castle is one of the most popular tourist spots of the prefecture. It has many remaining castle buildings including the Main Gate, the Main Hall, and the Main Tower. The castle was built on a low mountain called Mt. Otaka-sakayama, but it is uncertain when it was first built. In 1588, Motochika Chosogabe, the lord of Tosa Province, what is now Kochi Prefecture, moved his home base from Okoh Castle to Kochi Caste, which was called Otaka-sakayama Castle at that time. However, he moved again to Urado Castle after only a three-year stay in Otaka-sakayama Castle. This could be because the area received a lot of rain but had poor drainage.

The location of the castle

The portrait of Motochika Chosogabe, owned by Hada Shrine (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Kazutoyo Yamanouchi built Kochi Castle

In 1601, Kazutoyo Yamanouchi was promoted by the Tokugawa Shogunate to a new lord of Tosa Province and became the founder of the Tosa Domain. He tried to rebuild and live in Otaka-sakayama Castle which had enough space to build the castle town. The castle was rebuilt with advanced technology at that time, such as building stone walls and large-scale buildings. After the completion of the castle, it was renamed Kochi Castle. As a result, the Yamanouchi Clan governed the castle and the province all through the Edo Period.

The statue of Kazutoyo Yamanouchi in front of Kochi Castle

Part of the illustration of Kochi Castle in Tosa Province, in the Edo Period, exhibited by the National Archives of Japan

The miniature model of Kochi Castle in its Main Tower

Features of Kochi Castle

Kochi Castle had several interesting features. First, the castle had a lot of stone troughs to allow for proper drainage if it rained a lot. Such a system was very rare for castles in Japan and can even now be seen when you visit the castle.

One of the stone troughs on the stone walls

Secondly, the castle had an old-style Main Tower, called the lookout tower type, for the period of its construction. It is said that Kazutoyo wanted to build the Main Tower resembling the Main Tower of Kakegawa Castle, where he lived before he went to Tosa Province. For this reason, when people in Kakegawa restored the Main Tower of Kakegawa Castle in the present time, they used the design plans of the remaining Main Tower of Kochi Castle.

The restored Main Tower of Kakegawa Castle, taken by Oshiro-man from photo AC

The remaining Main Tower of Kochi Castle

Most of the castle buildings including the Main Tower were unfortunately burned down by a great fire in 1727. When the Tosa Domain rebuilt the castle after the fire, they restored the Main Tower in 1749 in a way which was almost the same as the original one, not using a new style. This could be because the shogunate just allowed the domain to use the original style even for rebuilding. It is also said that the warriors in the domain still loved the style of their founder, Kazutoyo. The Main Tower also didn’t stand on a stone wall base and was connected directly to the Main Hall in the Main Enclosure on the top of the mountain. It is thought that this is also one of the styles of old castles.

The Main Tower, connected directly to the Main Hall

The castle also had a feature using both buildings and natural terrain of the mountain for defense. If enemies attacked the castle to reach the Main Tower, they had to pass through the Suginodan Enclosure and the Second Enclosure which were built around the slope of the mountain. In addition, if enemies passed the Iron Gate before the Second Enclosure, they could be near the Main Tower and see the Tsumemon-Gate which looked like the gate to the tower. However, it was just a bridge between the Main Enclosure and the Second Enclosure, which the enemies could never go across from that point. This is a tricky system to prevent enemies from reaching the center of the castle.

The route from the Main Route to the Main Enclosure and Main Tower (The illustration of Kochi Castle adding the red colored letters)

The Main Tower that can be seen close from the front of the Tsumemon Gate

To be continued in “Kochi Castle Part2”

176.Ichinomiya Castle Part2

Unexpected stone walls on the mountain

Features

Well-developed Trail to Castle Ruins

If you drive to the ruins of Ichinomiya Castle, you will go through the route on the narrow area sandwiched by Akui-gawa River and mountains. You can see that it is a good location for defending the castle. The entrance of the trail to the ruins is opposite of the Ichinomiya Shrine. You will need to climb to the top of the 144m high mountain, but the trail is well developed with stone steps.

The location map at the site, adding English names

The map around the castle

The well-developed trail with stone steps

After climbing for a while, you will see a Vertical Moat or Tate-bori on the slope along the trail to prevent enemies from attacking. If you go to the branch nearby, you can see the ruins of the Warehouses.

The ruins of the Warehouses (licensed by ブレイズマン via Wikimedia Commons)

Defense System using Natural Terrain

Going back to the main trail, you will reach an artificial steep cliff called Kiri-gishi under several enclosures. You can also see a fountain at the foot of the cliff. You will need to climb a zigzagged trail on the cliff to go further.

Even after climbing, you will still be under the bottom of an artificial valley called Hori-kiri. Enemies could have been counterattacked from the enclosures above. The valley divides the main portion of the castle and the Saizo-maru Enclosure. If you turn left at the valley, you will reach the Saizo-maru Enclosure. This enclosure is also called the Third Enclosure. “Saizo” originates from the name of the retainer who was responsible for the enclosure.

*Being under the bottom of the valley* even after climbing

Going to Center of Castle

If you turn right at the valley, you will reach the ruins of the gate for the main portion which have two main enclosures – the Myojin-maru Enclosure and the Main Enclosure. These enclosures are connected by a long and narrow enclosure called the Belt Enclosure or Koshi-guruwa

If you turn right again at the gate ruins, you will be in the Myojin-maru Enclosure. This enclosure is also called the Second Enclosure and the spot where the ruins of the building with veranda, maybe for sightseeing, was found. You can even now see a good view of the center of Tokushima Prefecture to the east.

Great Stone Walls of Main Enclosure

If you go back to the gate ruins and go left from the front of it, you will finally reach the Main Enclosure on the top of the mountain. You may be surprised to suddenly see the great stone walls which were built by the Hachisuka Clan. The stone walls of this castle are very rare and beautiful because they were piled up using stones with a dark-green striped pattern called chlorite-schist. These stones are also known as Green Stones of Awa. The same pattern of stone walls can also be seen at Tokushima Castle that the Hachisuka Clan built after they used Ichinomiya Castle.

There is only the small building of Wakamiya Shrine. The stone foundations of the Main Hall for the lord were found recently, which were also built by the Hachisuka Clan. You can also see a good view of the area around, including Akui-gawa River.

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

176.Ichinomiya Castle Part1

The largest mountain castle in Awa Province

Location and History

Ichinomiya Clan built it in Period of Northern and Southern Courts

Ichinomiya Caste was the largest mountain castle in Awa Province (what is now Tokushima Prefecture) on Shikoku Island. It is said that The Ichinomiya Clan first built the castle in the 14th Century during the Period of the Northern and Southern Courts. Many battles happened across the county, so warriors started to build mountain castles to protect themselves. After the governance of Awa Province got stable, The Ichinomiya Clan seemed to live in a hall at the foot of the mountain and used the castle in an emergency like other clans used to do.

The location of the castle

Motochika Chosogabe captured it in Sengoku Period

In the late 16th Century during the Sengoku Period, many battles happened again in Awa Province. Narisuke Ichinomiya, the lord of the Ichinomiya Clan, managed to survive under the Miyoshi Clan, the governor of the province, and partly thanks to Ichinomiya Castle. After that, he changed his mind to support Motochuka Chosogabe. Motochuka who was from Tosa Province in the south, invaded Awa Province in 1582. However, Narisuke was killed by Motochika probably because Motochika doubted Narisuke’s change of mind. Ichhoinomiya Castle was captured by Motochika.

Ichinomiya Castle was not only a large mountain castle but also Akui-gawa River flowed in front of the gate as a natural hazard. It also had a fountain and warehouses inside, so it could be besieged for a long time. It was also near the center of the province. For a warlord who aimed to govern Awa Province by power, it was necessary to get such a strong and good-located castle as soon as possible. Motochika sent one of his senior vassals, Tadazumi Tani, to Ichinomiya Castle to maintain it.

The aerial view of Ichinomiya Castle Ruins (from the location map of the park at the site)

Castle once became Capital of Awa Province

In 1585, the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi sent over 100,000 soldiers to Shikoku Island to capture it. Ichinomiya Castle with about 10,000 defenders was besieged by about 40,000 attackers. The siege lasted for nearly one month and the castle was open as Motochika surrendered to Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi also sent one of his retainers, Iemasa Hachisuka as the lord of Awa Province. Iemasa chose Ichinomiya Castle as his home base, that meant the castle finally became the capital of the province. He built stone walls in the Main Enclosure on the top of the mountain though the castle had been all made of soil. He also built his Main Hall in the Main Enclosure and a building with a veranda in another enclosure, which might have been used for sightseeing.

The Portrait of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, attributed to Mitsunobu Kano, owned by Kodaiji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The statue of Iemasa Hachisuka at the ruins of Tokushima Castle

The stone walls at the Main Enclosure of Ichinomiya Castle

However, Iemasa moved his home base from Ichinomiya Castle to new Tokushima Castle facing the sea the next year in 1586. It is said this was due to Hideyoshi’s instruction to build the network of sea transportation. The situation rapidly changed after Hideyoshi’s unification of Japan. The peak of Ichinomiya Castle lasted for just one year. After that, the castle was considered one of the branch castles called the Awa Nine Castles while the governance of Awa Province was not stable. The castle was finally abandoned soon after the Law of One Castle per Province by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1615.

To be continued in “Ichinomiya Castle Part2”