タグ: Mino province

142.Naegi Castle Part1

A rare castle which was built and maintained on the rocky mountain

Location and History

Castle monitoring Nakasendo Road

The Nakasendo Road is known for being one of the major roads in Japan and was designated as one of the Five Major Roads in the Edo Period. In particular, the road was the most useful one when large amount of troops moved between western and eastern Japan before the period. The area of what is now Nakatsugawa City in the eastern part of Gifu Prefecture had Nakatsugawa Post Town in a basin at the center with the road going to mountain areas in the east. That’s why the warlords in the Sengoku Period wanted to own the area to monitor this important spot on the road. Naegi Castle was built on Takamori Mountain beside Kiso River which was sandwiched by the castle and the town. That meant the castle was the most suitable for monitoring what happened on Nakasendo Road.

The location of the castle

The relief map around the castle

”Nakatsugawa” from the series “Kiso-kaido Road” attributed to Hiroshige Utagawa in the Edo Period (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Toyama Clan builds and somehow maintains Castle till end

In the 16th Century during the Sengoku Period, The Toyama Clan was one of the local warlord families in the area, which was called the eastern Mino Province. It is said that the clan first built the castle in the first part of the16th Century as a branch castle of their home base, Iwamura Castle. However, the clan was affected by other larger warlords such as the Takeda and Oda Clans which also wanted to own the area. For example, both the Takeda and Oda Clans battled each other between 1572 and 1582, gaining and losing this castle.

The ruins of Iwamura Castle
The Portrait of Katsuyori Takeda, the lord of the clan at that time, owned by Koyasan Jimyoin (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The portrait of Nobunaga Oda, the lord of the clan at that time, attributed to Soshu Kano, owned by Chokoji Temple, in the late 16th century (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

After the declines of both, the Mori Clan, under the ruler Hideyoshi Toyotomi captured the castle. Tomomasa Toyama, with his father Tomotada, the lord of the castle at that time, had to escape from the castle to Ieyasu Tokugawa at Hamamatsu Castle. In 1600 when the Battle of Sekigawara occurred, Tomomasa succeeded in getting Naegi Castle back with Ieyasu’s approval. After Ieyasu established the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Toyama Clan governed the castle again as the Naegi Domain until the end of the Edo Period.

The present Hamamatsu Castle
The portrait of Tomomasa Toyama, the founder of the Naegi Domain, owned by Naegi Toyama Historical Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Castle on Rocky Mountain, Main Tower on Huge Rock

Naegi Castle had a very special location as far as permanent castles in Japan go. The mountain the castle is located on has a rocky terrain and steep cliffs. It was good for the defenders to make very difficult to attack, but if the lord of the castle wanted to develop it, there would be few spaces to do so. Generally, buildings or inter routes of castles were built on stone walls surrounding natural terrain or stone wall bases at that time. However, in the case of Naegi Castle, it was difficult to cut the rocky surface for buildings or routes. As a result, they were built on bases mixed with natural rocks and stone walls or filled valleys. Even if more buildings were needed, they were built on natural rocks directly. For example, the Main Tower of the castle was built on the huge rock on the top of the mountain.

The base of the Large Turret of Naegi Castle, which is mixed with natural rocks and stone walls
The huge rock as the base of the Main Tower of Naegi Castle

Traditionally, when Japanese people wanted to build a building on natural rocks, they used a method called Kake-zukuri. The method is to build the foundation by combining many columns and horizontal beams like lattices on a steep rock or cliff. Buildings using this method have still been seen in some old shrines and temples like Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto. It is said the reason for using this method is that the mountains themselves, which have the rocks or cliffs, are the objects of worship. When many castles were built during the Sengoku and the first part of the Edo Period, the method was applied to castles. Naegi Castle is a good example, and another case in Sendai Castle is known.

The Main Hall of Kiyomizu-dera Temple, built using the Kake-zukuri method
The ruins of Sendai Castle

The Naegi Domain earned only 10 thousand koku of rice which was a minimum amount for an independent lord. Because of this, their castle buildings had wood shingle roofing and wood siding or mud walls, not roof tiles and plaster walls which were too expensive for them. However, they built and maintained these buildings under such severe conditions even during the long lasting peace of the Edo Period. This was because staying there to be ready for any emergency was their most important duty.

The imaginary drawing of Naegi Castle, from the signboard at the site

To be continued in “Naegi Castle Part2”

141.Gujo-Hachiman Castle Part1

The castle in a small town had a hard history.

Location and History

Endo Clan first builds it as Stronghold for battle

Gujo-Hachiman town is well known for its attractions such as an old street atmosphere, the beauties of nature, and the Gujo Odori Dance Festival in the summer. It was originally the castle town of Gujo-Hachiman Castle which was first built on Ushikubi-yama Mountain back in 1559. At that time during the Sengoku Period, almost all the people in Japan had to protect themselves and govern their communities all by themselves. In a small region called Gujo District in the northern mountain part of Mino Province, which is now the modern day Gujo City in Gifu Prefecture, the Endo and Tou Clans battled each other over the district. Eventually, the Endo Clan would win and their stronghold for the battle directly became Gujo-Hchiman Castle. The name “Hachiman” originates from a shrine’s name which the clan established at the foot of the mountain. The castle was said to be a simple mountain castle made of soil.

Gujo-Hachiman town with the beauties of nature

The location of Gujo-Hachiman Castle

Yoshitaka Endo, the lord of the castle in the late 16th Century, had to work under other greater warlords in the Chubu Region, such as the Saito Clan and the Oda Clan. This was because lords of small regions did not power, therefore, needed to be guaranteed by great warlords in order to maintain their territories. On the other hand, they also needed to find out the next leader whom they would be working under. In the case of Yoshitaka, he supported Nobutaka Oda in Gifu Castle, who fought against Hideyoshi Toyotomi and was defeated in 1583. Unfortunately, he made a bad choice and surrendered to Hideyoshi. He was once overlooked, however he was eventually transferred from the lord of Gujo-Hachiman Castle to a much smaller territory by Hideyoshi in 1588.

The family crest of the Endo Clan, called Kikko ni Hanabishi or A diamond shaped flower in a tortoise shell  (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Inaba Clan’s Modernization and Endo Clan’s revenge

After that, Sadamichi Inaba became the lord of the Gujo-Hachiman Castle and started to renovate and modernize the castle by building stone walls around the Main Enclosure on the top of the mountain. The enclosure had the stone wall base for a Main Tower on it, but it was uncertain weather or not the Main Tower was built. It was also surrounded by the Belt Enclosures with tripled stone walls. Moreover, the back of the Main Enclosure which was the part connecting to other mountains was separated by doubled deep ditches. Gujo-Hachiman Castle became a strong castle protected not only by natural terrain but also by the advanced structures.

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

On the other hand, Yoshitaka Endo was waiting to recover. The chance to recover came in 1600 when the battle of Sekigahara would take place. He found out that Sadamichi Inaba supported the Western squad, therfore, he decided to join the Eastern squad led by Ieyasu Tokugawa. He began attacking Gujo-Hachiman Castle after Ieyasu’s approval in advance of Sekigahara. Both troops by Yoshitaka and Sadamichi fought a hard battle, especially in the back of the Main Enclosure. The castle survived most lilely because it got much stronger than Yoshitaka underestimated the strength of the castle. However, Yoshitaka eventually got the castle back in the end as the Eastern squad was victorious in the Battle of Sekigahara. Yoshitaka became the founder of the Gujo Domain under the Tokugawa Shogunate.

The picture of the battle at Gujo-Hachiman Castle in 1600, exhibited in the Main Tower of the castle

Gujo uprising before Government by Aoyama Clan

A big incident happened in the Gujo Domain, which was called the Gujo uprising, in 1758 when the Kanamori Clan governed following the Endo and Inoue Clans. Yorikane Kanamori was the lord of the domain and had an important role for the shogunate which cost a lot of money. Unfortunatelly, his domain was relatively small and had lower income than what he needed. Therefore, he decided to raise the tax rate by changing how to estimate the amount of harvested rice with the cooperation from some high class officers of the shogunate. This made farmers in the domain very angry, together in the rice warehouse at the foot of the mountain. They submitted a petition asking not to raise the tax. However, the domain refused this petition. So then the farmers brought this action in the lord in Edo, a member of shogun’s council of elders, and finally the shogun itself. This incident resulted in many farmers being executed, some shogunate officers were also displaced, and the Kanamori Clan were fired from the lord of the Gujo Domain.

The family crest of the Kanamori Clan, called Ura Umebachi or Back of a plum flower inside pots (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The monument of the Gujo uprising (licensed by のりまき via Wikimedia Commons)

The Aoyama Clan followed the lord of the domain caring for farmers so that another incident would not happen. The clan also allowed people to dance in the town freely, which was said to be the origin of the Gujo Odori Dance Festival. As for the Gujo-Hachiman Castle, the clan moved the center of the castle from the top of the mountain to the Second Enclosure at the foot, where the Main Hall was. This was a typical way for the lords in the Edo Period to govern their domain in the peaceful time. As a result, the Second Enclosure was turned into the Main Enclosure. The former Main Enclosure was then divided into the Cherry Enclosure and the Pine Enclosure.

The family crest of the Aoyama Clan, called Aoyama Zeni or The Aoyama coin (licensed by Mukai via Wikimedia Commons)
The statues of the Gujo Odori Dance Festival in the town
The miniature model of Gujo-Hachiman Castle and its castle town in the Edo Period, exhibited in the Main Tower of the castle

To be continued in “Gujo-Hachiman Castle Part2”