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

197.Shibushi Castle part3

Wonderful molding using natural terrain

Features

Nakanokuo, Pivot of Defense

Over the dry moat, the other major enclosures of Nakanokuo (the enclosure No.4 & 5) and Onokuo (the enclosure No.6 & 15) follow and are all divided by other dry moats crosswise. In particular, you should check out Nakanokuo (the enclosure No.5), over Nakanokuo (the enclosure No.4). To reach the enclosure, you need to go out of the Main Enclosure, go through the right lengthwise dry moat from the front, and enter the second crosswise dry moat. The bottom of the moat is not flat, but has two tiers, so you also need to climb to the upper tier.

The map around Uchijo portion, the red broken line is the route from the Main Enclosure to Nakaokuo (the enclosure No.5)

The second crosswise dry moat has two tiers

Then, you will face huge vertically cut cliff of the enclosure like a thick column and need to walk around to enter. If you were an enemy, you must have been attacked by the defenders from above until then. The entrance path is altered by thick earthen walls as well, just like a palace gate made of soil. This enclosure might have been pivotal to the defense in the castle.

The vertical cliff of Nakanokuo (the enclosure No.5) ‘s side

The earthen walls surrounding the enclosure

Looking down the bottom of the moat from the enclosure

The part of Nakaokuo (the enclosure No.5) of the miniature model exhibited in *Shibushi City Center for Archaeological operations*

Amazing Dry Moats

Both the lengthwise dry moats outside the plateau are amazing. The dry moat on the left side from the front (the western side) is called O-Horikiri or the Large Ditch. It is about 17m deep and was about 7m deeper than now according to the excavation. The collapsing volcanic ash has been filling the bottom of the moat naturally. However, it is still enough for us to understand how great the warrior’s work for the moat was.

The part of the Large Ditch of the miniature model

The dry moat on the right side is also surprising. The cut section of the outside enclosure is still vivid making us understand how hard their work was!

The Back Route of the castle goes beside the cut section and very narrow like the Main Route. It must have been made very defensive like the Main Route.

The part of the Back Route of the miniature model

Later History

After Shibushi Castle was abandoned, the foot of the mountain was used as the warriors’ residences called Shibushi Fumoto. Fumoto refers to a residence area for a unique defense system of the Satsuma Domain led by the Shimazu Clan, called Tojo or the Outer Castles, during the Edo Period. Unlike other domains letting their retainers live together in their home base, the Satsuma Domain sent many of its retainers to their local sites to protect the frontiers of its territory. Shibushi Fumoto was one of the most important among over 100 Fumoto of the domain. You can also walk around the Fumoto area at the same time as visiting Shibushi Castle Ruins. As for the castle ruins, they have been excavated and researched since 2003. As a result, they were designated as a National Historic Site in 2005.

The area around still has an atmosphere of Shibushi Fumoto

My Impression

I have never seen such a large and precise miniature model of a mountain castle like the one of Shibushi Castle (Uchijo portion) in Shibushi City Center for Archaeological operations before. I have certainly seen large and precise miniature models of more modern castles like Himeji Castle because they often had or still have many buildings such as the Main Tower, turrets and gates, and great structures such as stone walls. They would be easy to be copied for a model and the model can be popular with people. On the other hand, making models of a mountain castle should be difficult and may be less popular, so it could be rare, especially realistic ones. However, the miniature model of Shubushi Castle is one of the rarely seen models, worth to see by itself, and helps visitors understand what the real castle was very well.

*The miniature model of Uchijo, exhibited by Shibushi City Center for Archaeological operations*

How to get There

If you want to visit the castle ruins by car, it is about a 15 minute drive away from Shibushi IC on the Miyakonojo-Shibushi Road. There is a parking lot for visitors near the ruins. In addition, Shibushi City Center for Archaeological operations is about 3km away from the ruins and it also has a parking lot.
If you want to use public transportation, it takes about 20 minutes on foot to get there form JR Shibushi Station.
For visitors from Tokyo or Osaka: It may be a good idea to rent a car at Kagoshima or Miyazaki Airports after using a plane.

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Shibushi Castle Part1”
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198.Chiran Castle Part1

This castle was built using features of the Shirasu Plateau

Location and History

Many attractions of Chiran

Chiran area of Minami-Kyushu City in Kagoshima Prefecture has many attractions. First, it is known for Chiran tea leaves, which is planted on Shirasu Plateau enriched with ashes of the volcanic zone in the southern Kyushu Region, largely covering the area. The city recently became the largest producer of Japanese tea in the nation in 2017.

A tea plantation at Minami-Kyushu City *(licensed by Ray_go via Wikimedia Commons)*

Second, the area also became popular with its history of the Kamikaze corps of Chiran Airport. The history is kind of a tragedy, however, because it was on a plateau with good wind direction, the area was suitable for building the airport. It had originally been used for the normal Japanese Army air corps practices, but was eventually turned into a base for Kamikaze due to the crucial situation of the final stage of WWII.

The Triangle Barrack of Chiran Airport for Kamikaze pilots

Thirdly, people often visit Chiran Samurai Residences which are located in the plains at the foot of the plateau. The residences have a traditional atmosphere with many gardens and some remaining buildings. Their main street still looks like the original one in the Edo Period. They were originally built in the 17th Century by the Sata Clan which was a relative of the Shimazu Clan, the lord of Satsuma Province including the Chiran area. The Satsuma Domain led by the Shimazu Clan was based in Kagoshima Castle far from Chiran. Other domains at that time usually brought their retainers together in their home base. However, the Satsuma Domain had a unique system called Tojo or the Outer Castles. It refers to the domain sending many of its retainers to their own sites and letting them govern and protect it by themselves. Chiran Samurai Residences were one of the Outer Castles, which was also called Chiran Roku.

The main street of Chiran Samurai Residences *(licensed by Naokijp via Wikimedia Commons)*

The miniature model of Izumi Outer Castle, a representative one in the Satsuma Domain, exhibited by the Kagoshima Prefectural Center for Historical Material

Castle is built using Shirasu Plataeu

Finally, Chiran Castle may be less popular than the three attractions above, but the Sata Clan had originally lived in the castle before they were moved to the residences at the foot of the plateau. It was a kind of mountain castle which was a common way to live and protect themselves as warriors until the 16th Century during the Sengoku Period. However, the castle was built with a very unique method using the special conditions the Chiran area had. It was located on the edge of the Shirasu Plateau which looks like a cove. A plateau made of volcanic ash is fragile so that its edge can become a cliff. Soil of the plateau is also easy to process, that way, the builders of Chiran Castle made high walls and deep moats easily. As a result, the enclosures of the castle looked like several huge columns at the edge.

The location of the castle

The aerial photo of Chiran Castle Ruins, quoted from the website of Minami-Kyushu City

Chiran Castle had four primary enclosures such as the Main Enclosure in the center and several sub enclosures around. Each enclosure was independent, surrounded by dry moats which were over 25m deep. If enemies wanted to attack the castle even from the plateau which was the same level as the top of the castle, they were prevented by the deep dry moats from attacking directly. They were eventually also counterattacked by the defenders from over 25m above. Some primary enclosures also had artificial defense system for their entrances , called Masugata. It refers to a square space at the entrance, where the route to the inside of the enclosure is not straight intentionally.

The relief map arountd the castle

The layout of Chiran Castle, quoted from the website of Minami-Kyushu City

History of Castle

The castle is said to be first built by the Sata Clan in the 14th Century. After that, the Ijuin Clan took the Chiran area including this castle from the Sata Clan in the 15th Century, but their master, the Shimazu Clan gave it back to the Sata Clan. In 1591, the clan was punished due to being against the Act to Ban Piracy and was banished from the castle again, but came back to the castle in 1610. Finally, the castle was burned down by an accidental fire in the same period and the clan moved to the residences at the foot of the plateau following the domain’s policy. The castle was eventually abandoned. However, the clan seemed to maintain the castle ruins in some ways because ceramic-ware in the Edo Period after the abandonment was found by the excavation team.

To be continued in “Chiran Castle Part2”

97.Kagoshima Castle Part1

The home base of the Shimazu Clan and the final place of Seinan War

Location and History

Castle is built after Battle of Sekigahara

Kagoshima Castle was the home base of the Shimazu Clan during the Edo Period and is also known as the final battlefield of Seinan War which was the last civil war in Japan in 1877. The Shimazu Clan had been a great warlord in the southern part of the Kyushu Region during the Sengoku Period between the middle 15th and the late 16th Centuries. However, in the fateful Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, the West Squad including the clan was completely defeated by the East Squad, led by Ieyasu Tokugawa who would be the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate. The Shimazu troops with about 1500 soldiers somehow escaped from the battlefield in the Chubu Region (central Japan) to their home base of Satsuma Province in the Kyushu Region. However, only 80 clan members survived.

The location of the castle

The folding screens of the Sekigahara Battle, owned by Sekigahara Town History and Folklore Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The Shimazu Clan was worried that the shogunate would attack Satsuma Province directly. Therefore, the clan decided to build a new castle as their home base, which was stronger than their previous one like a simple hall. It was built at the foot of the Shiroyama Mountain on the west, which would be used as the final place for emergencies. It had the Main and Second Enclosures which were surrounded by stone walls and water moats from the north, the east and the south. The Main Enclosure had the Main Hall for the lord inside and one of the largest castle gates in Japan, called Goro-mon. However, the defense system of the castle was still not as complex as those of other major castles in Japan, such as the Main Tower, several-level turrets, and high, elaborately bent stone walls. This was because the Satsuma Domain led by the Shimazu Clan also had a unique defense system called Tojo or the Outer Castles. It refers to the domain sending many of its retainers to their local sites and letting them govern and protect it by themselves, which was different from other domains bringing their retainers together in their home base.

The miniature model of Kagoshima Castle, viewed from the northeastern direction, exhibited by the Kagoshima Prefectural Center for Historical Material

Thw part of Goro-mon Gate from the miniature model above

Luckily, the shogunate allowed the Satsuma Domain to continue to govern Satsuma Province until the end of the Edo Period. Even in Anglo-Satsuma War in 1863 when the English Navy battleships shot the Kagoshima city area, the castle was not targeted because it didn’t have tall buildings. After the Meiji Restoration, the castle was used as the prefectural office and as a Japanese Army base, but the buildings of the Main Enclosures were unfortunately burned down by an accidental fire in 1874.

The old photo of Kagoshima Castle, taken just before burning down, exhibited by the Kagoshima Prefectural Center for Historical Material

Outbreak of Seinan War

The climax event for the castle finally happened in 1877. Takamori Saigo, one of the Three Greatest Heroes of the Restoration, quit all his government posts, being against the other two, Toshimichi Okubo and Takayoshi Kido, and returned to his home of Kagoshima in 1873. He established his private school called Shigakko in the Second Enclosure of Kagoshima Castle in 1874 to educate young warriors. He tried to control the young people gently, however, as a result, he became the head of the rebellion against the government led by Okubo, which eliminated the privileges of warriors, such as having a sword, and it cut their hereditary salaries in 1876. Several rebellions happened in the same year, followed by the largest Seinan War led by Saigo, which occurred in February of 1877.

The portrait of Takamori Saigo by Edoardo Chiossone (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The portrait of Toshimichi Okubo (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Saigo with his troops decided to go north and capture Kumamoto Castle. He and his crew were at first optimistic as they were professional warriors and accommodated supporters from other areas in the Kyushu Region, with the total of 30,000 at maximum. While the number of the defenders in the castle was only over 3,000 and many of them were drafted farmers. The Saigo troops even expected that the defenders would soon surrender because some of their leaders had come from Satsuma. However, the defenders, led by General Tani, never surrendered and Okubo sent the reinforcement to the castle. It also had many drafted soldiers, but was more well trained than Saigo expected and more equipped and supplied than the Saigo troops. The government even used advanced information technologies such as telegraph the Saigo troops never had. Saigo had to withdraw from Kumamoto Castle in April and tried to stay in other areas in the Kyushu Region, such as Hitoyoshi Castle, but all failed. He finally declared the dissolution of his troops in August. He and his close warriors of only nearly 400 wanted to have their last and desperate battle in their original home base, Kagoshima Castle.

The commanders of Chinzei Chindai led by General Tateki Tani, from Asahi encyclopedia (licensed under Public Domain via Wikipedia Commons)

Last moment of Saigo and Castle

They somehow reached there in the first of September and allocated themselves to the foot area and Shiroyama Mountain. Of course, they were too few to prevent the government troops of as many as 50 thousands from attacking. If it had been in the Sengoku Period, Saigo would have set his stronghold on the mountain, but it was impossible because it could be targeted by cannons. Therefore, he had to stay in the caves in a valley between the mountain and the foot, which would be called the Saigo Caves later on. The government troops completely besieged the Satsuma rebels so that no one could escape. Their full scale attack was done on 24th of September. Saigo was assaulted from his cave, but was shot, and finally killed himself by performing the Harakiri.

The government army fortification around Shiroyama Mountain *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

To be continued in “Kagoshima Castle Part2”