National historic site – ページ 6 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

163.Kuroi Castle Part3

Kuroi Castle is a local hero, Naomasa Ogino’s castle. On the other hand, it is known for the activity of the nationwide hero, Mitsuhide Akechi as well.

Features

Arriving at Top

You will reach the top of the mountain with a little more climbing. After you pass the second wire gate, you will see a different appearance of the castle ruins from what you have seen so far. The enclosures on the top are all surrounded by stone walls which you can see from the foot as well. The difference came from the period each part was finally built. The part above the gate was completed by Mitsuhide Akechi or the later lords, while the part below the gate was left as it was after Naomasa Ogino built it. The gate was installed probably in order to protect the stone walls from being destroyed by animal invasion.

The Eastern Enclosure in the front and the Third Enclosure in the back

Three Enclosures on Top with Great Views

The layout of the top area is connected by three enclosures, the front Third, the central Second, and back Main Enclosures. They are surrounded by plain other enclosures, such as the Eastern Enclosure, and each has its own altered gate on their side. The stone walls use natural stones which were collected from neighboring places. Historians point out these features can be seen in other castles Nobunaga or his retainers built. They also say the stone walls of Kuroi Castle were built to show authority to the people.

The map arond the main portion of the castle

*The Third Enclosure in the front and the Second Enclosure in the back*

Looking at the Third Enclosure from the Second Enclosure

*Looking at the Main Enclosure from the Second Enclosure*

Finally, please enjoy a great panoramic view of the area around from the top. It’s worthwhile to climb over 200m from the foot of the mountain.

Later History

The ruins of Kuroi Castle were designated as a National Historic Site in 1989 while they have long been part of hiking courses on Inokuchi Mountain. Therefore, it needs to be established both how to preserve the ruins and how to use the courses. Tanba City made the basic plan for the development of the Kuroi Castle Ruins in 2018. It installed an aluminum stairways into the stone wall gates on the top to preserve it based on the plan. However, some hikers argued that the stairways spoiled the scenery. As a result, the city painted the stairways brown in response. The controversial discussion will continue.

The brown-painted stairway at the Second Enclosure

My Impression

I met a person who said he climbs the mountain to the castle ruins on the top every day, wearing a T-shirt of Naomasa Akai (Ogino). I thought that Kuroi Castle is his local hero, Naomasa’s castle. On the other hand, officials also feature Mitsuhide Akechi who took the castle away from Nomasa’s successor and probably built its stone walls. The castle is known for the activity of the nationwide hero as well. The appearance of the castle ruins actually indicate the two periods, which is a great legacy of the Japanese history. I would like to visit other forts Naomasa built next time, which I didn’t visit on my first visit.

The illustration of Naomasa Ogino on the left and Mitsuhide Akechi on the right, exhibited by the rest house at the foot of the mountain

How to get There

That’s all. Thank you.
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57.Sasayama Castle Part2

Visiting the main portion of the castle

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Sasayama Castle was abandoned and all the castle buildings, except for O-shoin or the Large Study Hall out of the Main Hall, were demolished. The hall was used as a school and a community center for a while, however, it was unfortunately burned down by an accidental fire in 1944. After World War II, the Inner Moat out of the double water moats was filled to became a normal park. However, since the castle ruins were designated as a National Historic Site in 1956, the trend changed. Tanba-Sasayama City has been developing the ruins as a historical site such as the hall being restored in 2000 and the moat being dug up again.

The photo of the Large Study Hall, in 1943, private owned (*licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

The Large Study Hall which was restored in 2000

Features

From Main Gate Ruins to Main Portion

Today, the ruins of Sasayama Castle have been developed by Tanba-Sasayama City with the remaining warriors’ houses and the castle town atmosphere. Visitors usually first visit the Main Gate Ruins in the north in front of the Outer Moat. Unfortunately, the gate and its Umadashi system were destroyed, so only their traces remain now.

The ruins of Umadashi system on the Main Route

The aerial photo around the castle

If you walk the path to the center of the ruins passing the Outer and Inner Moats, you will reach the ruins of the Front Gate and Kurogane-mon or the Iron Gate, the entrance of the main portion. These ruins are still surrounded by stone walls of double Masugata system, which you can imagine the main gate had a similar system to it.

The ruins of the Front Gate, which has the first Masugata system behind

Restored Large Study Hall in Second Enclosure

The main portion has the Second Enclosure in the front and the Main Enclosure in the back. You can enter the restored Large Study Hall with the historical museum. You will first get in the museum where you can learn the history of the castle

Then, go in the hall where you can experience what it looked like in the past. The Large Study Hall was used for public ceremonies which has an impressive large hip-and-gable roof above the front entrance. Visitors enter it not from the front but from the side and walk around the corridors surrounding the rooms. There are eight rooms inside such as Honored Guest Room, Dark Room for storing, and Tiger Room for waiting.

Visitors enter the hall form the right side

Here is the inside of the front entrance

There are also the flat exhibitions of the residential area for the lord and the ruins of Uzume-mon or the Small Back Gate behind the hall.

The flat exhibitions of the residential area in the Second Enclosure

Stone Wall Base for Main Tower with Viewing Spot

The Main Enclosure is the highest point of the castle. The inside of it looked to be a square during the Edo Period, but the Aoyama Shrine, which worships the Aoyama Clan, the last lord family of the castle, has been there since its launch in 1882.

The Second Enclosure in the front, the Main Enclosure in the back

The large stone wall base for the Main Tower is at a corner of the enclosure, which is a good viewing spot of the city area. You can also see a triangle-shaped Takashiroyama-Mountain in the distance, where the ruins of Yagami Castle, which was active in the Sengoku Period, is. The stone wall base had a very small single turret for its scale at the edge during the Edo Period.

The appearance of the Main Enclosure during the Edo Period, *exhibited by the historical museum in the Large Study Hall of Sasayama Castle*

To be continued in “Sasayama Castle Part3”
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197.Shibushi Castle part3

Wonderful molding using natural terrain

Features

Nakanokuo, Pivot of Defense

Over the dry moat, the other major enclosures of Nakanokuo (the enclosure No.4 & 5) and Onokuo (the enclosure No.6 & 15) follow and are all divided by other dry moats crosswise. In particular, you should check out Nakanokuo (the enclosure No.5), over Nakanokuo (the enclosure No.4). To reach the enclosure, you need to go out of the Main Enclosure, go through the right lengthwise dry moat from the front, and enter the second crosswise dry moat. The bottom of the moat is not flat, but has two tiers, so you also need to climb to the upper tier.

The map around Uchijo portion, the red broken line is the route from the Main Enclosure to Nakaokuo (the enclosure No.5)

The second crosswise dry moat has two tiers

Then, you will face huge vertically cut cliff of the enclosure like a thick column and need to walk around to enter. If you were an enemy, you must have been attacked by the defenders from above until then. The entrance path is altered by thick earthen walls as well, just like a palace gate made of soil. This enclosure might have been pivotal to the defense in the castle.

The vertical cliff of Nakanokuo (the enclosure No.5) ‘s side

The earthen walls surrounding the enclosure

Looking down the bottom of the moat from the enclosure

The part of Nakaokuo (the enclosure No.5) of the miniature model exhibited in *Shibushi City Center for Archaeological operations*

Amazing Dry Moats

Both the lengthwise dry moats outside the plateau are amazing. The dry moat on the left side from the front (the western side) is called O-Horikiri or the Large Ditch. It is about 17m deep and was about 7m deeper than now according to the excavation. The collapsing volcanic ash has been filling the bottom of the moat naturally. However, it is still enough for us to understand how great the warrior’s work for the moat was.

The part of the Large Ditch of the miniature model

The dry moat on the right side is also surprising. The cut section of the outside enclosure is still vivid making us understand how hard their work was!

The Back Route of the castle goes beside the cut section and very narrow like the Main Route. It must have been made very defensive like the Main Route.

The part of the Back Route of the miniature model

Later History

After Shibushi Castle was abandoned, the foot of the mountain was used as the warriors’ residences called Shibushi Fumoto. Fumoto refers to a residence area for a unique defense system of the Satsuma Domain led by the Shimazu Clan, called Tojo or the Outer Castles, during the Edo Period. Unlike other domains letting their retainers live together in their home base, the Satsuma Domain sent many of its retainers to their local sites to protect the frontiers of its territory. Shibushi Fumoto was one of the most important among over 100 Fumoto of the domain. You can also walk around the Fumoto area at the same time as visiting Shibushi Castle Ruins. As for the castle ruins, they have been excavated and researched since 2003. As a result, they were designated as a National Historic Site in 2005.

The area around still has an atmosphere of Shibushi Fumoto

My Impression

I have never seen such a large and precise miniature model of a mountain castle like the one of Shibushi Castle (Uchijo portion) in Shibushi City Center for Archaeological operations before. I have certainly seen large and precise miniature models of more modern castles like Himeji Castle because they often had or still have many buildings such as the Main Tower, turrets and gates, and great structures such as stone walls. They would be easy to be copied for a model and the model can be popular with people. On the other hand, making models of a mountain castle should be difficult and may be less popular, so it could be rare, especially realistic ones. However, the miniature model of Shubushi Castle is one of the rarely seen models, worth to see by itself, and helps visitors understand what the real castle was very well.

*The miniature model of Uchijo, exhibited by Shibushi City Center for Archaeological operations*

How to get There

If you want to visit the castle ruins by car, it is about a 15 minute drive away from Shibushi IC on the Miyakonojo-Shibushi Road. There is a parking lot for visitors near the ruins. In addition, Shibushi City Center for Archaeological operations is about 3km away from the ruins and it also has a parking lot.
If you want to use public transportation, it takes about 20 minutes on foot to get there form JR Shibushi Station.
For visitors from Tokyo or Osaka: It may be a good idea to rent a car at Kagoshima or Miyazaki Airports after using a plane.

That’s all. Thank you.
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