An important castle that many lords wanted to rule
Location and History
After Nihonmatsu Clan built, Date and other Clans owned it.
Nihonmatsu Castle was a castle with a long history which was located in what is now Nihonmatsu City in Fukushima Prefecture. The castle was built along the Oshu Road, an important route in Tohoku Region, and also connected to other important inland areas such as Aizu District. When the Ashikaga Shogunate was established in the first 14th Century, the shogunate sent their relative Hatakeyama Clan to the Tohoku Region to govern the region. The clan settled in the region and built Nihonmatsu Castle in the first 15th Century. It started as a simple mountain castle but later on transformed to another type of castle.
The location of the castle
The clan later called themselves the Nihonmatsu Clan which governed the castle and the area around for a long time. In the late 16th Century during the Sengoku Period, one of the greatest warlord, Masamune Date attacked Nihonmatsu Castle and the Nihonmatsu Clan finally surrendered in 1586. Since then, the castle became a branch castle of Wakamatsu Castle in Aizu District, which was the Date Clan’s home base. The lords of Wakamatsu Castle were changed to the Gamo, Uesugi, and Kato Clans, They also improved Nihonmatsu Castle by building stone walls.
伊達政宗像、仙台市博物館蔵（licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)Wakamatsu Castle
Niwa Clan mostly Governed Castle in Edo Period
In 1643 during the Edo Period, The Niwa Clan was transferred to the lord of the castle as the government building of the Nihonmatsu Domain by the Tokugawa Shogunate. The clan renovated the castle as well. They built the stone wall base for the Main Tower on the top of the mountain, but it is unknown if the tower was built at all. They also built the Main Hall for the lord with many other buildings for governing at the foot of the mountain. They also improved the defense system of the castle. The Oshu Road was moved beyond a hill from near the castle and visitors from the road had to pass through the Main Gate on the hill. The area around the castle called Kakunai or the Inner Compounds was protected by five gates including the Main Gate. The Niwa Clan peacefully governed the castle until the end of the Edo Period.
The portrait of Mitsushige Niwa, the founder of the Nihonmatsu Domain, owned by Dairinji Temple （licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons）Part of the illustration of Nihonmatsu Castle in Mutsu Province, exhibited by the National Archives of Japan
Castle falls in one day in Boshin war
However, the castle got involved in the Boshin war in 1868 during the Meiji Restoration. The New Government Army attacked the Nihonmatsu Domain which still supported the Tokugawa Shogunate. Many of the warriors of the domain were sent to Shirakawa-Komine Castle, located in the south of Nihonmatsu Castle, to reinforce the allies at the moment. They had to protect the castle with only a few defenders including the drafted child soldiers between the age of 12 and 17. They were confused by the sudden attack and the castle was captured in just one day. Some warriors such as senior vassals of the domain committed suicide while most of the castle building being burned down. Many of the child soldiers were also killed, and they have been called Nihonmatsu Shonentai, symbolizing the tragedy of the war.
Shirakawa-Komine CastleNihonmatsu Castle and the statues of the Nihonmatsu child soldiers
A castle protected by earthen walls and water moats
Location and History
Tadateru Matsudaira built it shortly
Takada Castle was located in Echigo Province (what is now Nigata Province). The Uesgi Clan at Ksugayama Castle owned the province in the late 16th Century during the Sengoku Period. After the clan was transferred to another province, the province was divided by several lords at the beginning of the 17th Century. One of them was the Hori Clan which owned the western part of the province and lived in Fukushima Cstle. However, Hori Clan was fired by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1610. Instead, Tadateru Matsudaira, a son of Ieyasu Tokugawa, the founder of the Shogunate was sent to the castle. He and the Shogunate felt they required a stronger castle, because the tension between the Shogunate and the Toyoyomi Clan got higher. They needed to monitor non-hereditary feudal lords who possibly supported the Toyotomi Clan. The new castle would be called Takada Castle.
The location of the castle
The portrait of Tadateru Matsudaira, owned by the Joetsu City History Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The construction for the castle began in March 1614, and was almost completed in just four months, before the battle between the Shogunate and the Toyotomi Clan happened in October. The Shogunate mobilized thirteen lords including Tadateru’s father-in-law, Masamune Date for the construction. Maybe for the short construction period, Takada Castle had several features. The foundation of the castle was completely made of soil, not using stone walls which were common for building castles at that time. A Main Tower, which was also popular for castles, was not built, the Three-story Turret was built instead.
The remaining earthen walls at the Main EnclosureThe rebuilt Three Story Turret
Protected by Wide Water Moats and High Earthen Walls
However, there was no shortcuts in the construction. The wide and long water moats were built using the flow of several rivers. As a result, the castle was surrounded by the Inner Moat, the Outer Moat, and the opposite flowing rivers. The Third Enclosure was in the Outer Moat, the Second Enclosure was inside the Outer Moat, and The Main Enclosure was inside the Inner Moat. Visitors from the Main Gate outside the Third Enclosure had to go across three bridges to reach the Main Enclosure. Even the clay walls were as high as10m, so the castle had sufficient defense.
The miniature model of Takada Castle (the Joetsu City History Museum)The earthen walls are still surrounding the Main Enclosure
Lords of Castle were changed several times
Tadateru was one of the 10 lords who had the largest territories in Japan at that time, however, he was fired by the Shogunate in 1616 for unknown reasons, after the Shogunate eliminated the Toyotomi Clan in 1615. Though it is said that he was rude to his father, it may be due to an internal trouble in the Shogunate. He was exiled at Takashima Castle until he died at the age of 92 in 1683.
Takashima Castle
After some years, Mitsunaga Matsudaira governed the castle for 57 years. He improved farming and business while developing the castle town and transportation. The castle town had become the city area of Joetsu City. However, he was fired by the Shogunate as well in 1681 due to the internal trouble for his successor.
The draft map of Takada Castle, drawn in 1737 (Joetsu City Buried Cultural Property Center)
The aerial photo around the castle and the city area
After that, several clans governed the castle and the area around the Takada Domain. This area has been known for a city having heavy snow, so some people from other areas seemed to have trouble living and communicating. The last lord of the castle was the Sakakibara Clan which owned it from the mid 18th Century to the Meiji Restoration in the late 19th Century.
The present city area covered with snow (taken by v-pro from photoAC)The Sakaki Shrine which worships Yasumasa Sakakibara, the founder of the Sakakibara Clan
八幡山古郭から見た復興天守～The reconstructed Tenshu keep from Hachimanyama-Kokaku (old castle)
立地と歴史～Location and History
小田原城は大まかに、「八幡山古郭」と呼ばれる古い西側の部分と、通常「小田原城」と呼ばれている新しい東側部分に分けられます。新しい方は、ＪＲ線から簡単にアクセスでき、小田原駅の南側にあります。この城は最初は中世に大森氏により築かれたと言われています。 Odawara Castle can roughly be divided into an older western part called “Hachimanyama-Kokaku” and a new eastern part, which we now usually call “Odawara Castle”. The new part can be easily accessed by JR railways, and is located the south of Odawara Station. It is said that the castle was first built by the Omori clan in the Middle Ages.
小田原中心部の航空写真～The aerial photo of the central Odawara（国土交通省航空写真に加筆）
また、北条早雲が伊豆国（現在の静岡県東部地方）から来て大森氏から城を奪ったとも言いますが、詳細は不明です。戦国時代には、北条氏がこの城を本拠地として使いました。新しい部分の方に館を構え、古い部分の方は籠城するときに使われたようです。 It is also said that Soun Hojo from Izu Province (now the eastern part of Shizuoka Pref.) seized it from the Omori, but these details are uncertain. During the Warring States Period, the Hojo clan utilized the castle as their home base. It seems they lived in the hall in the new part and used the older part for besieged.
北条早雲肖像画の複製、小田原城天守閣蔵～The replica of the portrait of Soun Hojo, owned by Odawara Castle（licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons）
この城は３回籠城戦を経験しました。まず上杉謙信、次には武田信玄によるものです。２人ともよくその強さを知られた戦国大名ですが、北条は両方とも城を守り切ることに成功しました。最後の３回目は、天下人の豊臣秀吉による名高い１５９０年の小田原征伐と呼ばれる戦いです。 The castle was besieged three times. First, by Kenshin Uesugi. Second, by Shingen Takeda. While both are well known strong warlords, the Hojo were successful in defending the castle both times. The third and last one was the famous Siege of Odawara in 1590 by the ruler Hideyoshi Toyotomi.
上杉謙信肖像画～The portrait of Kenshin Uesugi（licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons）
北条は秀吉と戦いたくありませんでした。この戦いが始まったのは、秀吉が決定した北条と真田の領地の取り決めを、北条が破ったからだと言われています。しかしある歴史家は、秀吉は最初から北条と戦って排除するために騙したのだと主張しています。私は、その方が妥当と思います。 Hojo didn’t want to fight with Hideyoshi. It is said that the battle started with Hojo defying Hideyoshi’s decision of the territories of Hojo and Sanada. However, a historian argues that Hideyoshi tried to fight and exclude Hojo from the first, then deceived them. I’d rather prefer the later.
豊臣秀吉肖像画、加納光信筆、高台寺蔵～The Portrait of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, attributed to Mitsunobu Kano, owned by Kodaiji Temple（licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons）
どちらにしろ、戦いの前に北条は城下町を含む城全体を、巨大な土塁と空堀で囲みました。これを「総構え」といいます。その外周は約９ｋｍあり、一部は二重三重に囲まれていました。秀吉は、２０万以上の軍勢をもって３ヶ月間城を取り囲みました。 Anyway, before the battle, Hojo surrounded the whole area including the castle town by huge earthen walls and trenches called “So-gamae”. Their perimeter was about 9 km and part of them were doubled or tripled. Hideyoshi laid siege to the castle with over 200,000 soldiers for three months.
赤い線は総構え土塁の推定ライン～The red line shows the estimated line of So-gamae earthen walls
籠城している間に、ほとんどの北条の支城は落城しました。多くの歴史家は北条は成す術がなかったと言います。一方では、秀吉側は一兵たりとも小田原城の中には侵入できなかったのです。事実、秀吉自身がこの戦いの後、彼の大坂城でこの城を真似ています。この戦いに参加した多くの他の大名も同様でした。 During the siege, most of Hojo’s branch castles were captured. Many historians say there was nothing for Hojo to do. On the other hand, any soldier on Hideyoshi side was not able to invade the inside of Odawara Castle. In fact, Hideyoshi himself emulated the castle for his Osaka Castle after the battle. Many other lords who joined the battle did so too.
大坂城～Osaka Castle
北条は、秀吉に降伏した後改易となりました。しかし秀吉は味方に対しても過酷でした。彼は徳川家康に対して、領地に戻ることなくそのまま北条の領地に移るよう命令しました。織田信雄もまた移封を拒んだため改易となります。江戸時代には、城の領域は新しい部分だけに縮小し、小田原藩に属しました。 Hojo got fired after he surrendered to Hideyoshi, who was also cruel to his supporters. He ordered Ieyasu Tokugawa to directly move to Hojo’s territory without returning home. Nobukatsu Oda was also fired because he rejected his transfer. In the Edo Period, the castle was reduced to the new area belonging to Odawara Domain.
相模国小田原城絵図部分、江戸時代～Part of the illustration of Odawara Castle in Sagami Province, in the Edo Period（出典：国立公文書館）
特徴～Features
現在、小田原駅の東口からは、ＪＲの線路に沿って小田原城の本丸まで近道で行くことができます。もし時間があれば、正面の方に向かって、それからお城端通りを右に曲がってください。その内に二の丸に着きますが、ここは最近整備計画が完了したところです。 Now, from the east entrance of Odawara Station, you can take a shortcut directly to the Honmaru enclosure of Odawara Castle along the JR railways. If you have time, I recommend going towards the front, then turn right on Oshirobata Street. You will reach the Ninomaru enclosure where the development project was done recently.
城周辺の地図～The map of around the castle
城への登城ルートが再現されていて、復元された馬出門と銅門を通ります。これらは、古写真や図面などを基に復元されました。 The original route to the castle has been recreated with the restored Umafdashi-mon Gate and Akagane-mon Gate. They were restored based on old photographs, drawings and so on.
馬出門～Umafdashi-mon Gate銅門～Akagane-mon Gate
そこから更に登っていくと、常盤木門を通り過ぎて天守に到着します。両方とも昭和時代に外観復元されたものです。 You can go up further and arrive at the Tenshu keep passing through the Tokiwagi-mon Gate. Both of them were apparently restored in the Showa Era.
本丸に向かいます～Going to Honmaru enclosure常盤木門～Tokiwagi-mon Gate
天守は博物館としても使われています。左後方から戻ってくると、１９２３年の関東大震災で崩れたままになっている本丸石垣も見ることができます。 Tenshu is also used as a museum. If you return taking the left back route, you can also see abandoned stones which collapsed from Honmaru stone walls when Great Kanto Earthquakes in 1923 happened.
外観復元天守～The apparently restored Tenshu keep崩れた石垣～The collapsing stone walls
古い方の小田原城にご興味があるのでしたら、近くにいくつか遺跡があります。 If you interested in the older part of Odawara Castle, there are few ruins near it.
古城周辺の地図～The map of around the old castle
・八幡山古郭東曲輪：ここは古城の端に当たりました。最近整備されて一般公開されています。ちょっと地味に見えますが、ここからは海を背景に天守の写真を撮ることができます。ここはちょうど線路を挟んで天守の反対側にあるからです。 ･The Eastern Enclosure of Hachimanyama-Kokaku: It was the edge of the old castle. It has been developed recently and open to the public. It still seems to be simple, but you can take a picture of Tenshu with the background of the sea because of its location being just the opposite of Tensh across from the railways.
八幡山古郭東曲輪～The Eastern Enclosure of Hachimanyama-Kokaku曲輪からの眺め～A view from the enclosure
・小峰大堀切：ここは「総構え」の数少ない遺構の一つです。この遺構のうち、「東堀」は約１７０ｍの長さがあり、一部曲がりくねっています。堀の底を歩いて通り抜けできるので、大きさを実感できます。小田原城下全体をこのような壮大な仕掛けで取り囲んでいたのです。 ･Komine large-scale trenches: They are a few remaining ruins of “So-gamae”. Out of them, The East Moat “Higashi-bori” is about 170m long and partly zigzagged. You can walk through the bottom of the trench and feel how large it is. Imagine such huge structures surrounded the whole of Odarwara City!
東堀大堀切～Higashi-bori large-scale trench曲がりくねった部分～The zigzaged part
・三の丸外郭新堀土塁：こちらは２０１２年から公開されている場所です。第二次世界大戦前まで皇族の閑院宮家の別荘でした。戦後になって、小田原市がある機関から購入しました。ここからは、小田原周辺の山や海を一望に見渡せます。秀吉が本陣を置いていた石垣山城も見えます。 ･Sannomaru outline Shinbori earthen walls: They have been open since 2012. The ground was used for the second house of the Imperial Family Kaninnomiya before World War II. After the war, Odawara City bought it from an institution. You will have a great view of mountains and the sea around Odawara including the ruins of Ishigakiyama Castle where Hideyoshi built his stronghold.
三の丸外郭新堀土塁～Sannnomru outline Shinbori earthen walls土塁からの眺め～A view from the earthen walls
その後～Later Life
明治維新後、ほとんどの城の建物は撤去されました。明治中期には、城跡は御用邸の一つとして使われましたが、関東大震災で壊滅してしまいます。その後、小田原城址公園として整備されました。天守は１９６０年に再建されますが、それまでは天守台の上に観覧車がありました。 After the Meiji Restoration, most of the castle buildings were demolished. In the mid Meiji Period, the ruins of the castle were used as one of the Imperial Villas, but the Great Kanto Earthquakes broke all of them. After that, they were developed as Odawara Castle Park. Tenshu keep was rebuilt in 1960 after a Ferris wheel was installed on the Tenshu base.
天守台の上の観覧車、１９５０年代～The Ferris wheel on the Tenshu base, in the 1950s（小田原市Websiteより引用）
私の感想～My Impression
日本語には「小田原評定」という比喩表現があり、延々結論が出ない会合のことを指します。北条は３ヶ月の間降伏するか否か逡巡していたと思われたのでしょう。ところがこの表現は、この戦いから１００年以上後の江戸時代の軍記物により最初に広まったのです。滅びた北条は反論できません。 In Japanese, there is a figurative expression called “Odawara Hyojo” which means an inconclusive conference. People think Hojo wondered if they should surrender or not during the three month siege. However, the expression first spread more than 100 years after the battle in war chronicles of the Edo Period. The defeated Hojo couldn’t argue that.
北条氏政肖像画、北条氏四代目当主、小田原城天守閣蔵～The portrait of Ujimasa Hojo, the forth head of the Hojo clan, owned by Odawara Castle（licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons）
守備側の主な２つの選択肢としては、援軍を待つか、攻撃側を撃退するかでしょう。私は、北条は同盟を結んでいた伊達政宗の援軍を待っていたのだと思います。しかし、正宗はついには秀吉に臣従してしまい、一方秀吉を撃退することも不可能でした。残ったのはいかに降伏するかです。実際、北条の降伏とその条件を交渉する使者が行き来していました。その条件は、北条は一部の領地を維持できるものであったと言われています。北条はそれを受け入れましたが、最終的には再び騙されてしまったのです。 The two major options for defenders are to wait for reinforces or to repel the attackers. I think that Hojo was waiting for Masamune Date who was once their ally, but finally served Hideyoshi as a vassal. The other option, beating Hideyoshi back was impossible. The rest was how they surrendered. Indeed, some messengers suggested Hojo surrender and negotiate conditions. It is said that the condition might allow Hojo to keep part of their territory. Hojo accepted that, but they were deceived again in the end.
伊達政宗像、仙台市博物館蔵（The picture of Masamune Date owned by Sendai City Museum）licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
ここに行くには～How to get There
新しい方の「小田原城」または八幡山古郭東曲輪に行くには： 電車の場合は、小田原駅から徒歩で約１０分です。車の場合は、西湘バイパス小田原ＩＣから約５分です。小田原城址公園周辺に私営の駐車場があります。 小峰大堀切または三の丸外郭新堀土塁に行くには： 電車の場合は、小田原駅から徒歩で約２０～３０分です。車の場合は、小田原厚木道路荻窪ＩＣから約５分です。遺跡近くの城山公園に駐車可能です。 To the new “Odawara Castle” or The Eastern Enclosure of Hachimanyama-Kokaku: When using train, it takes about 10 minutes on foot from Odawara Station. When using car, it takes about 5 minutes from the Odawara IC on Seishou Bypass. There are private parking lots around Odawara Castle Park. To Komine large-scale trenches or Sannomaru outline Shinbori earthen walls: When using train, it takes about 20 to 30 minutes on foot from Odawara Station. When using car, it takes about 5 minutes from the Ogikubo IC on Odawara-Atsugi Road. You can park at the Shiroyama Park near the ruins.
