Now, the ruins of Namioka Castle has been developed as a historical park. Although you can’t see any buildings, the eight enclosure still remained. The park is very large and now sandwiched by the Prefectural Road 27 in the north and Namioka River in the south. If you stand alongside the river, you can also see that these enclosures are higher than the river. You can imagine how prosperous they were when their buildings were still there.
The aerial photo around the castle
Namioka RiverLooking up the Inner EnclosureOverlooking around Namioka River from the Inner Enclosure
Inner Enclosure which was center of castle
So far, two of the enclosures, the Inner Enclosure and the North Enclosure, were mainly excavated. The Inner Enclosure is at the center of the ruins and beside the river. The Inner Enclosure looks like the highest point in the castle ruins. It was found that it had the Main Hall for the lord of the castle. The inside of the enclosure is empty now, but a lot of cherry trees are planted at the outer edge. You can see the doubled dry moats partly with the restored wooden bridges. The moats were originally filled with water.
The Inner EnclosureThe entrance of the Inner EnclosureThe inside of the Inner EnclosureThe cherry trees which are planted at the outer edgeThe doubled moat which is divided by the middle earthen walls
North Enclosure had residential lots for warriors
The North Enclosure is the largest enclosure and was found that it had been divided into several residential lots for the warriors. Each lot had the houses for the warriors, the workshop for the craftsmen, the well, the stable and so on. Through the excavation, they discovered that the enclosure had a defensive gate and had a zigzag road. You can now see the wooden fences that show how the residential lots were divided.
The North EnclosureThe entrance of the North EnclosureThe inside of the North EnclosureThe wooden fences which divide the residential lotsThe miniature model of a typical residential lot, exhibited by the House in the Aomori-shi Middle Ages
Kitabatake Clan, Authority in Tohoku Region built Castle
Namioka Castle was located in what is now Aomori City in the middle of Aomori Prefecture. It is said that the Kitabatake Clan built the castle in the late 15th Century. The Kitabatake Clan was originally a noble family which supported the Southern Court in the 14th Century during the Period of the Northern and Southern Courts. The Southern Court sent Akiie Kitabatake to Tohoku Region to govern the region against the Northern Court. Akiie eventually returned to central Japan, while his relatives remained in Tohoku Region under the Nanbu Clan which also supported the Southern Court.
The illustration of Akiie Kitabatake, owned by Ryozan Shrine (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
In the first 15th Century during the Muromachi Period governed by the Ashikaga Shogunate, the Nanbu Clan and the Ando Clan often battled over the northern Tohoku Region around what is now Aomori Pref. However, they finally compromised each other and gave evidence for the peace in the late 15th Century. It is thought that The Kitabatake Clan was focused on and set up as a mediator at that time. The area around Namioka Castle was at the middle point between the territories of the Nanbu Clan in the east and the Ando Clan in the west.
The location of the castle
It was also a good place for transportation, so the castle prospered with trade. The authority of the Kitabatake Clan reached a peak in the first 16th Century, as the Imperial Court gave the clan a high court rank as a noble. The other clans in Tohoku Region respected the Kitabatake Clan and called the lord family of the clan “Namioka Palace”.
The imaginary drawing of Namioka Castle, exhibited by the House in the Aomori-shi Middle Ages
Group of Enclosures with certain features
Namioka Castle was on a hilly area alongside Namioka River, so its location was relatively defensive. The castle consisted of a group of enclosures called “Date” like the Nanbu Clan’s home base, Ne Castle. There were eight enclosures such as Uchi-date or the Inner Enclosure and Kita-date or the North Enclosure. The Inner Enclosure was probably the oldest one which was used as the Main Hall for the lord of the castle. The hall had a high-class reception hall called Kokonoma where the meeting between the lord and visitors would be held. The North Enclosure was the largest one in the castle where the warriors and craftsmen under the lord lived. The doubled or tripled water moats divided these enclosures. These moats have the middle earthen walls making the moat doubled which were used for defense in emergency and as a route in general.
The eight enclosures of Namioka Castle (from the signboard at the site)The restored interior of the high-class reception hall, exhibited by the House in the Aomori-shi Middle AgesThe miniature model of the North Enclosure, exhibited by the House in the Aomori-shi Middle Ages
Castle was defeated by Tamenobu Oura
In 1562, an internal trouble among the Kitabatake Clan called the Kawahara Palace Rebellion happened. A relative family of the lord, called Kawahara Palace killed the lord, Tomokazu Kitabatake. Kawahara Palace was also defeated, as a result, the power of the clan declined. Tamenobu Oura, a relative of the Nanbu Clan aimed to be independent from the Nanbu Clan. Taking advantage of the rebellion, he defeated the Kitabatake Clan and captured Namioka Castle in 1578. He sent a local governor to Namioka Castle for a while, but the castle was abandoned when he built Hirosaki Castle in the first 17th Century.
The portrait of Tamenobu Oura, later Tamenobu Tsugaru, owned by Hirosaki Castle Tower (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)The imaginary drawing of the fall of Namioka Castle, exhibited by the House in the Aomori-shi Middle Ages
A castle which the Tsugaru Clan built and maintained.
Location and History
Tamenobu Tsugaru built Castle with his independence
Hirosaki Castle was located in what is now Hirosaki City in Aomori Prefecture. The castle was actually the origin of the city since the founder of the Hirosaki Domain, Tamenobu Tsugaru built the castle. His former name was Tamenobu Oura and he was one of the relatives of the Nanbu Clan, the greatest warlord in the northern Tohoku Region in the 16th Century during the Sengoku Period. However, he aimed to be independent from the Nanbu Clan.
The portrait of Tamenobu Tsugaru, owned by Hirosaki Castle Tower (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
When the ruler Hideyoshi Toyotomi was processing his unification of Japan, Tamenobu met Hideyoshi in 1590, and succeeded to be approved by Hideyoshi as an independent lord. He took advantage of his freedom, and he changed his family name to Tsugaru. After that, he maintained his territory around Tsugaru District (what is now the western part of Aomori Pref.) to support the Tokugawa Shogunate. Finally, he started to build a new castle in the Tsugaru Plain as his new home base in 1603, called Hirosaki Castle.
The location of the castle
Hirosaki Castle was built on a hill on the plain sandwiched by two rivers, Iwaki-gawa and Tsuchibuchi-gawa. Though Tamenobu unfortunately died soon after the launch of the construction, his son, Nobuhira completed it in 1611.
The portrait of Nobuhira Tsugaru, from the database of Historiographical Institute The University of Tokyo (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)Tsuchibuchi-gawa River which flows in the city area now
Combination of Modern and Traditional parts
The castle had the Iwaki-gawa River on the back in the west side, and several enclosures spread towards the north, the east and the south, divided by water moats. The Main Enclosure was the center of the castle having the five-layer Main Tower and the Main Hall for the lord. The enclosure was all surrounded by stone walls, so was the most modernized place in the castle.
The Main Enclosure of Hirosaki Castle from the illustration of Hirosaki Castle in Tsugaru District, exhibited by the National Archives of JapanThe Western Moat which originates from a branch of Iwaki-gawa RiverThe stone walls of the Main Enclosure
The Second Enclosure was outside the Main Enclosure in the south and the east, where the halls for the senior vassals were built. The enclosure was surrounded by earthen walls which were the common method for castles in eastern Japan. It also had two gates and three three-story turrets to protect it. The Third Enclosure was the outermost and the largest one is in the castle. It had warriors’ residences and was also surrounded by earthen walls with two gates. One of the gates was the Main Gate in the south. The North Enclosure and the Forth Enclosure were next to the Main Enclosure to protect the north of the castle.
Part of the illustration of Hirosaki Castle in Tsugaru District, in the Edo Period, exhibited by the National Archives of JapanThe earthen walls and moat of the Second EnclosureThe Main Gate at the Third Enclosure
Main Tower was rebuilt and Castle survived in Meiji Restoration
In 1627, there was an explosion in the Main Tower caused by lightning and an ignition of gunpowder. There had been no main tower for nearly 200 years, but the Hirosaki Domain was allowed by the Shogunate to renovate a three-story turret as the substitute for the Main Tower in1811. This is the present Main Tower we can see today. In 1868 during the Meiji Restoration, the Boshin War between the New Government and the domains supporting Tokugawa Shogunate in the Tohoku Region happened. Many domains fought with the New Government and defeated. However, the Tsugaru Domain supported the New Government from the beginning. That’s why Hirosaki Castle remained intact.
The present Main TowerTsuguakira Tsugaru, the last lord of the Hirosaki Domain (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
