Nihonmatsu castle – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

110.Miharu Castle Part1

A castle that struggled to survive

Location and History

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.

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*)

To be continued in “Miharu Castle Part2”

11.Nihonmatsu Castle Part3

Ruins with the view of beautiful flowers

Later History

After the Boshin War during the Meiji Restoration, Nihonmatsu Castle was abandoned and the few remaining buildings of the castle were all demolished. A silk mill was established in the Third Enclosure at the foot of the mountain and it was operational between 1873 and 1925. After World War II, the castle ruins became what is known today as Kasumigajo Park as a natural park while some buildings of the castle were rebuilt. The investigation and study for the castle have been done since 1990. The stone walls of the Main Enclosure were restored in 1995. The ruins were finally designated as a National Historic Site in 2006. Nihonmatsu City is now considering restoring the Main Hall in the Third Enclosure on the foot of the mountain.

The foot of the mountain at the castle ruins site

My Impression

Nihonmatsu City is known for the Chrysanthemum Figures which means “dolls clothed with chrysanthemum flowers and leaves”. The Chrysanthemum Show is held every autumn at Kasumigajo Park. The park itself is also famous for cherry blossoms, so the mountain of the park is covered with them in spring. In fact, if you look down from the top you will be surprised to see a carpet of flowers. Therefore I highly recommend you visit this castle in Spring and Autumn if possible.

The cherry blossoms like a carpet that can be seen from the top

Chrysanthemum figures exhibited at the Chrysanthemum Show *(taken by happy.mom from photoAC)*

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car:
It is about 10 minutes away from Nihonmatsu IC on the Tohoku Expressway.
The park offers plenty of paking spaces.
By train, it is about 20 minutes away from JR Nihonmatsu Station on foot.
To get to Nihonmatsu Station from Tokyo: Take the Tohoku Shinkansen super express and transfer at Koriyama Station to the Tohoku Line.

If you visit the ruins of Nihonmatsu Castle by train, you have to walk long from Nihonmatsu Station. The Old Oshu Road goes near the station, so turn right at the Nihonmatsu Station Ent. Intersection and go along the street. Then, turn left at the Kubochozaka Ent. Intersection. It’s an easy walk, but it’s on an incline called Kubochozaka on a hill to reach the ruins. This is one of the structures for the castle’s defense system. You will also see the remaining stone walls for the Main Gate on the way. When you go over the top of the hill, you will finally see the mountain where the castle was built.

The route from Nihonmatsu Station to the castle ruins

Nihonmatsu Station *(licensed by D700master via Wikimedia Commons)*

The stone walls for the Main Gate (quoted from the Nihonmatsu Castle Official Site)

You can see the castle ruins after going over the hill

Links and References

・Nihonmatsu Castle Official Site

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Nihonmatsu Castle Part1”
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11.Nihonmatsu Castle Part2

Castle ruins from many different periods

Features

The aerial photo around the castle

Foot of Mountain

The area around the castle was turned into a park called Kasumigajo Park (Kasumigajo is a nickname of the castle which means “Castle with a Mist”). The great stone walls which are said the Kato Clan built remain at the foot of the mountain. The buildings of the Minowa-mon Gate, the Two-story Turret and the Tamon Turret were rebuilt on the walls during the present time. Visitors usually enter the Minowa-mon Gate. The statues of the child soldiers, Nihonmatsu Shonentai stand in front of it.

The stone walls at the foot of the mountain

The statues of the child soldiers, Nihonmatsu Shonentai

After passing the zigzagged route surrounded by the stone walls, you will enter the Third Enclosure. It is now empty, but this is where the Main Hall used be for the lord which was also the center of the castle in the Edo Period.

Top of Mountain

After that, you can climb up to the Main Enclosure on the top of the mounttain through the trail the Hatakeyama Clan might have originally made. The mountain part was said to be first built for the castle. When you are alomost at the top, you will see large scale old stone walls on a gentle slope under the Main Enclosure. They are called Ohishigaki or the Large Stone Walls which were probably built by the Gamo Clan. They are also one of the oldest stone walls in the Tohoku Region. At this point, you will soon reach the top.

The Main Enclosure on the top is surrounded by the wonderful stone walls which still look new today. They were originally build by the Kato Clan or the Niwa Clan, and recently restored after the recent excavation. They also have three stone bases for the Main Tower, the Eastern Turret, and the Western Turret. The Eastern Turret and the Western Turret seemed to be actually built on these bases, but there has been no evidence on whether the Main Tower was built or not. If such relics were found or such drawings were discovered it would prove that these structures were indeed built the way we suspected.

The restored stone walls of the Main Enclosure

The inside of the Main Enclosure, the back is the stone wall base for the Eastern Turret

Great view from Main Enclosure

Anyway, you can see a great wide view of the area around the castle on the top of the stone walls. The Mountains in the Tohoku Region such as Adatara-yama Mountain can be seen across the great distance. You can feel you are standing on the region with a lot of mountains. In addition to this, you will see monuments with written description of senior vassals of the Boshin War who committed suicide beside the stone wall base for the Main Tower.

Adatara-yama Mountain that can be seen across the great distance

The monuments for the senior vassals of the Nihonmatsu Domain, who committed suicide

To be continued in “Nihonmatsu Castle Part3”
Back to “Nihonmatsu Castle Part1”