タグ: northern main gate

161.Kishiwada Castle Part2

I recommend using a detour route to the castle through the former Kishu Road and castle town. This is because you can understand how the castle and town were developed by seeing them.

How to get There

Today, you can access the current Kishiwada Castle from Kishiwada or Takojizo Stations on the Nankai Line by foot. Takojizo Station is the nearest, but if you walk from Kishiwada Station towards the western direction, you have to turn right at the Kishiwadaeki-minami Intersection, and then turn left at the Shiromibashi Intersection, there you can see the stone walls of the Eastern Main Gate Ruins at the Kishiwada City Library on the way. The gate was the front one in the early stage of the castle and it looks interesting combined with the library’s entrance. Both routes are flat and easy to access.

The map around the castle, the blue broken line shows the route from Kishiwada Station to the castle through the Easten Main Gate, the red broken line shows the route through the Kishu Road

Takojizo Station (licensed by Nankou Oronain (as36… via Wikimedia Commons)
Kishiwada Station
The Kishiwadaeki-minami Intersection
The Shiromibashi Intersection
The remaining stone walls of the Eastern Main Gate

However, I recommend using a detour route to the castle through the former Kishu Road and castle town. This is because you can understand how the castle and town were developed by seeing them. You can also choose one of the other nearer routes above when you return to the station. If you first choose the route though the Kishu Road to go to the castle, go on the shopping street in front of Kishiwada Station until you meet the road. The road still has a laid-back atmosphere with some traditional buildings and you will see it has been intentionally zigzagged to prevent enemies from invading the town easily. As you get closer to the castle, you will find the road goes on a lower land than where the castle is located. Maybe the road was the coastline or below the sea in the past while the current coastline is far from there. If you climb the moderate slope to the castle across the modern road, the great high stone walls of the Second Enclosure will come into view.

The shopping street in front of Kishiwada Station
The Kishu Road
The road has been intentionally zigzagged
You can see the castle above the road
The former castle town
The stone walls and water moat of the Second Enclosure

In addition, if you want to visit there by car, it is about 30 minutes from Kishiwada-izumi IC or Kaizuka IC on the Hanwa Expressway. There are several Kishiwada municipal parking lots around the castle.
From Tokyo to both stations: Take the Tokaido Shinkansen super express, transfer to the Midosuji Line on Osaka Metro Subway at Shin-Osaka Station and transfer to the Nankai Line at Nanba Station.

Features

Gate Ruins connecting Center of Castle

Today, only the Main and Second Enclosures remain with the original stone walls and water moats, and reconstructed buildings in the Main Enclosure. In the past, the Northern and Western Main Gates were open to the castle town side. Currently, the Northern one has become the entrance of the Kishiwada City Hall and the Western one has become a parking lot next to the Danjiri Hall, where you can access the ruins from as well. You can see some remaining stone walls and foundations of the gates on the way. The Second Enclosure is accessible from both sides by going across earthen bridge over the moats.

The aerial photo around the castle

The Northern Main Gate is in the red circle and the Western Main Gate is in the blue circle, in the miniature model of Kishiwada Castle
The ruins of Nothern Main Gate
The remaining stone walls of the gate
The ruins of the Western Main Gate
The stone walls seem to belong to another enclosure in front of the Second Enclosure

Second Enclosure may be former Main Enclosure

The Second Enclosure had the Main Hall and Fushimi Turret which was moved from Fushimi Castle, but now has modern facilities such as an information center. The enclosure looks to the edge of the hill which was actually on the sea in the past. It was also said this enclosure was the former Main Enclosure, backed by the sea, when the castle was still small. Therefore, you may want to see a view of the city area (the former sea) around, however, you can not see it because of the tall hedge fences in that direction.

The part of the Second Enclosure in the miniature model of Kishiwada Castle, the Fushimi Turret in the red circle
The stone walls of the Second Enclosure, the Fushimi Turret was on the front corner
The inside of the current Second Enclosure
This is not a good view point because of the fences

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

195.Nobeoka Castle Part2

The 1,000 Murder Stone Walls as the highlight of the castle,

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Nobeoka Castle was abandoned and most of the castle buildings were demolished. Some buildings such as the Drum Turret remained for a while. However, the turret was burned down. In 1877, a hero of the restoration, Takamori Saigo started a rebellion against the government known as the Seinan War. From the south in Kagoshima, his troops started an attack on Kumamoto Castle. However, after failing to capturing Kumamoto Castle, they were forced to withdraw and battles took place all over the Kyushu Region. Nobeoka was one of them. In fact, Nobeoka Castle was held by the government army, but their navy shot the castle by mistake. The army had to burn the turret to show the castle was already friendly.

The monument of the battle of Wadagoe at the Nobeoka area between the Saigo troops and the government army (licensed by shikabane taro via Wikimedia Commons)

Another interesting episode for the castle is about the 1,000 Murder Stone Walls. In fact, the nickname first came out in Meiji Era after abandonment of the castle. It is said that there were gaps between the base stones where children could play inside. That might have made some people imagine and create such an interesting story to express how great the stone walls were.

The 1,000 Murder Stone Walls

Features

Sandbank becomes City Area

Today, if you visit the ruins of Nobeoka Castle on foot from JR Nobeoka Station, you will go across the Gokasegawa river by using one of the bridges over it. You will also see the hill which the castle ruins are located a little far away from the bridge. The sandbank, sandwiched by the rivers, has become a modern city area with many official buildings and no moats remain in the area, so you can easily arrive at the eastern edge of the ruins.

The map around the Nobeoka area

Castle Ruins becomes Castle Mountain Park

The castle ruins have become Shiroyama-Koen or the Castle Mountain Park, which has two entrances in the north and the southeast. The former was the main route to the castle and the latter was the back route. Either route is well developed for visitors. If you walk around the hill to the northern entrance of the park, you will see old stone walls partially surrounding the hill. You will eventually enter the park through the restored Northern Main Gate.

The map around the castle

The restored Northern Main Gate  (licensed by ja:User:Sanjo via Wikimedia Commons)

Stone Walls are modified due to their Nickname

After entering the gate, here comes the highlight of the castle, the 1,000 Murder Stone Walls once you enter the Second Enclosure. The stone walls surround the Main Enclosure, upper than the Second Enclosure where you can look up close by. They look so great and it is unbelievable to imagine how the stone craftsmen built them 19m high using such rough natural stones. In addition, if you look at the corner base stone which might have caused the collapse of the stone walls, it is enforced with concrete. According to the signboard at the site, it had been done before the Emperor Showa visited in 1935. In fact, the 1,000 Murder Stone Walls is kind of an overstatement for the great stone walls, which was created after the castle was abandoned. However, the emperor was treated as Arahitogami or a Living God until the World War II. That’s probably why people in Nobeoka enforced the stone to avoid any accidents.

This picture shows the corner base stone clearly (licensed by ja:User:Sanjo via Wikimedia Commons)

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