Masugata – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

23.Odawara Castle Part3

I introduced the histories and features of Odawara Castle until the Sengoku Period in the previous articles. In this article, I will talk about the histories and features of the castle starting from the Edo Period to the present time. The catchphrase of this article will be “Disaster Recoveries”.

Location and History

Period of Okubo Clan

After the Battle of Odawara Castle in 1590, Ieyasu Tokugawa who captured the Kanto Region chose Edo, not Odawara, as his home. However, he assigned his senior vassal, Tadayo Okubo to Odawara Castle instead as the founder of the Odawara Domain. That meant the castle was still important in order to protect the region from enemies at the western edge of the region. Tadayo lived in the castle while maintaining its stone walls. He used the main hall that the Hojo Clan built, and the Main Tower the clan may have built also. This was because the style of the tower was different from those of the castle later on, but there is no certain evidence of this. Ieyasu often stayed in Odawara Castle when he went hunting or looked around his territories. Despite the close relationship, Tadayo’s successor, Tadachika Okubo was fired by Ieyasu due to a minor violation in 1614. It was actually said that it was caused by the conflicts between the Okubo Clan and the Honda Clan that was another senior vassal family.

The portrait of Tadayo Okubo, owned by Odawara Castle (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The portrait of Masanobu Honda, owned by Kaga-Maeda Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The image of the first main tower, from the signboard at the site

Period of Inaba Clan

The Odawara Domain was revived in 1632 when Masakatsu Inaba, who was a close vassal of the shogun, became the lord of the castle. He was also a son of Lady Kasuga who was the foster mother of the shogun. Masakatsu was expected to guard the barrier of Hakone near Odawara, which would be the defensive line of the Kanto Region. However, in the following year, Kanei Great Earthquakes happened and it destroyed most of the castle and the castle town. The Tokugawa Shogunate, which planned the shogun’s visit to Kyoto after staying in Odawara in 1634, rapidly launched the reconstructions of the castle. That concluded the basic style of Odawara Castle during the Edo Period. For example, the main tower was rebuilt like the current one, but not the same one. The main portion of the castle was all surrounded by stone walls. The main hall in the main enclosure was built only for the shogun. Therefore, the lord of the castle stayed in his hall in the second enclosure, which was called “Oyakata”.

The portrait of Masakatsu Inaba, owned by Yogenji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The imaginary drawing of Odawara Castle during the Edo Period, from the signboard at the site

The image of the second main tower, from the signboard at the site

The castle town was also developed as a transportation hub of Tokaido Road, one of the main roads in Japan. On the other hand, the range of the castle was reduced to only on the plain land, compared to that during the Sengoku Period. There were exemptions that some of the So-gamae structure were used as borders of the domain or the town. For instance, the eastern gate of the town to Edo, called “Edoguchi-mitsuke” used the So-gamae earthen walls. In the Yamanokami Ditch on the hill, guards monitored the border of the domain at the gate which was built there.

Period of Okubo Clan again

The Okubo Clan became the lord of the Odawara Domain (Odawara Castle) after the Inaba Clan moved to the Takada Domain in 1686. Tadatomo Okubo who was the lord of the clan supported the current shogun as a member of shogun’s council of elders. Few years later, the Genroku Earthquake occurred in 1703 which destroyed the castle and its town again. Mt. Fuji also erupted four years later, which was called “Hoei Eruption”, and its volcanic ash caused serious crop failure to the farms. The castle lost all its main tower and halls, but the shogunate didn’t help the domain in this case. As a result, it took as long as 18 years to restore them except for the main hall for the shogun which was not needed any more. The reconstruction of the main tower was a third generation, which survived until the end of the Edo Period. When the costal defensive system against possible invasions was needed, three batteries were built along the remaining earthen walls of the So-gamae structure beside the sea. However, they were unfortunately demolished until now.

The image of the third main tower, from the signboard at the site

Odawara Castle until Now

After the Meiji Restoration, Odawara Castle was abandoned and most of the castle buildings were scraped. Meanwhile, the stone walls of the main portion were still used as the base of an imperial villa. However, the Great Kanto Earthquakes, which happened on the 1st of September in 1923, destroyed the villa, the stone walls and the only remaining castle building, was the one-level turret of the second enclosure. This disaster had mostly erased the scenery of the remaining castle. The villa was eventually turned into Odawara Castle Park.
People in Odawara started to restore the castle in 1934 by rebuilding the stone walls and the turret of the second enclosure. The 4th main tower and its stone wall base was rebuilt in 1960. Since then, Tokiwagi-mon Gate in 1970, Akagane-mon Gate in 1997, and Umadashi-mon Gate in 2009 were restored to recreate their scenery during the Edo Period. They could be considered one of the disaster recoveries which the castle experienced again and again.

Some of the stone walls of the main enclosure, which collapsed in the Great Kanto Earthquakes

Features

From Third Enclosure to Second Enclosure

Past visitors to the castle would usually enter the castle from the main gate while current visitors would start from Ohoribata Steet beside the moat of the second enclosure. (Ohoribata means “beside the moat”) However, how about if we take another route instead? This route starts from the entrance to the ruins of Kodamon-guchi Gate beside the Odawara post office. It goes on the few remaining earthen walls of the third enclosure to the Ohoribata Street via the gate ruins. This gate had originally been the main gate of the castle during the Sengoku Period. It was said that Kenshin Uesugi attacked the gate first and followed by Shingen Takeda later on.

The ruins of the main gate in the third enclosure, which is used as a bell tower

The moat of the second enclosure was originally a pond surrounding the castle, called “Large Pond” or “Lotus Pond”. The stone walls and the single-level turret over the moat were restored after the Great Kanto Earthquakes. The original stone walls, which were destroyed by the earthquakes, were much higher than the current ones.

The restored stone walls and the single-level turret in the second enclosure

If you enter the front entrance of the Odawara Castle Park, you will enter the Umadashi-mon Gate through the earthen bridge over the moat. This gate was the latest restored gate in the castle, using wooden materials. It has a square space, called Masugata, inside, which makes it tough for enemies to penetrate.

If you pass the gate and walk around the moat again, you will eventually reach the Akagane-mon Gate, which is the front entrance of the second enclosure. You will need to walk across the wooden bridge to go over the moat again, which comes from the castle’s defensive layout. The gate was also restored to its original conditions with the help of old photos, records, and the results of the excavations. This Masugata System looks stronger than The Umadashi-mon Gate, which is surrounded by stone walls and mud walls.

The inside of the second enclosure is mostly an empty space but had the main hall for the lord (during the Edo Period) and the imperial villa (during the Meiji and Taisho Eras).

The space of the second enclosure and the main enclosure just above the hill

Arriving at Main Enclosure

We will eventually reach the main enclosure from the second enclosure through Tokiwagi-bashi Bridge. There used to be the eastern moat surrounding the main enclosure under the bridge, however, it has been converted into an iris garden which you can enjoy if you walk down to the former bottom of the moat. You can also see many hydrangeas planted on the slopes of the enclosure during the summer season.

After crossing the bridge, you will finally enter the last gate, called Tokiwagi-mon. It was restored using concrete instead of wood. The original gate had the Masugata system as well, however, the final restoration lacks one side of the walls probably to make it more accessible for visitors.

There is the reconstructed main tower in the main enclosure. It is very large for a three-level tower which is 27.2m tall and about 39m tall (including the tower base). The tower has four floors inside. It is the seventh tallest main tower among the existing ones in Japan. It is the fourth generation of the main towers of this castle, which was built emulating the miniature model and records of the third generation. However, the fourth generation has the observation platform for visitors on top, which is different from the design of the third generation tower. For this reason, the current tower is regarded not as “restored” but rather “reconstructed”. The inside of the tower is used as a historical museum, which was renovated are reinforced with earthquake-proof technology back in 2016.

The current main tower (the fourth generation)

You can see views of Odawara in all directions from the platform, including where you’ve already visited.

A view from the tower (Hachiman-yama old enclosure)

A view from the tower (the main and second enclosures)

A view from the tower facing west (including Sagami Bay)

Hopes for the Future and Lessons of the Past

If you get out of the main enclosure through the northern exit, you will reach Goyomai Enclosure. (Goyomai means “official stored rice”) Unfortunately, you can not enter it because of the excavations. Instead, you can see the panels around, which showcases what were found there so far. For example, the ruins of a stone pawed garden, including beautiful cut stones, during the Sengoku Period were discovered. The site was turned into warehouses for rice during the Edo Period, which originated the name of the enclosure. I’m looking forward to seeing this site again after it becomes more developed.

The explanation about the stone pawed garden

The explanation about the Tokugawa Shogunate roof tiles

If you go to the southern slopes of the main enclosure, you can see a lot of large stones at the foot which collapsed during the Great Kanto Earthquakes. In fact, the stones were used for the stone walls which covered the top of the enclosure. Some of the stones are still connected to each other forming a curve. That means they slid down from the top to the foot keeping the form when the earthquakes happened. It must have been caused by the enormous strength of the earthquakes. The exhibitions made me realize how important being prepared for disasters is.

The curved stone walls lie down at the foot of the enclosure

Other stone walls which collapsed during the earthquakes

Finally, It may be a good idea to visit the southern moat nearby. It is also known as “lotus moat” which uses the same name during the Sengoku Period. You may be seeing the same scenery as people at that time, which shows the castle has a long history.

My Impression

There are a lot of attractions about Odawara Castle from the Sengoku Period to the present time. Maybe you will need more than one day to see all of them. The lords of the castle achieved many things. For instance, they constructed one of the greatest castles and rebuilt the main towers three times. These works were passed down from one lord to the next. It may look simple, but it is difficult to maintain. I speculate that if another disaster happens in the future to Odawara, people there will survive along with Odawara Castle. They could be a role model for other people under similar situations in the future.

That’s all. Thank you.

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53.Nijo Castle Part2

The eastern main gate is the only gate which visitors can use. It looks strict outside, however, if you enter inside, there will be an open space with the remaining guardhouse alongside. This is probably because this gate was the front gate of the castle, which was mainly used when ceremonies were held.

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Nijo Castle was used as a villa of the imperial family. For example, a party for the enthronement ceremony of the emperor Taisho was held there. The castle has become a historical site since 1934, named Former Imperial Villa Nijo-jo Castle. The site also became a World Heritage in 1994, as one of Cultural assets of the ancient capital of Kyoto.

The picture of the enthronement ceremony of the emperor Taisho (licensed by Ninijo via Wikimedia Commons)

The eastern main gate with the signpost of the historical site

Features

Gorgeous Second Enclosure

The eastern main gate is the only gate available to visitors. It looks strong on the outside, however, if you enter inside, there will be an open space with the remaining guardhouse alongside. This is probably because this gate was the front gate of the castle, which was mainly used when ceremonies were held.

The aerial photo of Nijo Castle, the eastern main gate is located at the lower right of the map (Google Map)

The inside of the gate, the guardhouse is in the back

If you turn right at the first corner of the tour course, you will see the Kara-mon Gate (which means Chinese-style gate). It was built with the high sophistication, as the front gate of the second enclosure main hall. It also has lots of golden decorations, which attracts many tourists, particularly those from overseas.

The route from the eastern main gate to the main hall through the Kara-mon Gate has been the official one since the beginning. The main hall has been intact since it was renovated for the Kanei Royal Visit in 1626. That’s why it was designated as a National Treasure in 1952, with its gorgeous pictures on its movable sliding doors inside.

Unfortunately, we can not take pictures inside the hall. Therefore, let me explain to you about each hall while looking at the aerial pictures of the six halls. The hall basically consists of 6 buildings. The first one is the largest one (located on the bottom right of the picture), called “To-zamurai” (which means gate guardians). It was used as the entrance and the waiting rooms, including the special room for the imperial envoys in the back. The hall next to it is called “Shikidai” (which means retainers’ rooms). It was the place for the agency service between the visitors and the shogun. The service was done by Roju (the members of the shogun’s council of elders) who had their rooms in the back.

The aerial photo of the main hall (Google Map)

The third hall is O-hiroma (which means large hall), where the visitors officially met the shogun. In fact, The Returning of the Power to the Emperor was officially announced there in 1867. The three buildings above were like the government office. The others in the back were like the shogun’s residences.
The fourth hall, called “Sotetsu-no-ma” (which means cycad room), was the connecting hall to them. The name originates from the cycad trees, presented from the Saga Domain. They were planted outside near it. Surprisingly, the trees are still alive there today.

The “Sotetsu-no-ma” hall in the left, the “O-hiroma” hall in the right, and the cycad trees are in the front

The fifth one is called Kuro-shoin (which means black library), where the shogun worked and met people in private. The famous picture of The Returning of the Power to the Emperor demonstrates the event in this room. The shogun (Yoshinobu Tokugawa) told the internal retainers about his decision in the picture.

The picture of the announcement of Returning the Power to the Emperor, owned by the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The last one is called Haku-shoin (which means white library). It was used as the shogun’s private room.

Is the Main Enclosure a Castle-like Place?

The main enclosure may be more likely a castle than the second enclosure. You can go there by crossing the bridge over the inner moat. The bridge used to have the second floor with roof overhead for the Kanei Royal Visit. The floor was demolished, but it is kept in a storage room, in case they want to restore in the future. If you go over the bridge, you will enter the remaining turret gate of the enclosure.

The bridge used to have the second floor with roof overhead

The inside of the gate is still surrounded by stone walls, which looks stronger than that of the second enclosure. The square inside the walls is one of the castle’s defense systems, called Masugata.

If you go to the center of the enclosure, the atmosphere around it will feel elegant. This is due to the place being developed as a garden for the former imperial villa. The remaining main hall of the enclosure is not the original of the castle but it came from the residence of the Katsura-no-miya imperial family in the Meiji Era. The emperor Taisho often stayed there when he was the prince.

The current main hall of the main enclosure

You can climb the main tower base, which had the real tower in the past. The emperor climbed the tower twice during the Kanei Royal Visit. The experts of the advisory panel for the site are now discussing how to restore the tower in the distant future.

The tour course will eventually guide you to the exit of the enclosure through the western entrance which is the opposite side of the turret gate. This entrance also looks impenetrable with a square space even through it doesn’t have buildings there anymore.

There are other defensive systems around the main enclosure. For example, the passage in front of the bridge and the gate, you first passed through, is separated by two gates, one in the north, one in the south.

In addition to the two gates mentioned above, there are two additional gates, which were built on the northern edge of the inner moat and on the southern edge of it. These gates were used to protect the castles from enemies’ attacks and to monitor regular visitors.

Furthermore, there are also two remaining storehouses on the western side of the enclosure. They were used to stock rice in preparation for a long siege. Three of the ten storehouses still remain in the castle today.

One of the remaining storehouses (in the northern side)

Another remaining storehouse (in the southern side)

If you have time, I recommend you visit the southwestern side of the enclosure. You may enjoy seeing beautiful flowers such as plum blossoms in the spring, hydrangea flowers in the summer, etc.

Let’s walk around Nijo Castle!

Many tourists may see only the inside of Nijo Castle. However, this article will guide you to other perspectives of the site. Let us walk around the perimeter of Nijo Castle, which is about 1.9 km long. Let’s start from the eastern side of it, where many tourists gather, finishing to the northern side.

The eastern side is always crowded with tourists

If you walk along the northern side, you will see the northern main gate, another highly sophisticated one, following the eastern main gate. It was probably used to communicate with the shogunate government office of Kyoto, which was located across the road. In fact, it is uncertain when it was built, that means it might be the oldest building in the castle.

If you go further, the smaller square is attached the larger square by a protrusion shown in the picture below.

The protrusion between the small square and the large square

You can also walk on the special pathway, which was partially developed on this side, to see the stone walls and moats of the castle more closely.

If you go to the western side, you will see the ruins of the western gate. It was the side entrance of the castle, which people usually used, but you cannot use it now because there is no bridge over the moat. It looks smaller and more defensive than the other highly sophisticated gates of the castle. Unfortunately, you cannot get close to the gate ruins even from the inside When Yoshinobu Tokugawa, who was the last shogun, escaped from this castle, he used this same gate, not the front gate, in order to avoid confrontations.

You will eventually see the other remaining “southwestern corner turret” at the corner between the western and eastern sides. It has quiet environment, compared to the southeastern corner turret.

You will also see water flowing out from the moat of the eastern side. This water comes from a natural spring of this site. In fact, this site had been an ancient pond, called “Shinsenen”, before the castle was built. The current Shinsenen was downsized and is next to the castle. The castle benefits from nature of Kyoto.

Where are the Old Nijo Castle Sites?

After walking around the current Nijo Castle, let us now go to the ruins of the old Nijo Castles. However, there are only a few of them remaining because they were all demolished. Basically, there is the only stone monument at each site.

Yoshiteru’s Nijo Castle, marked by the red box, Yoshiaki’s Nijo Castle, marked by the blue box, Nobunaga’s Nijo Castle, marked by the green box, and Hideyoshi’s Myokenji Castle, marked by the brown box (Google Map)

Yoshiaki’s Nijo Castle Ruins have a few other things. Some of the stone walls were excavated when the subway constructions were done. They are now exhibited on three sites. One is near Sawaragi-guchi entrance of Kyoto Gyoen National Garden, and another is in the current Nijo Castle.

The stone walls, exhibited near Sawaragi-guchi entrance of Kyoto Gyoen National Garden

The stone walls, exhibited in the current Nijo Castle (*licensed by Tomomarusan via Wikipedia Commons)*

The other one is exhibited, about 10km away to the west of Nijo Castle, in Kyoto Bamboo Park. These stone walls have a distinct feature, which came from stone Buddha statues, collected by Nobunaga Oda.

The stone Buddha statues, which were used as the stone walls, are now exhibited in the Kyoto Bamboo Park

According to a Portugal missionary, Luis Frois, who was in Japan at that time, wrote that Nobunaga ordered his servants to carry these statues using ropes which made them look like prisoners. People in Kyoto were very afraid to see this because the people worshiped the Buddha statues. Some of the statues, which are exhibited in the park, were actually destroyed intentionally.

Some of the statues were actually destroyed intentionally

Even current Japanese people would be relieved to see that these statues survived despite the harsh treatment they were given.

My Impression

Looking at the histories of all the different Nijo Castles, there were some cases where the castles fell or their masters abandoned them. That may mean that Kyoto is easy to attack but difficult to protect. On the other hand, Kyoto must also have been an attractive place to stay for the masters. I think that the world was not built in a day and therefore, Nijo Castle was not built by one castle.

The garden of the second enclosure in the left and the Kuro-shoin hall in the right

That’s all. Thank you.

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173.Nitakayama Castle Part3

After Nitakayama Castle was abandoned, its ruins were used as a place for the practices of the mountain priests. That’s why there are stone buddha statues and monuments they built on the top of the mountain.

Features

Unique Final Enclosure

Tsume-no-maru (meaning the final enclosure) is next to the main enclosure to the southeast. It is also the top of the mountain, where you can enjoy great views of the surrounding area, such as Takayama Castle Ruins, Nuta River, and even Seto Inland Sea. It is also a more interesting place than only the top area. It is the rockiest and steepest area of this mountain. Furthermore, it has lots of stone buddha statues and monuments which mountain priests built. That’s why this site has become unique.

The map around the castle

A view of the Nuta River towards the Seto Inland Sea from the top

Well Enclosure, Lifeline of Castle

Tsurii-no-dan (meaning the well enclosure) is next to the main enclosure to the north. You can go there from the back gate of the main enclosure by walking down another Masugata system. This Masugata is different. It is called the inter type which is highly improved than that of the main gate (the outer type). It also still has clearly remaining earthen walls which form its square shape.

The ruins of the back gate of the main enclosure

The Masugata system of the back gate, seen from its side

Tsurii-no-dan Enclosure is lower than others, like a valley, which still has six large well ruins. It was very important for the castle not only to be besieged for a long time, but also to be able to live in.

One of the six well ruins in the enclosure

Later History

After Nitakayama Castle was abandoned, its ruins were used as a place for the practices of the mountain priests. That’s why you saw the stone buddha statues and monuments on the top they built. They also built chain fields on the steepest route to the top which experienced climbers still use today. However, general visitors shouldn’t use it. As for the castle ruins, they were designated as National Historic Sites with Mihara and Takayama Castles in 1957.

The top area of Nitakayama Mountain, looking very steep

My Impression

Mihara Castle was the final castle of Takakage Kobayakawa. However, I’m not quite sure what the castle looked like when he lived there because it was greatly improved by Fukushima and Asano Clans after Takakage died. Therefore, we can’t find how and where the huge stones from Nitakayama Castle were used in Mihara Castle. That means the ruins of Nitakayama Castle are valuable to see the legacies of Takakage’s period. As for myself, I would like to visit the ruins of Takayama Castle next to Nitakayama Castle someday.

A picture of Mihara Castle, drawn on the wall of Mihara Station

*The part of the Main Tower base of Mihara Castle, which was built by Takakage Kobayakawa*

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car, it is about a 4km drive away from Hongo IC on the Sanyo Expressway. There is a parking lot for visitors near the entrance of the hiking course.

By public transportation, it takes about 25 minutes on foot from JR Hongo Station.
After you get out of the station, turn right and go along the street in front of the station. Then, turn left at the first intersection, and the street leads to a bridge over the Nuta River while it follows a winding road. It may be better for you to walk the sidewalk on the left because the next intersection has a crosswalk only on this side.

Go along the street in front of the station

Walk the sidewalk on the left after turning left

If you walk across it, you will go on the bridge seeing a good view of Nitakayama and Takayama Mountains on the right. After that, turn right, go across another crosswalk and go on a path on the bank beside the river towards the mountains. This path will split into two, but eventually they will meet in front of a shrine. You will eventually arrive at the entrance of the hiking course.

Nitakayama Mountain on the left and Takayama Mountain on the right, seen from the bridge

Arriving at the starting point to the castle ruins

From Tokyo or Osaka to the station: get Sanyo Shinkansen bullet train and transfer to the Sanyo Line at Mihara Station.

That’s all. Thank you.
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