outer moat – ページ 5 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

132.Takada Castle Part2

The good contrast of the remaining moats and earthen walls, and the rebuilt turret

Features

Wide and Long Water Moats remain

Now, the ruins of Takada Castle have been developed as the Takada Castle Site Park. The park is also very famous for the illuminated cherry blossoms and the lotus in the Outer Moat credited as “the largest in the East”. As for the castle ruins, the earthen walls of the Main Enclosure, the Inner Moat, and the western part of the Outer Moat mostly remained intact. If you visit the ruins from the west such as Takada Station, you will first see the remaining Outer Moat with a huge amount of lotus plants.

The aerial photo around the castle

Center of Park – Third and Second Enclosures

The Outer Moat is still very large, which was at maximum 130m wide in the past. Even now it remains at about 100m wide. You can now go across the moat on the road to the Third Enclosure and the Second Enclosure inside. The Third Enclosure is used for the modern facilities such as a baseball stadium and an athletic field.

The Second Enclosure is the center of the park with a lot of cherry trees. You can walk along the promenade beside the Outer Moat. In fact, the high earthen walls were built along the moat, but they were removed when a Japanese Army started to use the castle ruins.

There is also the Joetsu City History Museum in the enclosure where you can learn more about the castle and the area around.

Main Enclosure and Rebuilt Three-Story Turret

The Main Enclosure surrounded by the Inner Moat and the earthen walls have three entrances for visitors. The first one is the former front gate from the restored wooden bridge called Gokuraku-bashi outside on the south.

The second one is the ruins of the Higashi-akazu-mon Gate on the east.

The last one is on the west and was built by the Japanese Army in the modern times.

The entrance of the Main Enclosure in the west

The Three-story Turret was also rebuilt in 1993 on the earthen walls at the southwest corner of the Main Enclosure, based on the successful excavations and studies. The turret is in fact a steel building, but it looks traditional because of the many wooden materials used.

The rebuilt Three-Story Turret on the earthen walls

Its interior is used as a museum and as a sightseeing tower. You can also see a good contrast of the Inner Moat, the earthen walls and the turret from the outside.

The inside of the enclosure was used as the Main Hall for the lord of the castle, and is now used as a school.

The miniature model of the Main Enclosure of Takada Castle (*the Joetsu City History Museum*)

The inside of the Main Enclosure in the present

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

132.Takada Castle Part1

A castle protected by earthen walls and water moats

Location and History

Tadateru Matsudaira built it shortly

Takada Castle was located in Echigo Province (what is now Nigata Province). The Uesgi Clan at Ksugayama Castle owned the province in the late 16th Century during the Sengoku Period. After the clan was transferred to another province, the province was divided by several lords at the beginning of the 17th Century. One of them was the Hori Clan which owned the western part of the province and lived in Fukushima Cstle. However, Hori Clan was fired by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1610. Instead, Tadateru Matsudaira, a son of Ieyasu Tokugawa, the founder of the Shogunate was sent to the castle. He and the Shogunate felt they required a stronger castle, because the tension between the Shogunate and the Toyoyomi Clan got higher. They needed to monitor non-hereditary feudal lords who possibly supported the Toyotomi Clan. The new castle would be called Takada Castle.

The location of the castle

The portrait of Tadateru Matsudaira, owned by the Joetsu City History Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The construction for the castle began in March 1614, and was almost completed in just four months, before the battle between the Shogunate and the Toyotomi Clan happened in October. The Shogunate mobilized thirteen lords including Tadateru’s father-in-law, Masamune Date for the construction. Maybe for the short construction period, Takada Castle had several features. The foundation of the castle was completely made of soil, not using stone walls which were common for building castles at that time. A Main Tower, which was also popular for castles, was not built, the Three-story Turret was built instead.

The remaining earthen walls at the Main Enclosure

Protected by Wide Water Moats and High Earthen Walls

However, there was no shortcuts in the construction. The wide and long water moats were built using the flow of several rivers. As a result, the castle was surrounded by the Inner Moat, the Outer Moat, and the opposite flowing rivers. The Third Enclosure was in the Outer Moat, the Second Enclosure was inside the Outer Moat, and The Main Enclosure was inside the Inner Moat. Visitors from the Main Gate outside the Third Enclosure had to go across three bridges to reach the Main Enclosure. Even the clay walls were as high as10m, so the castle had sufficient defense.

The miniature model of Takada Castle (*the Joetsu City History Museum*)

The earthen walls are still surrounding the Main Enclosure

Lords of Castle were changed several times

Tadateru was one of the 10 lords who had the largest territories in Japan at that
time, however, he was fired by the Shogunate in 1616 for unknown reasons, after the Shogunate eliminated the Toyotomi Clan in 1615. Though it is said that he was rude to his father, it may be due to an internal trouble in the Shogunate. He was exiled at Takashima Castle until he died at the age of 92 in 1683.

After some years, Mitsunaga Matsudaira governed the castle for 57 years. He improved farming and business while developing the castle town and transportation. The castle town had become the city area of Joetsu City. However, he was fired by the Shogunate as well in 1681 due to the internal trouble for his successor.

The draft map of Takada Castle, drawn in 1737 (*Joetsu City Buried Cultural Property Center*)

The aerial photo around the castle and the city area

After that, several clans governed the castle and the area around the Takada Domain. This area has been known for a city having heavy snow, so some people from other areas seemed to have trouble living and communicating. The last lord of the castle was the Sakakibara Clan which owned it from the mid 18th Century to the Meiji Restoration in the late 19th Century.

The present city area covered with snow *(taken by v-pro from photoAC)*

The Sakaki Shrine which worships Yasumasa Sakakibara, the founder of the Sakakibara Clan

To be continued in “Takada Castle Part2”

59.Himeji Castle Part2

The castle and the town are united as one.

Features (From Himeji Station to the Main Towers)

When you go out of the north (Himeji-jo) exit of Himeji Stataion, you can see the Main Towers towards the main street in front of the station in the distance. You get the feeling that the castle and the town are united as one. The Outer Moat was built around this area. The Main Towers are still over 1.5 km away. On the way to the castle along the street, you will see the stone walls of Nakanomon Gate Ruins on the left, where the Middle Moat existed. The area around there has become the city area now, but the street looks like the approach to the castle.

The aerial photo around the castle

Himeji Castle that can be seen from Himeji Station

Soon, you will reach the front of the Inner Moat. The inside of the moat is the main portion of the castle called “Naikaku”. The Main Gate called Sakura-mon is the entrance of Naikaku, which is accessible after walking across the bridge. The gate was once demolished but was restored. You can see a large empty square called the Third Enclosure where many halls once stood. You can now get to see the Main Towers on Himeyama mountain up close.

The restored Sakura-mon Gate (the Main Gate)

The ticket office is at the back of the square. After buying the ticket, you will enter Hishinomon Gate, the entrance of the Second Enclosure. You can go to both the Main Towers on Himeyama mountain and Nishinomaru Enclosure on Sagiyama mountain from the gate because it is located in the valley between the mountains. Inside the gate, you can also see Sangokubori Moat which is said to once be a water reservoir. The Main Towers start to look bigger.

Sangokubori Moat *(taken by わゆすけ from photoAC)*

To reach the Main Towers, you will need to go through many gates in front of you. In fact, the shortcuts to the Main Towers are set on the right of Sangokubori Moat, but the routes can be hard to find for visitors. That meant enemies could be led to the difficult route easily. You can see a lot of loopholes on the plaster walls along the route. The loopholes have several interesting shapes, but they were also a threat to enemies.

The map around the castle

The farther you go, the closer the Main Towers get; however, the route suddenly changes direction before the Ninomon Gate. In addition, the entrance of the gate is very low and narrow under the turret building for the gate. Enemies would have been very confused to see such a defense system. You will enter the Main Tower Enclosure after passing the next gate called Honomon. You can see a mud wall on the right, which looks different from the castle’s other white plaster walls. It is called “Abura-kabe” or the Oil Wall and said to derive from Hideyoshi’s period. The wall actually hid other gates to the Large Main Tower. You will need to go through five more gates to reach the tower! The three Small Main Towers are along the route to protect the Large Main Tower.

Ninomon Gate *(licensed by そらみみ via Wikimedia Commons)*

The Oil Wall *(licensed by 663highland via Wikimedia Commons)*

The Small Main Towers protecting the Large Main Tower

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