タグ: National historic site

15.Ashikaga Clan Hall Part2

Ashikaga remains with an atmosphere of the medieval city.

Later History

Even after Ashikaga Clan Hall was turned into Bannaji temple, Ashikaga town continued to prosper more and more as the home town of the Ashikaga Shogunate family. The temple had as many as 12 branch temples outside the square area during its peak. In the Edo Period, the Tokugawa Shogunate helped the town and temples as they had declared the shoguns were a branch of the Nitta Clan, a relative of the Ashikaga Clan, which meant they were descendants of the Minamoto Clan.

The illustration of the main and twelve branch temples, owned by Bannnaji Temple, quoted from the Ashikaga City Website

However, after the Meiji Restoration, the temple declined and lost all the branch temples. This was because of a movement to abolish Buddhism called Haibutsu-Kishaku in the first Meiji Era. Only the main temple in the square area survived. As for castle ruins, it was designated as a National Historic Site of Ashikaga Clan Hall in 1922. Ashikaga City has been developing the area around including the Ashikaga School and Kabasaki Hachimangu Shrine (the former Kabasaki Temple) as a historical site as well as a tourist spot.

Only the main Bannaji Temple remains now

Features

Hall Ruins are surrounded by Earthen Walls and Moats

Today, Ashikaga continues to have an atmosphere of a medieval city. Bannaji Temple as the ruins of Ashikaga Clan Hall is its center. One side block of the hall, which is about 200m long, remains with earthen walls and water moats surrounding it. Ducks and carps swim on and in the moats. The walls might have been higher and the moats might have been wider and deeper when they were used for the hall, but the current state matches the temple now.

The aerial photo around the castle

The remaining earthen walls and water moats around the hall ruins
Carps are swimming in the moats
The inside of the earthen walls

Main building as National Treasure

The inside of the block has buildings only for the temple, not for the hall. However, you should check out many remaining old buildings. The largest main building was built in 1299 during the Kamakura Period and has been designated as a National Treasure. You can see, on the ridge tiles of its roof, three family crests of the Imperial family in the center, Daigoji Temple which was the head temple of Bannaji on the left, and the Ashikaga Clan on the right. The two highest ridge-end tiles called Shachihoko or the Grampuses have lightning rods to prevent a fire from a stroke of lightning.

The main building as a National Treasure
The three family crests on the ridge tiles
One of the Grampuses with a lightning rod

Temple buildings show help from Goverments

The Bell-Tower of the temple was also built during the Kamakura Period and has been designated as an Important Cultural Property.

The Bell-Tower as an Important Cultural Property

The Sutra Library was built in 1407 during the Muromachi Period by Mitsukane Ashikaga, the head of the Kanto government.

The Sutra Library which is another Important Cultural Property in the temple

The Eastern and Western Gates were also rebuilt during the same period by the administration office, which look like simple gates for the hall.

The Eastern Gate
The Western Gate

The Multi-Treasure Pagoda and the Mausoleum were rebuilt by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Overall, you can see the temple had been helped by the successive governments for a long time.

The Multi-Treasure Pagoda
The Mausoleum

To be continued in “Ashikaga Clan Hall Part3”
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196.Sadowara Castle Part3

Please check the availability ahead of time before your visit.

Features

Main Route is partially available

The Main Route to the top is still closed at the middle of the route where it is being repaired as of May 2023. Therefore, you can not go straight through the route, however you can see what it is by walking up the route from the foot to the repaired point and walking down from the top to the point. The route basically goes along another ridge of the mountain and its entrance is on the bottom of a large deep ditch which was surrounded by high vertically cut cliffs on both sides. Today’s visitors can enjoy a great view of the work by the builders, but past enemies must have felt a threat from the defenders. The narrow route continues to go along the ridge on the right, which the defenders would have attacked from in the past and landslides would easily destroy the route from today.

The map around the castle

The guide plate of the Main Route
The entrance of the Main Route
The route goes along the ridge on the right
The route is not availabe from here

Above the repairing point, the route turns right and takes over another ridge to reach the Main Enclosure. The point taking over it is another artificially-made narrow ditch, which was another defensive point.

The Main route reaches the Main Enclosure over this ditch
The other warning display of the repairing point

Later History

During the Meiji Restoration, the Satsuma Domain, a relative of the Sadowara Domain, got the power in the domestic politics. The Sadowara Domain joined the activities because the lords of both domains came from the same Shimazu Clan. The last lord of the domain, Tadahiro Shimazu was planning to move his home base to a more convenient land, Hirose. He started to build a new castle there and abolished Sadowara Castle where its buildings were all demolished in 1869. However, the launch of the castle was stopped before the abolition of the feudal domain system by the central government in 1871.

The photo of Tadahiro Shimazu, from the Miyazaki Prefecture History (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The ruins of Sadowara Castle had been used as fields (probably only in the plain area) for a long time. The excavation of the plain Second Enclosure was done in 1989 and the Main Hall on it was restored in 1993. The excavation of the Main Enclosure on the mountain was also done in 1996. It found that the foundations of the Main Tower Base and some roof tiles with golden leaf which was often used for Main Towers. That resulted in Sadowara Caste being the southernmost castle which had the Main Tower in Japan so far. As a result, the castle ruins were designated as a National Historic Site in 2004.

The Main Enclosure on the mountain

My Impression

I visited the ruins of Sadowara Castle three times in total. My first visit was several years ago, which I don’t remember very well. The second one was in 2022 just after the closing of both routes to the mountain part due to the natural disaster, which disappointed me. I didn’t know about the news and the vulnerable nature of the mountain on the Shirasu Plateau. I finally reached the top again after hearing the good news of its re-opening. When I was wandering the top around, I found some other parts were still closed and some trees fell beside the road. I realized the difficulty of maintaining the ruins and thought that nature might have even helped the castle prevent enemies from attacking it. Please check if these routes are open if you want to visit the ruins.

Another major enclosure called the South Castle was still closed
Some bamboo trees lay down

How to get There

If you want to visit the castle ruins by car, it is about a 10 minute drive away from Saito IC on the Higashi-Kyushu Expreesway. There is a parking lot in front of the castle ruins.
If you want to use public transportation, you can take the Miyazaki Kotsu Bus bound for Saito Bus Center at Miyazaki Station and get off at the Koryu-Center-mae bus stop.
From Tokyo or Osaka to Miyazaki Station: Take the Miyazaki-kuko Line from Miyazaki Airport after using a plane.

The parking lot in front of the restored Main Hall

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Sadowara Castle Part1”
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17.Kanayama Castle Part3

This castle might have become more popular.

Features

Living and Religious places in Castle

The enclosures on the upper tiers were used as another pivot point as well as a place for living. The team found traces of kitchen stoves and a well, which were restored with a hut on the Southern Upper Tier Enclosure at the same time as the stone walls. The Southern Enclosure on the top of the tiers is used as the rest house, which is another viewing spot.

The map of the main portion of the castle

The restored hut on the Southern Upper Tier Enclosure
The restored kitchen stoves in the hut
The Southern Enclosure and the rest house on it
A view from the Southern Enclosure

To reach the Main Enclosure on the top of the mountain, you will pass and see a larger pond being covered with stone mounds as well, called Hi-no-ike or the Sun Pond. This is actually not a reservoir but a well, which had been famous as a holy place since the Ancient Times before the castle was built. That’s why people in the castle used it for religious services.

The Sun Pond
The Sun Pond viewed from above

Main Enclosure is used as Shrine

Around the top of the mountain is the Main, Second, Third Enclosures, but you can not access the two of the latter because they are privately owned. You will eventually go to the Main Enclosure on the top, which is now used as Nitta Shrine. As for the castle ruins, you can walk around the enclosure, called Musha-bashiri or the Defense Passage, and see the partially remaining original stone walls which are also uncertain as to who first built them.

The Second Enclosure is not allowed to enter
Nitta Shrine in the Main Enclosure
A view from the Main Enclosure
The remaining stone walls behind the Main Enclosure
The Defense Passage around the Main Enclosure

Later History

After Kanayama Castle was abandoned, the Tokugawa Shogunate banned people from entering its mountain area to provide Matsutake mushroom to the shoguns during the Edo period. In fact, the Matsutake produced at the mountain was served to the Imperial Families until 1964.

A view of the Eastern hiking course, there are still Japanese red pines that could provide Matsutake mushroom, but they can’t produce it now because of aging

The shogunate also conserved the former area of the Nitta Manor by building religious facilities such as Serada Toshogu Shrine, Kinryuji and Daikoin Temples as they had declared the shoguns were a branch of the Nita Clan, which meant they were descendants of the Minamoto Clan. Even the shogunate needed the authority to govern the whole country. As for castle ruins, Kanayama Castle ruins were designated as a National Historic Site in 1934. Ota City has been excavating and developing them as a historical site since 1995.

Serada Toshogu Shrine
Kinryuji Temple
Daikoin Temple

My Impression

When the Yura Clan was banished from Kanayama Castle, only the lord’s mother, Myoinni was against the idea of Hojo Clan keeping the castle. Even after she gave it up, she joined Maeda’s troops to attack the Hojo Clan in 1590 when she was already 77 years old. That caused the Yura Clan to survive while the Hojo Clan to decline in the end. I guess if she and the Yura Clan could still stay in the strong Kanayama Castle even with only a few defenders, there might have been a dramatic event at the castle when Hideyoshi invaded the Kanto Region like Nagachika Narita fought with Mitsunari Ishida at Oshi Castle.

The ruins of Ushiku Castle  (licensed by Monado via Wikimedia Commons)
The ruins of Oshi Castle

How to get There

I recommend using a car when you visit the castle ruins because there are no buses that go directly to the ruins available. It is about a 10-minute drive away from Ota-Kiryu IC on the Kita-Kanto Expressway. There are several parking lots at the foot, halfway up, and at the top of the mountain.
If you want to use public transportation, it takes around 1 hour from Ota Station. It would be better to take a taxi from the station.
From Tokyo to Ota Station: Take the JR Ueno-Tokyo Line from Tokyo Station and transfer to the Ryomo limited express on the Tobu Isesaki Line at Kitasenju Station.

That’s all. Thank you.
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