The castle ruins are still the center of Fukui Prefecture.
Features
Ruins of First Kitanosho Castle
I also recommend visiting the ruins of the first Kitanosho Castle which Katsuie Shibata built, about 300m away from Fukui Castle Ruins to the south. You can only see the base stones for the castle because Fukui Castle was built on the Kitanosho Castle Ruins.
The ruins of Kitanosho Castle in Echizen ProvinceThese are the stone walls of Fukui CastleThe base stones of the first Kitanosho Castle
However, you can also see the statues of Katuie, his wife and his three daughters. These women are well-known in Japanese history. One of the daughters was the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s wife. Another was the wife of Hidetada Tokugawa who was a little brother of Hideyasu Yuki, the founder of Fukui Castle.
The statue of Katsuie ShibataThe statue of Katsuie’s wifeThe statues of the three sisters
Later History
After the Meiji Restoration, Fukui Castle was abandoned. All the buildings of the castle were demolished and all its area except for the center of the castle was turned into the city area. In 1873, the former lord of the castle, the Matsudaira Clan opened Matsudaira Agricultural Experimental Station in the center of the castle until it was moved to another in 1921. Instead, The Fukui Prefectural Office was moved to the Main Enclosure in 1923. Since then, the castle ruins have been the center of the local government like the castle used to be.
Matsudaira Agricultural Experimental Station (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)The buildings of the Fukui Prefectural Office (on the right) and Fukui prefectural police headquarters (on the left) at the Main Enclosure
My Impression
A Main Enclosure was usually the center of a castle. It often had the Main Tower and (or) the Main Hall to govern the area around in the Edo Period, like Fukui Castle. Many remaining Main Enclosures have now become historical parks, shrines, or facilities like a museum. However, the Main Enclosure of Fukui Castle is still used by the local government. I think this is the only example of the Main Enclosure being used for a prefectural office. Some people call it the strongest prefectural office in Japan.
The Main Enclosure of Fukuoka Castle (an example of being a historical park)The Main Enclosure of Takaoka Castle (an example of being a shrine)The Main Tower of the Main Enclosure of Osaka Castle (an example of being a museum)The Fukui Prefectural Office which looks like the strongest
How to get There
If you want to visit there by car: It is about 15 minutes away from Fukui IC on Hokuriku Expressway. There are several parking lots around the ruins. You can also use the underground parking lot of the prefectural office on weekdays. (You need to have the parking ticket stamped at the reception counter.) By public transportation, it takes less than 10 minutes walking from JR Fukui Station. To get to Fukui Station from Tokyo: Take the Hokuriku Shinkansen super express, transfer to the limited express on the Hokuriku Line at Kanazawa Station. From Osaka: Take the Thunderbird limited express.
Tokushima Castle was located in what is the modern day Tokushima City. The prefectural capital of Tokushima Prefecture is Tokushima City. The old name for Tokushima Prefecture was called Awa Province, where the Chosokabe Clan and the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi battled in the late 16th Century during the Sengoku Period. Hideyoshi finally won and he gave the province to his senior vassal, Iemasa Hachisuka in 1585. Iemasa first lived in one of the major mountain castles, called Ichinomiya Castle, but he soon moved to another place in 1586, building a new castle named Tokushima Castle.
The location of the castle
The portrait of Iemasa Hachisuka, private owned (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)The ruins of Ichinomiya Castle
building network of sea transportation
Tokushima Castle was built on Inoyama Mountain which was 62m high on a sandbank called Inotsu. The sandbank was among the delta of Yoshino-gawa River, the largest river in Shikoku Island. The place where the castle was built was not spacious for the lord of the province. It was said that Hideyoshi suggested that the castle should be built at that place. So why did he instruct Iemasa to build the castle at such a place? Historians speculate that Hideyoshi tried to build the network of sea transportation with his home base, Osaka Castle. Tokushima was renamed by Inotsu and had a location which was capable of controling the sea lanes such as Kii Channel. The area was the entrance to Osaka Bay in which Osaka Castle was facing. The network consisted of both navy and merchant fleets. Another possible reason was that The Hachisuka Clan still had to send their retainers to branch castles called the Awa Nine Castles against the resistances of Chosokabe. That meant Hachisuka’s home base didn’t need a large space.
Part of the illustration of Tokushima Castle in Awa Province, exhibited by the National Archives of Japan, you can see the castle was built among the sandbanks
The relief map around the castle, Inoyama Mountain stands out among the delta
The positional relation between Tokushima Castle and Osaka Castle
Osaka Castle
Center of Castle was once on Mountain
Inoyama was a dogleg mountain which extended from the east to the west. The Main Enclosure was on the highest, the largest and rounded part of the mountain, which was thought to have the first Main Tower and the first Main Hall for the lord. However, the Main Tower was scraped about 30 years after its foundation for some unknown reasons and rebuilt in the Eastern Second Enclosure of the lower eastern part of the mountain. This was a very rare case because most castles had their Main Tower at the highest point of the mountain. There’s only one other castle that had a similar case, which was Mito Castle. However, its reason was more obvious. Its main reason was that it was small and inconvenient. The western part of the mountain also had the Western Second Enclosure and the Western Third Enclosure that protected the Main Enclosure. These enclosures on the mountain got surrounded by stone walls one by one. On the other hand, the plain area on the sandbank in the south of the mountain was not fully developed. Experts speculate that there were probably two main halls instead of one primary hall on the mountain. This secondary hall on the plain area was used as the home of the lord and its warriors. Tokushima Castle was specifically designed for battles that took place during the first generation of its existence.
The enclosures were built on Inoyama Mountain, the Main Tower was built on the lower eastern part. not on the Main Enclosure (Part of the illustration of Tokushima Castle in Awa Province)
The aerial photo around Mito castle
The old photo of the Main Tower of Mito Castle at the Second Enclosure
Center of Castle moves to plain area
After the Tokugawa Shogunate defeated the Toyotomi Clan in 1615, the governance of the shogunate finally became stable. The Hachisuka Clan was also able to spread their territory by adding the Awaji Province through supporting the shogunate. Due to the long period of peace, The nine branch castles were eventually abandoned. As a result, the retainers gathered in Tokushima Castle which needed to be reconstructed. The large scale of the Main Hall for the lord was rebuilt on the plain area and became the center of the castle. It was also surrounded by stone walls with several turrets, and fences called Byobu-bei along with the Inner Moat and the Terashima-gawa River. The southern side of it had the Kuro-mon Gate as its main gate with the three-story turret called Taiko-yagura next to it, which looked like the main tower. In addition, there was also the Miki Enclosure in the south of the Main Hall with the front gate called Washi-no-mon. Many of the rivers around the castle were also reclaimed and turned into the warriors’ residences and the castle town. The Hachisuka Clan lived in the castle until the end of the Edo Period.
The plain area where the Main Hall was built, the hall was not drawn intentionally (Part of the illustration of Tokushima Castle in Awa Province)The Kuro-mon Gate and Taiko-yagura Turret (Part of the illustration of Tokushima Castle in Awa Province)The Miki Enclosure and Washi-no-mon Gate (Part of the illustration of Tokushima Castle in Awa Province)
Takamatsu Castle, one of the greatest sea castles in Japan, was located in Sanuki Province which is now Kagawa Prefecture. The name of the prefectural capital, Takamatsu City, actually originates from this castle. Chikamasa Ikoma, who was a warrior in the 16th Century during the Sengoku Period, first built the castle. Chikamasa took part in many battles such as those at Nagashino Castle, Ishiyama Honganji Temple (former Osaka Castle), and Bicchu-Takamatsu Castle under the ruler Hideyoshi Toyotomi. Chikamasa contributed to the unification of the country by Hideyoshi who gave Chikamasa Sanuki Province in 1587.
The location of the castle
The portrait of Chikamasa Ikoma, owned by Kokenji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)The ruins of Nagashino CastleThe present Osaka Castle, which was once Ishiyama Honganji TempleThe ruins of Bicchu-Takamatsu Castle
Chikamasa at first used the existing Hiketa Castle, but he decided to build a new castle as his home base. From his experiences, his concerns about the castle were: ・whether it would be able to get naval support during battles. ・whether it would be able to withstand gun attacks. ・whether it would be able to survive a long siege. In the end, he devised Takamatsu Castle, which was completed in 1590.
The ruins of Hiketa CastleThe present Takamatsu Castle
Castle surrounded by Sea and Triples Moats
Takamatsu Castle was built facing the Seto Inland Sea to the north, making it possible to ship directly to the sea. The castle was also surrounded by water moats tripled in the other directions, to which the sea supplied water. The main enclosure which had the three-layer main tower was isolated in the inner moat, connecting to the second enclosure with only a wooden bridge called saya-bashi. The third enclosure was next to the second enclosure, which had the gate opening to the sea. The enclosure also had the main hall for the lord of the castle. Such a castle was classified not only as a plain castle, but also a sea castle. It would be impossible for enemies to completely besiege this castle with technology at that time.
The folding screen of Takamatsu Castle and the castle town, owned by Kagawa Prefectural Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Matsudaira Clan followed and developed Castle
The Ikoma Clan was allowed to maintain their territory of Sanuki Province for a while by supporting the Tokugawa Shogunate in the battle of Sekigahara in 1600. However, the clan was forcibly moved by the shogunate in 1640 due to their internal strife. After that, the Shogun’s relative, Yorishige Matsudaira was sent to Takamatsu Castle as a replacement for the Ikoma Clan. Though lords were basically not allowed to renovate their castles at that time, he developed and improved Takamatsu Castle by rebuilding the main tower and adding the northern and eastern enclosures. This was because he was also responsible for monitoring non-hereditary feudal lords in Shikoku Island, who might have been against the shogunate.
The old photo of the Main Tower Yorishige rebuiltPart of the whole illustration of Old Takamatsu Castle, the illustration drawn after Yorishige developed the castle, from the signboard at the site
The Matsudaira Clan governed the castle and the area around as the Takamatsu Domain until the end of the Edo Period. In the peaceful time of the Edo Period, the beautiful view of the castle became a famous attraction for people. A guide book at the time says that the castle looks as if it is a floating castle on the waves from the Seto Inland Sea. The castle has also been said to be one of the three greatest sea castles in Japan.
The miniature model of Takamatsu Castle and the castle town, exhibited by Tamamo Park Museum
