Yamanaka Castle had been abandoned for a long time since the battle in 1590. In 1930, a descendant of Naosue Hitotsuyanagi made a plan for the historic site. As a result, the ruins were designated as a National Historic Site in 1934. In addition, Mishima City excavated the ruins and developed them as a historical park between 1972 and 1993. That’s why we can now enjoy visiting the park, learning history, and relaxing.
The dry moat called “Shoji-bori” and Mt. Fuji
My Impression
The development for the Yamanaka-jo Castle Park was completed in 1993, nearly 30 years ago. I think that this is one of the very early cases for historical parks in Japan. This can also be a good model for the historical parks for other castles which are now being developed. Basically, the western slope of the Hakone Barrier has been a perfect spot for viewing Mt. Fuji. If the weather is fine, you can get both views of the mountain and the castle ruins there.
A view of Mt. Fuji from the ruins
How to get There
If you want to visit there by car: From the east, it takes about 30 minutes from Hakoneguchi IC on Seisho Bypass. From the west, it takes about 40 minutes from Numazu IC on Tomei Expressway. The park offers a parking lot at the entrance. By bus, get on the Tokai Bus bound for Moto-Hakone-Ko from the south entrance of Mishima Station, and get off at the Yamanaka-Jo-Ato bus stop. To get to the Mishima Station from Tokyo: Take the Tokaido Shinkansen Super Express.
A beautiful historical park, now with a view of Mt. Fuji
Features
Third Enclosure as Entrance
Now, the ruins of Yamanaka Castle have been well developed and maintained as the Yamanaka-jo Castle Park by Mishima City, though the ruins have only earthen foundation. The entrance of the ruins is alongside the old Tokaido Road, and you can park at the parking lot inside when you visit the ruins by car. The entrance was also once that of the Third Enclosure which is now the town area. So, you will walk to the center of the castle by passing through the ruins of the moats for the enclosure. Most of the moats are dried, but part of them remains as a pond called “Tajiri-no-Ike”.
The map around the castle
The entrance of the castle ruinsThe dry moat of the Third EnclosureTajiri-no-Ike Pond
Second Enclosure as Pivot of Defense
From the pond, you have to walk up the stairs and winding slope to reach the Second Enclosure. The Second Enclosure was large and the connecting point with the center of the castle and the other parts. You can see good views of the area around, including Mt. Fuji from the enclosure. It is surrounded by high, thick earthen walls. It was the important point to protect the castle. Two more enclosures, including the North Enclosure, have been built to protect the Main Enclosure.
The slope to the Second EnclosureThe entrance of the Second EnclosureA view from the Second Enclosure
Main Enclosure as Center of Castle
You have to walk up more and across the bridge to the center of the castle, the Main Enclosure. The bridge, which is made of half wood and half earth, looks very interesting. The part of woods could be destroyed when a battle happened. The Main Enclosure is the highest place in the castle and has two tiers. It is thought that a high turret called “Tenshu Turret” stood on the upper tier. The enclosure is surrounded by deep valleys.
The slope to the Main EnclosureThe bridge made of half wood and half earthThe ruins of Tenshu Turret at the Main EnclosureThe dry mort surrounding the Main EnclosureThe North Enclosure
Group of Western Enclosures
On the west of the Second Enclosure, there are the West Enclosure and the West Turret over another small enclosure called the former West Turret. Though they were all connected by wooden bridges in the past, we can now go to these enclosures through wooden or earthen bridges. The West Turret is also a kind of enclosures, but once had buildings for defense as the frontline of the castle. Actually, the severe battle between Hojo and Toyotomi occurred there. Many of the latticed dry moats called Une-bori and Shoji-bori remain around the West Turret and the West Enclosure. They were originally deeper and the soil was exposed. The original surfaces have been buried and planted to protect them, as a result, the moats look very beautiful like a waffle with a great view of Mt. Fuji.
The group of western enclosuresGoing to the Former West TurretThe inside of the West EnclosureA view from the West EnclosureThe West TurretThe latticed dry moat called Shoji-bori between the West Enclosure and the West Turretthe latticed dry moat called Une-bori around the West Turret
Taizaki-demaru defense strongpoint, others
Going back to the entrance of the ruins, you can also visit Taizaki-Damaru defense strongpoint to the south. This is a long and gently sloped enclosure which is also surrounded by earthen walls and Une-bori dry moats. The severe battle also occurred there, but it has a good atmosphere to walk around now. It may be a good idea to have lunch with a beautiful view of Mt. Fuji. You can also walk on the stone pavement of the old Tokaido Road below Taizaki-Dmaru. If you have time, I recommend that you visit the Sokan-ji Temple in the former Third Enclosure town area. There is the tomb of Naosue Hitotsuyanagi, a Hideyoshi’s commander, together with other tombs of Hojo’s soldiers.
Taizaki-Damaru defense strongpointA view from Taizaki-Damaru defense strongpointthe latticed dry moat called Une-bori at Taizaki-Damaru defense strongpointA view of Mt. FujiThe stone pavement of the old Tokaido RoadThe old Tokaido Road through the Third EnclosureThe tomb of Naosue Hitotsuyanagi
The castle for the western defense of the Hojo Clan
Location and History
Western Defense for Hojo Clan
Yamanaka Castle was located on the west of Hakone Barrier, the western gateway of Kanto Region, now in the eastern part of Shizuoka Prefecture. The castle was first built in the middle 16th Century during the Sengoku Period by the Hojo Clan, who owned Kanto Region. The clan aimed to protect their home base, Odawara Castle on the eastern side of Hakone Barrier, by building Yamanaka Castle. This castle was also improved before the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, attacked the Hojo Clan in 1590.
The location of the castle
Yamanaka Castle was built surrounding the Tokaido Road, one of the major roads in Japan. During that time, if someone walked up the slope on the road from the west, it would require passing through the castle. The road was actually on the Third Enclosures of the castle, and beside the Main Enclosure. The Third Enclosure also had water moats on the west to prevent enemies’ attacks and was for the water reservoir. On the south of the Third Enclosure, a long defense strongpoint called “Taizaki-demaru” spread with the road parallelly. On the west of the Third Enclosure, the Second Enclosure, the West Enclosure, and the West Turret were added towards that direction. These enclosures were able to work closely to prevent attacks from enemy forces.
The location map of the ruins of Yamanaka Castle (from the signboard at the site)
Hojo’s Unique Methods for building Castle
The techniques used in the castle were unique to the Hojo Clan. All the enclosures were made of earthworks, using natural terrain such as ridges and valleys. They were mainly connected by wooden bridges which could fall down when a battle happened. They were also divided by deep dry moats whose bottoms were left parallel or as latticed ridges. The method for building the moats is called “Une-bori” for the parallel ridges and “Shoji-bori” for the latticed ridges. These dry moat building methods are considered features of the Hojo’s castles. Once soldiers fell into the moat, they couldn’t move from there at all. The area of the castle reached about 200,000 square meters. Hojo thought the castle could make Hideyoshi stuck for a while.
“Une-bori” for the parallel ridges“Shoji-bori” for the latticed ridges
Fall in Battle of Yamanaka Castle
However, the castle was captured by Hideyoshi in just half a day. In the early morning, March 29, 1590, nearly 70,000 soldiers of Hideyoshi’s troop started to attack the castle, while the number of the defenders was only about 4,000. The attackers first charged both the West Turret and the Taizaki-Demaru defense strongpoint, but they suffered a significant number of casualties by the counterattack of Hojo’s guns. If it was a local battle, the attacker might have paused the charge to prevent more damages. However, the commanders forcibly continued to charge, otherwise, they might have been fired by the ruler. That resulted in the success of capturing the castle for Hideyoshi in exchange for a lot of dead soldiers including one of the Hideyoshi’s commander, Naosue Hitotsuyanagi.
The Portrait of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, attributed to Mitsunobu Kano, ownd by Kodaiji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
This battle lasted for a few hours. It is said that another reason for the short battle was that Hojo’s soldiers were confused because their head, Ujikatsu Hojo, escaped from the castle. Others point out that the Taizaki-Demaru defense strongpoint was unfinished in construction before Hideyoshi’s attack. Anyway, even such a strong castle couldn’t survive without enough soldiers and the right instructions.
