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 mountainthe rebuilt Minowa-mon GateThe 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.
The inside of the Minowa-mon GateThe entrance of the Third EnclosureThe Third Enclosure
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you can climb up to the Main Enclosure on the top of the mounttain through the trail the Hatakeyama Clan might have originally made.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.
Climbing up on the trailThe Large Stone Walls
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 EnclosureThe inside of the Main Enclosure, the back is the stone wall base for the Eastern TurretThe stone bases for the Main Tower
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.
A view from the Main EnclosureAdatara-yama Mountain that can be seen across the great distanceThe monuments for the senior vassals of the Nihonmatsu Domain, who committed suicide
An important castle that many lords wanted to rule
Location and History
After Nihonmatsu Clan built, Date and other Clans owned it.
Nihonmatsu Castle was a castle with a long history which was located in what is now Nihonmatsu City in Fukushima Prefecture. The castle was built along the Oshu Road, an important route in Tohoku Region, and also connected to other important inland areas such as Aizu District. When the Ashikaga Shogunate was established in the first 14th Century, the shogunate sent their relative Hatakeyama Clan to the Tohoku Region to govern the region. The clan settled in the region and built Nihonmatsu Castle in the first 15th Century. It started as a simple mountain castle but later on transformed to another type of castle.
The location of the castle
The clan later called themselves the Nihonmatsu Clan which governed the castle and the area around for a long time. In the late 16th Century during the Sengoku Period, one of the greatest warlord, Masamune Date attacked Nihonmatsu Castle and the Nihonmatsu Clan finally surrendered in 1586. Since then, the castle became a branch castle of Wakamatsu Castle in Aizu District, which was the Date Clan’s home base. The lords of Wakamatsu Castle were changed to the Gamo, Uesugi, and Kato Clans, They also improved Nihonmatsu Castle by building stone walls.
伊達政宗像、仙台市博物館蔵（licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)Wakamatsu Castle
Niwa Clan mostly Governed Castle in Edo Period
In 1643 during the Edo Period, The Niwa Clan was transferred to the lord of the castle as the government building of the Nihonmatsu Domain by the Tokugawa Shogunate. The clan renovated the castle as well. They built the stone wall base for the Main Tower on the top of the mountain, but it is unknown if the tower was built at all. They also built the Main Hall for the lord with many other buildings for governing at the foot of the mountain. They also improved the defense system of the castle. The Oshu Road was moved beyond a hill from near the castle and visitors from the road had to pass through the Main Gate on the hill. The area around the castle called Kakunai or the Inner Compounds was protected by five gates including the Main Gate. The Niwa Clan peacefully governed the castle until the end of the Edo Period.
The portrait of Mitsushige Niwa, the founder of the Nihonmatsu Domain, owned by Dairinji Temple （licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons）Part of the illustration of Nihonmatsu Castle in Mutsu Province, exhibited by the National Archives of Japan
Castle falls in one day in Boshin war
However, the castle got involved in the Boshin war in 1868 during the Meiji Restoration. The New Government Army attacked the Nihonmatsu Domain which still supported the Tokugawa Shogunate. Many of the warriors of the domain were sent to Shirakawa-Komine Castle, located in the south of Nihonmatsu Castle, to reinforce the allies at the moment. They had to protect the castle with only a few defenders including the drafted child soldiers between the age of 12 and 17. They were confused by the sudden attack and the castle was captured in just one day. Some warriors such as senior vassals of the domain committed suicide while most of the castle building being burned down. Many of the child soldiers were also killed, and they have been called Nihonmatsu Shonentai, symbolizing the tragedy of the war.
Shirakawa-Komine CastleNihonmatsu Castle and the statues of the Nihonmatsu child soldiers
白河駅から見た白河小峰城（A view of Shirakawa-Komine Castle from Shirakawa Station）
Location and History
現在白河市となっている地域は、日本の東北地方の入り口でありました。古代にはこの地域には、現代においてもよく知られている白河の関がありました。中世にはこの地域にはいくつか城が築かれましたが、白河小峰城はそのうちの一つでした。江戸時代になって、丹羽氏がこの城を治め、御三階櫓と呼ばれた三層の櫓を含め城を完成させました。御三階櫓は１４ｍの高さがあり、その大きさからは事実上の「天守」と言っていいものでした。 The area now called Shirakawa city was the entrance of the Tohoku district in Japan. In the Ancient Ages, the area had the Shirakawa Barrier which is very famous even now. In the Middle Ages, several castles were built in this area, one of them was the Shirakawa-Komine Castle. In the Edo Period, the Niwa clan took over and completed the castle including the three story turret called “Gosankai-Yagura”. Gosankai-Yagura was so large that it could actually be the castle keep “Tenshu” which was 14m tall.
奥州白河城絵図部分、江戸時代（Part of the illustration of Shirakawa Castle in Oshu District in Edo Period）｜出典：国立公文書館
城主は丹羽氏から松平氏など他の大名に何度か変わりました。明治維新のとき、白河口の戦いがこの城の周辺で、新政府軍と旧幕府軍の間で起こりました。幕府軍は新式の装備を備えた政府軍に敗れ去りました。そしてこの城は破壊され、御三階櫓もまた焼け落ちたのです。 The lords of the castle changed from Niwa to others such as the Matsudaira clan. During the Meiji Restoration, the Battle of Shirakawaguchi took placed between the new Government Amy and the former Shogunate Amy around the castle. The Shogunate Amy was beaten by the Government Amy with modern equipment, and the castle was destroyed. Gosankai-yagura was also burned down.
破壊された白河小峰城（The destroyed Shirakawa-Komine Castle）licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Features
それでも今なお、元の御三階櫓と全く同じ木造建築を見ることができています。 We can still see the wooden building exactly the same as the original Gosankai-Yagura.
復元された御三階櫓（The restored Gsankai-Yagura）
それは、一時期城主だった松平定信が詳細な図面を作成させ、それが幸運にも現代に残っているからです。それに加えて白河市が、元来の工法で櫓を再建することを決断したからです。 That’s because the once lord Sadanobu Matsudaira ordered to make drawings of the castle in details and they luckily still remain. In addition, officials decided to rebuild the building in the original way.
松平定信自画像（The self-portlait of Sadanobu Matsudaira）licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedea Commons
ビジターは中に入ることができます。中はどちらかというと狭く、暗く、階段は急です。それは元通りに作られ、そもそも戦いのための建物だったからなのですが。案内係の方が安全に見て回れるよう誘導してくれます。また、城の周りを囲む石垣も見ものです。この石垣は、２０１１年の東日本大震災でかなり崩れてしまったのですが、現時点では復旧しています。 Visitors can enter inside. The inside is rather narrow, dark and the stairs are steep as it is made in the old style and originally made for battles. Official instructors will guide you in order to look around safely. It is also recommended to see stone walls surrounding the castle. These walls partly collapsed due to the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. But they have already been restored now.
石垣とその向こうに見える御三階櫓（The stone walls with Gosankai-Yagura over there）
Later Life
明治時代、城跡は公園に転用され、そこには野球場が建設されました。しかし、昭和時代の後半になって、市民の多くの要望により白河市は城跡の整備方針を変更しました。城を往時の状態のまま復元できないか考え始めたのです。それは、大型の城郭建築物を再建する方法としては、現代日本において初めての試みでした。 In the Meiji Era, the ruins of the castle were turned into a park in which the baseball stadium was constructed. But in the late Showa Era, officials changed its policy of developing the ruins because of a lot of request from citizens. They were wondering if the castle would be restored to the original condition. That would be the first attempt in the way large castle buildings are rebuilt in present day Japan.
１９７０年代の城周辺の航空写真（The aerial photo of the area around the castle in 1970s）
しかし、そこには大きな法的制約がありました。日本の建築基準法は高さ１３ｍを超える木造建築物に厳しい規制を課していました。この法に従えば、白河小峰城の櫓のような新築で大型の、且つ伝統的工法の木造建築物は作れないことになっているのです。そこで白河市は櫓の復元を続けるにあたって、それを建築物ではなく、法で認められる工作物として届け出ました。そして１９９１年に復元は完成したのです。 However, there was a big problem with the law. Japan’s Building Standard Act has very strict restrictions on wooden buildings which are over 13m tall. According to this law, new large old-style wooden buildings like the Shirakawa-Komine castle turret are not allowed to be built. So officials continued the restoration of the turret as not a building, but a structure that would be allowed by the law. It was completed in 1991.
復元された御三階櫓（The restored Gsankai-Yagura）
ところが新たな問題が発生しました。国の当局が、櫓は「建築物」ではないのだからビジターを櫓のほとんどの場所には入れてはいけないと言ってきたのです。最終的には１９９３年に建築基準法に歴史的建築物に対する例外規定が追加され、御三階櫓は全て公開されることになったのです。 But another problem occurred as the government made the most part of the turret inaccessible visitors, because it was not “a building”. At last, the law had the provisions to be exempt for historical buildings in 1993. The three story turret Gosankai-yagura was finally open to visitors.
御三階櫓を見上げる（Looking up Gosankai-Yagura）
My Impression
本当に白河市の職員、市民の方々の成果に対しては尊敬の念を抱きます。その真摯な努力は、日本の城郭維持の新しい方法への流れを導いたと言えます。白河小峰城のケースは、その後続く白石城、掛川城、大洲城などの「平成の木造復元ブーム」のさきがけとなったのです。 I really respect the achievement of the officials and people in Shirakawa City. Their great effort led to the movement towards new methods for maintaining castles in Japan. The case of Shirakawa-Komine Castle was the pioneer of “The boom of wooden restoration in the Heisei era” followed by other castles such as Shiroishi, Kakegawa, Ozu and so on.
復元された掛川城（The restored Kakegawa Castle）taken by Oshiro-man from photo AC復元された大洲城（The restored Ozu Castle）
How to get There
白河小峰城は、ＪＲ白河駅からすぐ近くです。白河駅のプラットフォームからも御三階櫓の素晴らしい眺めを見ることができます。 東京から白河駅まで：東北新幹線で新白河駅まで行き、東北本線に乗り換え。次の駅が白河駅です。 The castle is very near the JR Shirakawa station. You can even see the nice view of Gosankai-yagura from the platform. From Tokyo to the station: Get the Tohoku Shinkansen super express to the Shin-Shirakawa st., and transfer to the Tohoku Line. The destination will be the next station.
白河駅のプラットフォームからの眺め（A view from the platform of Shirakawa Station）
