main gate – ページ 5 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

191.Nakatsu Castle Part3

Nakatsu City planned to replace old stones with new ones to re-pile the walls because it didn’t think the stones were original. The construction was just on the point of starting.

Features

Many Shrines in Main Enclosure

There are now many shrines in the Main Enclosure such as Nakatsu Shrine, Nakatsu Grand Shrine, and Okudaira Shrine. An interesting one among them is Kii Shrine, which worships a local warlord, Shigefusa Kii who was invited but murdered in the castle by Nagamasa Kuroda, Yoshitaka’s son. A tradition says Nagamasa established the shrine because he was feared by a ghost of Shigefusa’s revenge and regretted his action.

The map around the Main Enclosure

Kii Shrine, quoted from the Tourism Nakatsu Yabakei website

*The portrait of Shigefusa Kii, owned by Tentokuji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Third and Second Enclosures

The Third Enclosure is next to the Main Enclosure, but has become the city area.　It has the Main Gate Ruins to the center of the castle, where the past visitors had to pass one more gate, Kuro-mon to reach the Shiki-mon Gate of the Main Enclosure. You can still see part of the great stone walls of the Main Gate among the modern residences.

The map around the castle

The remaining stone walls of the Main Gate, the front part was first built by the Kuroda Clan and the back part was added by the Hosokawa Clan to make a defensive square space called Masugata

*The inside of the gate was like this illustration, the remaining part is marked white, the Kuro-mon Gate and the Shiiki-mon Gate are below it, from the signboard at the site*

The other neighboring Second Enclosure has become a park where you can see some remaining stone foundations of Samurai residences.

Fukuzawa’s Old House

Another recommendation you can visit is the old house of Yukichi Fukuzawa, about 1km away from the enclosure in the east. He bought this house when he was 16 years old and lived in it until 19. He came from a lower warrior class in the Nakatsu Domain, so the house can be seen as an example of those which lower class warriors lived in. The house is well maintained, for instance, the thatched roof of it is supported by wooden bars. A storehouse made with thick earthen walls also remains beside the house, where Yukichi studied on its second floor.

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Nakatsu Castle was abandoned and all the castle buildings, except for the Main Hall in the Main Enclosure, were demolished. The hall was used as a government office for a while, but was burned down in 1877 by a disturbance during the Seinan War. After that, the castle ruins were used for the several shrines and the Imitation Main Tower was built in 1964. A recent topic about the castle ruins was that there was an internal controversy among the officials of Nakatsu City when it was planning to repair the stone walls opposite the riverside in the Main Enclosure in 2002. The department in charge planned to replace old stones with new ones to re-pile the walls because it didn’t think the stones were original. The construction was just on the point of starting. However, the Cultural Heritage Division argued that the wall might be original and should be preserved. As a result, the stone walls were repaired using the old stones, as it had been discovered that they were the original ones used when Yoshitaka Kuroda first built the castle. The city announced that they are the oldest remaining stone walls in the Kyushu Region.

The repaired stone walls which use the original stones

My Impression

When I visited the current Nakatsu Castle, I was little confused that the site was mixed with the original items and many ones added later such as the Imitation Tower and the shrines. However, as I learned about history of the castle and people in Nakatsu, I understood that these items came from how they made great efforts on maintaining the castle and ruins. I also understood that running castle buildings can be difficult for private sectors which need profit to continue operating. Please give it your consideration to visit Nakatsu Castle when you travel around Nakatsu City.

The Imitation Main Tower seen from the riverside

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car, it is about a 15 minutes drive away from Sadanomi IC on the Nakatsu-Hita Road. There are several parking lots around the park.
By public transportation, it takes about 15 minutes on foot to get there from JR Nakatsu Station.
From Tokyo or Osaka to Nakatsu Station: Take the express bus to Oita Station from Oita Airport after using a plane, and get the train on the Nippo Line from the station.

Links and References

・Nakatsu Castle Official Website

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Nakatsu Castle Part1”
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96.Obi Castle Part2

A perfect harmony of artifacts and nature

Features

Main Gate, Face of Castle

Today, many tourists visit the Obi Castle ruins and the former castle town. Because of the nature of the Shirasu plateau, the enclosures of the castle were naturally made independently. Many of them were turned into a shrine, schools, playgrounds, and residential areas. The remaining enclosures, which were the main portion of the castle, are open to visitors.

The aerial photo around the castle

Tanoue Hachiman Shrine, the former Hachiman Shrine

A playground which was around the Middle Castle

Obi Second Primary School was the enclosures which were collectively called the Second Enclosure

Visitors usually first walk on the Main Route to the restored Main Gate on the original stone walls, which is a popular image for the ruins. In fact, the details of the original gate were unclear, but people restored it using a traditional method and Obi Cedar wooden materials. That’s why the gate matches the original items as if it is also original. The inside of the gate is a square defensible space surrounded by great stone walls, called Masugata, which builds up the gate’s character.

The Masugata system inside the Main Gate

The Masugata system of the Main Gate seen from the top of the earthen walls of the Third Enclosure

Third Enclosure, protected by Earthen walls and Dry moats

The Main Gate is the entrance of the very large third enclosure which is surrounded by earthen walls and dry moats except for the gate. If you enter the gate and go to the inside of the enclosure, you will see the 4m high earthen walls which are the older part of the castle. According to the signboard at the site, the walls were originally about 16m high, from the bottom of the dry moat in front of them.

The earthen walls of the Third Enclosure, seen from its inside

The dry moat of the Third Enclosure, seen from its outside (in front of the Main Gate)

Main Enclosure, surrounded by Stone walls

There are high and long mud walls on top of stone walls opposite the earthen walls, which surround the main enclosure. The enclosure also has long and wide stone steps and another Masugata system. Many tall Obi Cedar trees planted around make them look more majestic. Overall, you will understand that the castle was built by combining the older earthen walls and newer stone walls over time.

The stone walls surrounding the Main Enclosure

The Obi Cedar trees around look majestic

The Main Enclosure includes the Obi Castle Historical Museum where you can learn the history of the castle, and Obi Primary School, which visitors can not enter. The Matsuo-no-maru Enclosure is next to and little above the Main Enclosure, which has a rebuilt traditional hall. The hall was not original for the castle, but was built using designs of other remaining halls including a traditional Japanese steam bath.

The Obi Castle Historical Museum (licensed by Kthrk25 via Wikimedia Commons)

Former Main Enclosure, with wonderful Obi Cedar trees

The former Main Enclosure is at the highest spot in the castle. You can walk up long stone steps and will see it is also surrounded by great stone walls and has another Masugata system. This enclosure had once been destroyed by the earthquakes in the early Edo Period, but the Obi Domain seem to have rebuilt this enclosure firmly. However, since then, the inside of it has been having no buildings as the Main Hall for the lord was moved from it to the new Main Enclosure.

The Masugata system of the former Main Enclosure

Instead, there are plenty of Obi Cedar trees growing on the ground with a moss-like carpet, which looks amazing! If they started to be planted when the enclosure was rebuilt, they may be nearly 350 year old.

The Obi Cedar trees in the former Main Enclosure

The enclosure also has the restored back gate where you can go out from to visit other attractions of the castle.

You can go out of the back gate to the Second Enclosure area

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

118.Oshi Castle Part2

Let’s walk with the location map laying over the previous and current city areas.

Features

Castle Ruins mostly being turned into City Area

Today, there are only few remaining items of the original Oshi Castle because most of its lands and moats were turned into a city area. Part of the earthen walls and the Inner Moat surrounding the Main Enclosure remains or was restored with the rebuilt Three-level Turret looking like a Main Tower. Part of the Outer Moat, little far from the Main Enclosure in the south, remains as the Water Castle Garden. The other moats were filled and the other enclosures were flattened for building modern buildings and transportation. However, if you use the location map laying over the previous and current city areas, which Gyoda City provided, you can walk by following the original routes to the center of the castle. Some stone monuments of the original buildings will guide you see where your own location is in the past.

The aerial map around the castle

The earthen walls and water moat of the Main Enclosure

The location map laying over the previous and current city areas, The water moats of the castle is light blue colored, from the signboard at the site

The part of the Main Gate in the miniature model of the castle, exhibited by the Gyoda City Local Museum

Starting from Main Gate Ruins

For example, if you want to go to the Main Enclosure from the Main Gate Ruins on the original route, you would need to pass five enclosures like an island through very narrow paths over the moats. You can now follow the present routes similar to the original ones, which are now among modern residential areas.

The map around the castle, the broken red line shows the route from the Main Gate to the Main Enclosure, which is nearly original

For instance, the promenade of Oshi Castle Bus Terminal is the trace of one of the narrow paths, which is an unbelievable change.

The promenade of the bus terminal, which was the narrow path over the moat

The monument of Numahashi-mon Gate Ruins is over there

The part of Numahashi-mon Gate in the miniature model

You can also find the stone monument of the original Three-level Turret on the way, so you will understand the original one was in the different place from the rebuilt one in the Main Enclosure.

The monument of the ruins of the original three-level turret

The original three-level turret is in the blue circle, the current three-level turret is in the red circle, in the miniature model

Past and Present of Main and Second Enclosures

In fact, the Main Enclosure had been used as the Main Hall for Ieyasu Tokugawa, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, during his hunt tour at the marshland around the castle. This enclosure eventually became an empty space surrounded by its earthen walls and the Inner Moat even during the Edo Period. The Main Enclosure is now being used as the Gyoda City Local Museum including the rebuilt turret, which exhibits the history of the castle and the city, and has become the landmark of the city.

The part of the Main Enclosure in the miniature model

The rebuilt three-level turret in the Main Enclosure

The Main Hall for the lord of the Oshi Domain was built in the Second Enclosure across from the Main Enclosure, which is being used as Gyoda Secondary School.

*The part of the Second Enclosure in the miniature model*

The secondary school in the Second Enclosure

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