After the Boshin War during the Meiji Restoration, Miharu Castle was abandoned. All the buildings and even most of the stone walls on the mountain were demolished and sold. Only the Main Hall for the lord was developed into the local government building. In 1922, the castle ruins on the mountain was developed as a park. Many of the remaining foundation of the castle was unfortunately destroyed, while lots of cherry trees were planted instead.
The ruins of the Second GateThe Second Enclosure
My Impression
I have learned a lot about how the local clans and Miharu Castle survived under difficult situations. The castle may be simpler than other popular castles like Wakamatsu Castle, but it also has an interesting history and distinct taste. I also hope some new discoveries about the castle will be found in the future. In addition, Miharu Town is very famous for cherry blossoms, especially Miharu Takizakura or The cherry blossom flowers that look like water falling down is about 4km away from the castle. However, the castle ruins also have great cherry blossoms and many other ones are around, too. I would like to visit the ruins in the spring next time.
The cherry blossom flowers that look like water falling down of Miharu (taken by nana201855 from phtotoAC)The cherry blossom flowers in the ruins of Miharu Castle (quoted from the website of Miharu Tourism Association)
How to get There
If you want to go there by car: It is about 15 minutes away from Funehiki-Miharu IC on the Banetsu Expressway. The parking area is halfway up the mountain. By train, it is about 30 minutes away from JR Miharu Station on foot. I recommend using a taxi from the station to avoid getting lost. To get to Miharu Station from Tokyo: Take the Tohoku Shinkansen super express and transfer at Koriyama Station to the Banetsu-Tou Line.
If you visit the ruins of Miharu Castle today by train, you will find JR Miharu Station to be the nearest station from the castle, being at the bottom of the valley surrounded by the hills. In this area, the roads, train lines and rivers go through the valleys. Currently you will see many large official facilities and even some farmlands are on the hills. They have the distinct feature of the area. Similarly, we can easily speculate that people of this area in the past would have had access to this unique terrain which were important facilities for a castle.
Around the station surrounded by the hills
The relief map around the castle
The center of Miharu Town originates from the castle town of Miharu Castle. It was divided into 2 sections – the southern town and northern town. The route through the town has a 90 degree angle connecting the southern and northern parts. In the Southern Town, currently you can only see the remaining gate for the Miharu Domain school and the Miharu Primary School standing there. In the past, you would be able to see the Main Gate of the Castle and the Main Hall for the lord at the foot of the mountain.
The map around the castle
The southern townThe northern townThe remaining remaining gate for the Miharu Domain school
Route from Southern town
You can now access the ruins of Miharu Castle by climbing up the Castle Slope which is another route to the front of the castle. There, you will see several enclosures along the slope with some of them being used as modern residential area. In order to reach the top of the mountain, you will have to go up on a zigzagged trail. At the peaks of the trail, you will see the gate ruins such as the Second Gate, the Agetsuchi Gate and the Third Gate. This would have been the defense system of the castle. You will soon reach the entrance of the lower tier of the Main Enclosure at the top where the Large Gate once stood. You can only see the stone foundations of the gate from here.
The Castle Slope and the residential area aroundThe zigzagged trail to the topThe Agetsuchi Gate ruinsThe Third Gate ruinsThe Large Gate ruins in the lower tier of the Main Enclosure
Route from Northern town
The Northern Town has a Back Route to the top of the mountain called the Sanbu-zaka Slope. The trail also zigzaggs along with a lot of empty enclosures which shows the long history of the castle. There, you will see the ruins of the Back Entrance, the ruins of the Turret and the few remaining stone walls which the Gamo Clan built before reaching the other entrance of the lower tier of the Main Enclosure. This is where the Back Gate would had been in the past.
The Sanbu-zaka SlopeThe empty enclosuresThe ruins of the Back EntranceThe ruins of the TurretThe few remaining stone walls
Main Enclosure with Shrine and lots of Trees
The lower tier is an open square now, but the Three Story Turret stood out in the past. The upper tier of the Main Enclosure is next to the lower tier. It is mostly empty now because of the great fire that happened in the Edo Period. You can only see the shrine which worships the Akita Clan at the stone wall foundation. However I can not be certain if the stone walls are from the original castle. There, You will see a view of the other hills around overlooking the castle town. Lots of trees have been planted around the enclosure as a park attraction. Therefore this view is very beautiful during the spring and autumn seasons .
The lower tier of the Main EnclosureThe upper tier of the Main EnclosureIs this the stone wall base for a Main Tower? but it seemed to be built after the castle was abandonedThe shrine which worships the Akita Clan on the stone wallsA view from the Main Enclosure
Tamura Clan first governed Castle which became branch of Wakamatsu Castle later
Miharu Castle was located in the Tamura District of Mutsu Province (what is now the modern day Miharu Town in Fukushima Prefecture). The area connected the inland and seaside areas, so it was regarded as being important. In the first 16th Century, the Tamura Clan governed the area and built Miharu Castle on the highest hill around the area. In the middle 16th Centrury, the lord of the clan, Kiyoaki Tamura was threatened by other larger warlords such as the Ashina Clan in the west, the Soma Clan in the east and the Satake Clan in the south. Therfore, he decided to form an allegiance with Masamune Date, a great warlord in the north, by marrying his daughter with Masamune. Masamune stayed in Miharu Castle for a while in 1588 before conquering the Tohoku Region and beating the Ashina Clan in 1589. The Tamura Clan succeeded to survive under Masamune. Miharu Castle was developed and it spread to other hills by the clan.
The location of the castle
However, the Tamura Clan was disbanded by the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi in 1590. This is because the lord of the clan, Muneaki Tamura didn’t respond to the call from Hideyoshi who considered the Tamura Clan as an indipendent lord. However the Tamura Clan didn’t feel this way. It may have been the clan’s mistake, but some historians say it might have been a conspiracy of Masamune who should have madiated Hideyoshi and the Tamura Clan because of the clan’s territory including Miharu Castle finally belonging to Masamune.
The family crest of the Tamura Clan called the Tamura Japanese Ginger (licensed by Fraxinus2 via Wikimedia Commons)The portrait of Masamune Date owned by Sendai City Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Miharu Castle became a branch castle of Wakamatsu Castle which became Masamune’s home base. After that, the lords of Wakamatsu Castle were changed to other clans – the Gamo, Uesugi and Kato Clans. Miharu Castle was made stronger by them. They built stone walls and developed a castle town. However, sometimes it was not used and would eventually be abandoned. Finally in 1627, the Matsushita Clan was transferred by the Tokugawa Shogunate to Miaharu Castle. This meant it had been a while since they had been independent . Miharu Castle remained a mountain castle until the end.
Wakamatsu Castle
Akita Clan maintained Castle as home base of Miharu Domain in Edo Period
After the Matsushita Clan was unfortunately disbanded in 1645, the Akita Clan governed Miharu Castle and the Miharu Domain until the end of the Edo Period. They modernized Miharu Castle. The lord built the Main Hall for him at the foot of the mountain and he usually lived there. There were also the former Main Hall and the Three Story Turret in the Main Enclosure at the top of the mountain. These older buildings were used for ceremonies and became the symbols of the castle. When the great fire burned most of the castle buildings in 1785, the buildings at the foot were restored. Everything on the top was burned by the fire, and only the Three Story Turret was restored in the end.
The place where the main hall for the lord was (what is now Miharu Primary School)The layout of Miharu Castle ( from the signboard at the site)
Castle survived in Meiji Restoration
In 1868 during the Meiji Restoration, the Boshin War between the New Government and the domains supporting Tokugawa Shogunate finally happened. The Miharu Domain first belonged to the domains, but it secretly surrendered to the New Government which opened Miharu Castle. The domains eventually left. However, the domains who were abandoned felt very angry. The people in Miharu survived and aviided a serious tragedy. Otherwise, they would have been defeated by the New Government such as those in Shirakawa-Komine Castle, Nihonmatsu Castle and Wakamatsu Castle.
Akisue Akita, the last lord of the Miharu Domain (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)Shirakawa-Komine CastleNihonmatsu Castle
