main gate – ページ 9 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

38.Iwamura Castle Part2

The castle ruins are worth to climb

Features

Long Trail to Top of Mountain

Today, the ruins of Iwamura Castle have been well developed for visitors. If you climb up from the foot to the top of the mountain, you can understand how strong the castle was. There is the partly restored Main Hall for the lord with the Drum Turret on the foot. From the foot, you will need to climb to the top for about 800 m long and about 170 meters high. Only stone walls and foundations of the castle remain on the mountain. However, if you have a smartphone, you can see the re-produced image using CG and hear the explanation (however only available in Japanese) at each signboard by scanning the QR code on it.

The map around the castle

An example of the re-produced images (around the Main Gate)

Lots of Gateway to protect Castle

The first part of your climb may be very tough because the trail is steep and it’s on a winding road which is as long as 500m, which is called Fijisaka. You will pass three defense points called Hatsu-mon Gate, Ichi-no-mon Gate and Toki-mon Gate before reaching the Main Gate Ruins. Enemies in the past must have also found it tough when they attacked the castle through the same route.

The past Hatsu-mon Gate drawn in the signboard at the site

The present Hatsu-mon Gate Ruins seen from above

The past Ichi-no-mon Gate drawn in the signboard at the site

The past Toki-mon Gate drawn in the signboard at the site

*The Toki-mon Gate Ruins* seen from above

Main Gate, Pivot for Defense

The Main Gate was the pivot for the defense, which had a complex system protecting the castle. The Three-level Turret was built beside the gate, which was also the symbol of the castle. The current trail goes around to the left, but visitors in the past had to go across a bridge called the Tatami-bashi which went straight to the gate. The floor boards of the bridge could be removed like tatami mats (traditional mats in Japanese homes) if enemies were to attack. Moreover, visitors had to turn left on the bridge when they entered the gate. If visitors were enemies, they would have been stuck and counterattacked from the turret and gate.

The past around the Main Gate drawn in the signboard at the site

The current trail goes around to the left

After passing the Main Gate Ruins, the trail becomes easier, and the area around it is relatively spacious. There used to be some warriors’ houses in the past. You will go though the area seeing the Hachiman Shrine Ruins on the left and the Kirigai Well which was said to never run out of water on the right. There were two routes in the past to reach the Main Enclosure on the top, the one from the Second Enclosure and the other from the Eastern Enclosure. However, the Second Enclosure is not well developed for visitors now, so most visitors usually go towards the Eastern Enclosure instead.

Six Tier Stone Walls, Highlight of Castle

One of the highlights of the castle is the Six Tier Stone Walls of the Main Enclosure beside the Eastern Enclosure. They look so great. In fact, these stone walls had originally been a single high stone walls, but the other tiers were added later to prevent them from collapsing. Other than that, the Main Enclosure is all surrounded by great stone walls, especially, the high stone walls on the western side are also so nice.

A front view of the Six Tier Stone Walls

A view of the Six Tier Stone Walls from the right side

A view from the top of the *Six Tier Stone Walls*

The high stone walls on the western side of the Main Enclosure

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

122.Otaki Castle Part1

The unclear castle Tadakatsu Honda developed

Location and History

Castle in Kazusa Province, Debatable ground

In the past, Chiba Prefecture was divided into three provinces, the Awa (the southern region), the Kazusa (the mid region) and the Shimosa (the northern region) from the south to the north on Boso Peninsula. In the 15th Century during the Sengoku Period, the Satomi Clan and the Hojo Clan battled each other many times to rule over the peninsula. The Satomi Clan was based in the Awa Province in the south, while the Hojo Clan first invaded Shimosa Province in the north. The central Kazusa Province naturally became the battlefield by both clans. There were many local lords such as the Takeda Clan and the Masaki Clan in the province. They were either independent, or supported the Hojo Clan, and or the Satomi Clan, depending on the situation.

The range of kazusa Province and the location of the castle

The former Otaki Castle, called Odaki Castle, was said to have been built by the Takeda Clan in the first 15th Century followed by the Masaki Clan in the middle of the 15th Century. The castle was built on a hill facing Isumi-gawa River in the south and deep valleys in the west. Therefore, the clans built several enclosures with dry moats in the east and branch forts in the north to protect the castle. The castle was made of soil using natural terrain, a typical method for building castles at that time.

The relief map around the castle

Tadakatsu Honda renovates Castle

The Satomi Clan finally managed to capture Kazusa Province including Odaki castle before the unification of Japan by Hideyoshi Toyotomi in 1590. However, Hedeyoshi took the province away the Satomi Clan and gave it to Ieyasu Tokugawa, the new owner of the Kanto Region following the Hojo Clan. One of the Four Generals Serving Ieyasu at that time, was Tadakatsu Honda who was assigned as the lord of Otaki Castle, which was later renamed from Odaki Castle, in 1591. Tadakatsu renovated the castle and developed the castle town in order to protect it against the Satomi Clan which was still located in the Awa Province. However, it is unclear how Tadakatsu renovated. Some historians speculate that the three-level Main Tower was built in the Main Enclosure on the top.

The portrait of Tadakatsu Honda, owned by Ryogenji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The miniature model of Otaki Castle, exhibited by Otaki Castle Museum

The only evidence of the early stage of Otaki Castle was a record written by Rodrigo de Vivero, a Spanish politician who accidentally visited the castle when he drifted to Japan on his way to Mexico in 1609. He wrote that the first gate made of iron was on a 15-meter high wall, which was most likely the Main Gate, which also had a draw bridge that had a moat.

The Main Gate part of the miniature model

Furthermore, he wrote that the second gate was surrounded by stone walls or stone mounds and there was a deluxe Main Hall made for the lord of the castle, which was decorated with gold and silver inside (probably in the Second Enclosure). However, he didn’t mention the Main Enclosure and whether or not it included the Main Tower.

The Second Enclosure part of the miniature model

Tadakatsu had been transferred to Kuwana Castle in 1601, so his son, Tadatomo Honda met with Rodrigo de Vivero instead at the hall. Eventually, the Honda Clan was transferred from Otaki Castle in 1617.

Tadatomo Honda, drawn in the Battle of Sekigahara folding screen *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Lords of Castle changes many times

After the lords of the castle left, the ruler of the castle constantly changed between the Aoyama and the Abe Clans in short successions. In the case, the Inagaki Clan in 1702 only managed to rule the castle in as little as 21 days. As a result, the castle was neglected and nobody was there to take care or maintain it. Only when the Matsudaira Clan took over the castle in 1703 did the castle become more stable. According to the Matsudaira Clan’s records, the Main Hall existed only in the Second Enclosure. The Matsudaira Clan’s reign continued until the end of the Edo Period. It was said that the Main Tower was burned down in 1844, however, this information is debatable considering more information has recently come out managing this situation. It’s more plausible to assume, that the Matsudaira Clan continued to maintain and govern the castle until its ultimate demise at the end of the Edo Period. On the other hand, it’s also possible to assume that the town around the castle prospered which is where it is today, in the Boso Peninsula.

Did the castle have a Main Tower or not ?

To be continued in “Otaki Castle Part2”

90.Hirado Castle Part2

A castle with a unique character

Features

Layout using Yamaga style

Today, if you are close to the present Hirado Castle and look at the Imitation Main Tower and some rebuilt turrets on the hill, you may feel that the arrangement of how they are placed is odd. In other castles in general, the Main Tower and turrets are placed along the natural terrain. However, those of Hirado Castle look like they are facing their own directions. This is probably because these buildings were built along the complex line of the stone walls surrounding the castle, based on the Yamaga style.

The Imitation Tower and rebuilt turrets on the hill

The aerial photo around the castle

If you drive to the castle, you can easily go up to the parking lot in the northern part of the hill near the top. After parking, you can walk on the path to the Main Enclosure on the top. The trail reaches the only remaining castle buildings, which are the North Entrance Gate and the Raccoon Dog Turret. The stone walls beside the gate rise with an acute angle to the neighboring turret called Jizozaka
Yagura. This interesting feature may have come from the Yamaga style as well. After passing the gate, you will go on the zigzagged route surrounded by stone walls to the Main Enclosure.

The path from the parking lot to the top

The stone walls rising to the Jizozaka Turret

Main Route to Kameoka Shrine as Approach

You can also access the castle from the south by walking on the Main Route. The route is also the approach to the Kameoka Shrine which is located in the Second Enclosure. The ruins of the Main Gate are on the route. These ruins still have a square space surrounded by strong stone walls, called Masugata, which were built for defense. If you go on to the Second Enclosure Gate’s wide stone steps
of the ruins, you will be in the Second Enclosure. There was the Second Enclosure Main Hall where the lord of the Hirado Domain lived. The three-story Inui Turret was rebuilt in the present time as a souvenir shop. The Kameoka Shrine is at the back of the enclosure below the Main Enclosure.

Castle, Town and Sea seen from Main Tower

The Main Enclosure has the Imitation Main Tower and two rebuilt turrets. The Main Tower was originally another turret called Okimi-Yagura. It is actually a modern building used as a historical museum and observation platform. From the top floor, you can enjoy a great view of the area around the castle, seeing Hirado Port in the north and Hirado Strait in the east both connect to the
Genkai-nada Sea, and there is the interesting shape of the enclosure below.

A view of the Main Enclosure seen from the Main Tower

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