Main tower – ページ 3 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

62.Wakayama Castle Part2

There are so many attractions you should check out in the castle.

Features

From Main Gate to Nakagomon Gate Ruins

Today, Wakayama Castle site has been developed as Wakayama Castle Park by Wakayama City. It still includes the main portion of the original castle. It has five entrances same as the castle had, as the Main, Okaguchi, Oimawashi, former Akazuno, and former Fukiage Gates.

The map around the castle

If you want to see what the castle was like, it may be better to enter the Main Gate at the northeastern part of the park. The gate and the bridge in front it over the Inner Moat were restored in the present time. Once you enter the gate, you will see how large the castle grounds and moats are.

The Drawing of the Main Gate Area from the Illustrated collection of Famous Sites in Kii Province, from the signboard at the site

The Inner Moat at the eastern side of the castle

You will go to the ruins of Nakagomon, the second gateway, which still have alternating stone walls. This is an interesting spot where you can see two types of the gate stone walls using roughly and precisely processed stones. In addition, you can see the old stone walls surrounding the hill using natural greenschists ahead. These walls were built in different periods.

Looking down the alternated part from the top of the stone walls

The walls using granite porphyry stones on the left and the walls using sand stones on the right

The walls using natural Greenschist stones

Second and Western Enclosures

The Second Enclosure is the west of the Main Gate area. It has only a rock garden built in the present time, but it had the luxury Main Hall with turrets beside the Inner Moat. The Large Hall, part of the Main Hall, was moved to Osaka Castle and remained until 1947 when it was burned. Wakayama City is planning to restore the Large Hall at the original position with some turrets and the O-oku residence in a long term. The distant view of the Main Tower may be the best seen from the enclosure.

The map around the Second Enclosure

The ruins of Monomi-Yagura Turret at the Second Enclosure

The Inner Moat at the northern side of the Second Enclosure

The Large Hall which was moved to Osaka Castle, quoted from the website of Wakayama City

A distant view of the Main Tower from the Second Enclosure

In the next Western Enclosure, the water garden, called Momijidani-teien or the Autumn Leave Valley Garden, was restored in the present time and designated as a National Scenic Beauty. the Passage Bridge between the Second and Western Enclosures was also restored in 2006. You can walk into the roofed and slanted bridge which is quite rare.

The Autumn Leave Valley Garden in the Western Enclosure

Remaining Okaguchi Gate

The area around the Okaguchi Gate at the southeastern part of the park is also great to visit. The gate building with the mud wall beside is one of the few remaining buildings of the castle and designated as an Important Cultural Property. It looks like a simple gate with a gabled roof, but it was sandwiched by turrets on both sides.

The map around the Okaguchi Gate

Part of the Drawing of the Okaguchi Gate Area from the Illustrated collection of Famous Sites in Kii Province, from the signboard at the site

Inside the gate, there is the second gateway similar to the Main Gate area. You can see a great and high stone wall base for Matsunomaru Turret on the left. Other stone walls form a square space called Masugata to prevent their enemies from attacking them. No buildings remain on them, however, these newer stone walls are also worth seeing.

The second gateway from the Okaguchi Gate

The stone wall base for Matsunomaru Turret

The square space seen from the top of the base

Going Main Enclosure and Main Tower climbing Slope

There are two routes to the Main Enclosure on the hill as the Front Slope and the Back Slope. The Front Slope is a gentler but longer route. The first part of it is wide and zigzagged, with beautiful paved Greenschist stones.

The map around the Main Enclosure

The last part is long, with old stone walls on the right hill side and several turret stone wall bases on the left valley side. Currently, visitors can enjoy a relaxing walk on that route, but at that time, the enemies would have found the route troubling as they could be counter-attacked.

A turret stone wall base on the valley side

The Back Slope is steeper but shorter. This route is also made and surrounded by old stone walls, but has a different taste with the mossy stones.

The top of the hill has two peaks, one was for another Main Hall, and the other is for the Main Tower. The Main Hall coexisted with that of the Second Enclosure, but it was not often used for its small size and inconvenient location. There is a water station now and it is a good view point of the Main Tower.

Going to the Main Enclosure from the Front Slope

The Main Hall Ruins of the Main Enclosure

Most visitors’ destination is the Main Tower. It is actually a modern building, not original, but was apparently restored in 1958. Its stone wall base is original and thought that it is the oldest among the stone walls in the castle. A building like the Main Tower may have been built on it from the first stage.

The style of the tower is called Renritsu-siki or the Tower Grouping, which refers to the Large and Small Main Towers and turrets being connected by Hall Turrets like a corridor. The interior of the tower is used as a historical museum and the top floor is used as the observation platform.

You can see the style of the Tower Grouping from the top floor

A storage box for tea ceremony utensils, one of the exhibitions in the tower

The top floor of the Large Main Tower as the observation platform

An eastern view including the Main Hall Ruins from the platform

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

50.Hikone Castle Part3

I admire the great efforts of Hikone City.

Features

Western Enclosure, Guardian of Back Side

There are many other attractions in this castle. For example, there is the Western Enclosure in the back of the Main Enclosure. It has the remaining Western Enclosure Three-level Turret to protect the back side of the castle. There is also another large, deep ditch with a bridge over it in front of the turret like the front side. This castle was protected strictly on both sides.

The aerial photo around the castle

The Western Enclosure Three-level Turret

The interior of the third floor of the turret

Extensive Original Front Side

Also consider walking around the southwest part of the castle, on the opposite of the front entrance. You will see there is still a large area surrounded by the Middle Moat and the Inner Moat. It is very comfortable to walk along the moats looking up the Main Tower. You will see the Kyobashi-guchi-mon Gate Ruins behind the Middle Moat, the Main Gate Ruins behind the Inner Moat and so on. You can also see this area had originally been the front side of the castle against the Toyotomi Clan at Osaka Castle in this direction.

The area surrounded by the Middle Moat and the Inner Moat

The Funamachi-guchi-mon Gate Ruins, the other route over the Middle Moat

A distant view of the Western Enclosure Three-level Turret from around the Middle Moat

A distant view of the Main Tower from around the Middle Moat

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Hikone Castle was under the Japanese Army to be sold. When the Emperor Meiji visited Hikone in 1878, he felt sorry about the lost of the castle and ordered to preserve it. The castle was owned by the Imperial Household, followed by the Ii Clan and now Hikone City. In 1945 during World War II, the US Army was planning an air raid to Hikone in the evening, on August 15th just after the Emperor Showa declared the end of the war. The castle might have been saved by the emperors twice. Hikone City is trying to register the castle on the World Heritage List.

The Large Ditch in front of the Balance Turret

The Genkyuen, the garden for the lord at the castle site

My Impression

When I visited Hikone Castle, I was very pleased to enter not only the Main Tower, but also most of the remaining turrets. It is very rare compare to other castles. I asked an officer why they allow some visitors to enter these turrets. His answer was that because they stored all of the items in the castle buildings into the Hikone Castle Museum. I understood it and was impressed by the great efforts of the city for preserving and continuing the castle into future generations.

The interior of Western Enclosure Three-level Turret

A view of the Hikone Castle Museum from the Main Enclosure

How to get There

If you want to visit the castle by car, it is about 10 minutes away from Hikone IC on the Meshin Expressway. There are several parking lots in the castle site.
By public transportation, it takes about 15 minutes on foot from the JR Hikone Station.
To get to Hikone Station from Tokyo: Take the Tokaido Shinkansen super express and transfer to the Biwako Line at Maibara Station or Kyoto Station.

Links and References

・Hikone Castle, Visit Omi

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Hikone Castle Part1”
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50.Hikone Castle Part2

There are so many attractions to see in this castle.

Features

Entering Sawayama Route

Today, Hikone Castle site has well been developed for visitors inside the Middle Moat (the second moat from the Inner Moat). There are three routes over the moat same as the past (Sawa-guchi, Kyobashi-guchi and Funamachi-guchi). Out of them, the Sawaguchi Route is the most popular as it is close from Hikone Station and to the front entrance of the castle. If you choose the route, you will first see the remaining the Sawaguchi-Tamon Turret on the left with a distant view of the Main Tower. The entrance to the castle consists of this turret and the other restored turret on the right. After entering, you will also see the remaining Stable which in the only remaining case in castles in Japan.

The aerial photo around the castle

The Sawaguchi-Tamon Turret on the left with a distant view of the Main Tower

Lots of Exhibition of Hikone Castle Museum

You can go across the bridge over the Inner Moat to enter the Front Gate Ruins as the front entrance of the castle. Inside the ruins, there is the Hikone Castle Museum which looks like the past Main Hall for the lord at the same place. The museum stores over 90,000 items about the Ii Clan and Hikone Domain and exhibits about 100 items of them.

You can see the items such as the unique Ii Clan’s Red Armor, swords, tee things, Noh masks and the remaining Noh stage. In the back of the museum, you should check out the restored part of the lord’s private quarters and Japanese Garden. They were restored in traditional methods using wooden materials based on the records and excavations.

The Red Armor which was said to be used by Naomasa Ii, exhibited by the *Hikone Castle Museum*

A tea jar called “Setotetsuyu-Shijiko” or “The Seto iron glaze jar with four handles”, exhibited by the Hikone Castle Museum

The remaining Noh stage, exhibited by the Hikone Castle Museum

the restored chamber of the lord’s private quarters, exhibited by the Hikone Castle Museum

The Japanese Garden, exhibited by the Hikone Castle Museum

Strong Line of Defense around Large Ditch

Let us next climb up the mountain to the center of the castle. After walking the long, wide stone steps, you will see a huge scale deep ditch with a bridge over it. You will need to go to the Taiko-maru Enclosure on the right side of the ditch to the center. However, you will first have to go on the bottom of the ditch, turn left to the other Kanenomaru Enclosure on the left, and go across the bridge to reach the enclosure. If you were an enemy, you would be counterattacked from both sides of the ditch, and the bridge would be fallen. The remaining Tenbin-Yagura or the Balance Turret also stands behind the bridge to protect the enclosure. It is said that this turret was built by moving the Main Gate of Nagahama Castle.

The stone steps to the center of the castle

The area around the Large Ditch drawn in the signboard at the site, with the additional red arrow which indicates the route

Turning left to the Kanenomaru Enclosure

Crossing the bridge to the Balance Turret

Looking down the bottom of the ditch from the bridge

Looking down the bridge from *the Balance Turret*

Contrasting Exterior and Interior of Main Tower

After passing the Taiko-maru Enclosure, you will reach the remaining Taiko-mon Yagura or the Drum Gate Turret, as the entrance of the Main Enclosure. There is only the Main Tower in the enclosure, but it looks very elegant.

The remaining Main Tower in the Main Enclosure

This is because this three-level tower has a lot of decorations such as Chinese styled gables with gold work, hip-and-gables, gable ends, bell-shaped windows and the decorated veranda.

Bell-shaped windows and the decorated veranda

You can enter the tower to look around from the first to the top which is the third floor. The interior of the tower is practical in contrast with its exterior. You can find many hidden loopholes for guns which would be used by breaking the outside walls. The holes have been left hidden because no battles occurred. It was also found that the tower was built by moving the four-level Main Tower of Otsu Castle and reducing to three levels.

The iron doors of the Main Tower Entrance

You can’t go out to the veranda at the top floor of the tower

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