Meiji restoration – ページ 2 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

11.Nihonmatsu Castle Part1

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)

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.

*Nihonmatsu Castle* and the statues of the Nihonmatsu child soldiers

To be continued in “Nihonmatus Castle Part2”

30.Takato Castle Part3

Ejima lived in the latter half of her life in that land.

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, all of the buildings in Takato Castle were demolished or sold. In 1875, the castle ruins were turned into Takato Park and the former warriors started to plant cherry blossoms in the park. Since then, the site has been developing as a site famous for cherry blossoms. They were also designated as a National Historic Site in 1973.

Around the Cherry Cloud Bridge in the cherry-blossom season (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

My Impression

I have learned that Takato Castle was really built using natural materials and the local people made a great effort to continue maintaining the castle ruins into the future generations.

The earthen walls (on the left) and the Middle Moat (on the right) of the Second Enclosure

In addition, if you have time, I recommend that you visit the restored house for “Ejima” at the Takato Historical Museum. Ejima was a senior officer of “Ooku” or the Inner Chambers of Edo Castle, the home base of the Tokugawa Shogunate in the Edo Period. She was banished to the Takato Domain because she was late for the closing time of the castle after seeing a Kabuki play. It is said the incident was caused by an internal conflict of Ooku. She was confined in a quarantined room of the house for 27 years before her death. She was also not given any writing materials, so she was devoted to reading a sutra. People in Takato eventually respected her and the lord of the domain invited her to Takato Castle to educate the women in the castle in her last years.

The entrance of the restored house for Ejima

The house was strictly surrounded by the fences.

Ejima drawn in a Ukiyo-e Painting, she was thought that she was late for playing with a Kabuki actor. *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car:
It is about 30 minutes away from Ina IC on the Chuo Expressway.
There are several parking lots around the park and in the Takato Historical Museum.
By public transportation, take the JR bus (Takato line) from JR Inashi Station, and get off at the Takato bus stop. The ruins are about 15 minutes away on foot.
To get to Inashi Station from Tokyo: Take the limited express Azusa or Kaiji at Shinjuku Station, and transfer at Okaya Station to the Iida Line.

Links and References

・Noble ruin of the castle park, Ina City Official Website

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

25.Kofu Castle Part1

A very important strongpoint for the Tokugawa Shogunate

Location and History

Mitsuyasu Kato might have developed it greatly

Kofu Castle was located in Kai Province (what is now Yamanashi Prefecture). Kai Province was owned by the Takeda Clan for a long time until 1582 when the clan was defeated by Nobunaga Oda. Since then the Oda clan governed the province but immediately followed by the Tokugawa, Toyotomi, and the Tokugawa clan again. Kofu City, which is the prefectural capital of the prefecture, had already been the castle town for the Takeda Clan Hall. It is said that the Tokugawa Clan first built Kofu Castle at the south of the town in 1583 of their first governance, but it is uncertain. In 1590, Toyotomi’s servant, Mitsuyasu Kato was given Kai Province. He improved Kofu Castle greatly, probably with building the large scale stone walls. This is because Toyotomi had the craftsmen who were able to build stone walls called Ano-shu, which Tokugawa didn’t have. It is thought that the basic structure of the castle was completed at the same time.

The location of the castle

The portrait of Mitsuyasu Kato, private owned (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Protected by High Stone Walls and Tripled Moats

The castle consisted of three parts. The main portion is called Uchi-shiro, it includes the Main Enclosure, the base for the Main Tower and other enclosures. It was surrounded by stone walls and the Inner Moat. It was also on a hill called Ichijo-koyama, and had three entrances – the Main Gate on the south, the Yamanote-mon Gate on the north, and the Yanagi-mon Gate on the west. The eastern part of the main portion is protected strictly by the high stone walls. Secondly, the ground for the warriors’ houses called Naikaku was around the main portion, surrounded by the Second Moat. Lastly, the ground for the castle town was around Naikaku, also surrounded by the Third Moat.

The old map of Kofu Castle, from a book “Rakushido-nenroku” by Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa, owned by The Yanagisawa Library *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

The miniature model of the main portion of Kofu Castle, the front of the photo is the high stone walls on the east (an exhibition in the Inari Turret)

Important Strongpoint for protecting Edo

In the Edo Period from the 17th Century, Kofu Castle became a very important spot. The Tokugawa Shogunate set the Five Major Roads including the Kofu Road passing through Kofu town. Kofu was regarded as the western strongpoint to protect Edo (what is now Tokyo), the Shogun’s home base. For this reason, the Shogunate basically governed the castle directly. For example, the Shogun’s relative Tsunatoyo Tokugawa lived in the castle, who became the sixth Shogun Ienobu later. Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa was the first lord of the castle out of non-Shogun’s relatives in 1705, who was a senior vassal of the Shogunate. His son, Yoshiyasu was transferred to Yamato-Koriyama Castle in 1724, then Kofu Castle was Shogunate-owned again.

The positional relation between Kofu and Edo

*The portrait of Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa, owned by Ichiren-ji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

In 1868 during the Meiji Restoration, the battle between the New Government and the Shogunate happened. Taisuke Itagaki, one of the leaders of the New Government Army thought they needed to capture Kofu Castle faster than the Shogunate. The Shogunate also sent the famous warrior party called the Shinsen-gumi led by Isami Kondo to Kofu Castle. Itagaki rushed and succeeded to enter the castle by a narrow margin, so that he could defeat the Shinsen-gumi.

The picture of Taisuke Itagaki, published by the Eastern Culture Association *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

*The picture of Isami Kondo, owned by the National Diet Library (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

To be continued in “Kofu Castle Part2”