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

149.Komakiyama Castle Part1

The castle had a very short life but rich history.

Location and History

Nobunaga’s Foothold

Komakiyama Castle was located on an 86m high mountain called Komakiyama, on Nobi Plain in Owari Province, what is now the western part of Aichi Prefecture. The mountain had no castle until Nobunaga Oda built a castle on it in 1563. The reason for it was that he wanted to move his home base from Kiyosu Castle in now Nagoya City to this castle. He aimed to capture Inabayama Castle, what is now Gifu City, which the Saito Clan owned at that time. Komakiyama was much closer to Inabayama than Kiyosu. However, it was very rare for warlords and their retainers to move their home to another. They always continued to live in places where their ancestors had been.

The location of the castle

The portrait of Nobunaga Oda, attributed to Soshu Kano, owned by Chokoji Temple, in the late 16th century (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Three Distinct Features

Komakiyama Castle by Nobunaga had three distinct features. First, the Main Enclosure or Honmaru on the top was surrounded by stone walls made using huge stones. Some of the stones were carried from another mountain. At that time, building stone walls for castles was rare, and there was likely no other case like Komakiyama. It was one of the earliest examples of using stone walls as a show of authority.

The remaining stone walls on the mountain

Secondly, the castle had two residences for the lord, one was on the mountain, the other was at the foot. Other warlords who had a mountain castle also often had two residences. They usually lived in the one on the foot and used the one on the mountain when a battle happened. However, in the case of Nobunaga, he seemed to live in his residence on the mountain. He might have considered the mountain as a special place. Another similar example can be seen in Gifu Castle, his next home base.

Lastly, the Main Route went straight from the foot to the mid-slope of the mountain like Azuchi Castle, his last home base. It was abnormal for other warlords to have such a route on the mountain, because it was not defensive. The reason is still unsure, but it must have depended on Nobunaga’s idea. In addition, its castle town was built in an advanced way in an area where nothing existed prior. The town was divided orderly to accommodate warriors, merchants, and craftsmen separately. Such a way to develop castle town is commonly seen in those in the next century.

The miniature model of the castle town distribution at the site

Ieyasu’s Stronghold

The life of the castle by Nobunaga was just four years, as he was successful in capturing Inabayama Castle in 1567. He moved his home base again to Inabayama castle and renamed it Gifu Castle. Komakiyama Castle was abandoned right away. In 1584, the castle was reused by Ieyasu Tokugawa when he fought with the ruler Hideyoshi Toyotomi in the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute. Ieyasu reinforced earthen walls and dry moats surrounding the castle to establish a stronghold there against Hideyoshi at Inuyama Castle. This battle resulted in a dead heat and Ieyasu showed his great presence towards the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate later.

*The Portrait of Ieyasu Tokugawa, attributed to Tanyu Kano, owned by Osaka Castle Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

To be continued in “Komakiyama Castle Part2”

39.Gifu Castle Part2

Please pay attention to both the top and foot of the mountain.

Features

The map around the castle

To Castle Ruins on Top

Now, the area around Mt. Kinkazan has become one of the most popular tourist spots in the Gifu Prefecture. You can easily go to the top of the mountain by the Kinkazan Ropeway. If you want to climb up there, it is common to use the Nanamagari Trail which was the Main Route for the castle. The tail is relatively gently sloped, so it takes around one hour to reach the top, climbing to about 300m from the ground.

A view of the Main Tower from the city area

The top is actually also a tourist spot where the ropeway terminal, a restaurant, a zoo, and the imitation Main Tower stand. The routes around the top have also been paved in a modern style. However, you can see rocky surfaces made of chert everywhere on the top. As for the ruins of the castle, there are the ruins of the First Gate where the huge stones for the gate collapsed. After seeing the defensive trenches called “Horikiri”, next comes the ruins of the Second Gate. Their plaster walls have been rebuilt recently, but some of the stone walls are original. You should check out the two steps of stone walls under the route from the Second Gate to the Main Tower. The method for building the stone walls is very old, so it is thought that they were built by Nobunaga.

The defensive trenches called “Horikiri”

The stone walls under the route to the Main Tower

A Great View from Main Tower

The imitation Main Tower was built in 1956, based on the drawings of the Three-Story Turret in Kano Castle. The turret was burned in the Edo Period, but there was a rumor that it might have been moved from the Gifu Castle. The interior of the tower is used as a museum which exhibits the history of the castle and Nobunaga. The top floor is also a sightseeing tower where you can see a great view of the area around, including Nagara-gawa River. The stone wall base of the tower looks very old. In fact, the stones are original, but the style is not, as the stones were re-piled when the tower was rebuilt.

A view from the Main Tower (Nagaragawa River side)

*A view from the Main Tower (Mountain side)*

You can also climb down on another tail, for example, from the ruins of the Back Gate. The gate also used huge stones of which you can see the remains on the route. After going down for a while, you can also see the huge, holy rock called “Eboshi-iwa”. The Inaba Shrine was originally located around the rock.

You can see rocky surfaces made of chert here and there

Ruins of Nobunaga’s Residence

At the foot of the mountain, I recommend that you visit the ruins of Nobunaga’s palace residence, because, in fact, it might have been the center of the castle. At the entrance, you can see the remains of the alternate huge stones which were 1.7m high in the past. Walking up the stairs around the terraced stone walls, there is an empty spacious space where the main building was constructed. In the back of it, there were also buildings for the tearoom and sightseeing with an artificial water garden using huge stones. Another pond garden was next to it, and an artificial river flew from the fountain between them. Moreover, these gardens were connected to the main building by the air corridors. Nobunaga seemed to use his palace residence for official ceremonies and for hosting important visitors.

The stairs to the ruins of the main building

The imaginary drawing of around the gardens *(Gifu Castle Museum)*

The imaginary drawing of the residence (from the signboard at the site)

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

39.Gifu Castle Part1

The castle for Nobunaga Oda to unify the nation by force

Location and History

Castle protected by Mt. Kinkazan and Nagara-gawa River

If you go from Nagoya City to Gifu City, the prefectural capital of Gifu Pref. through the Nobi Plain, the first high mountain you will see is Mt. Kinkazan with the Main Tower on the top. This is Gifu Castle. It may have been very common for warriors to build their castle on such an outstanding spot. The Nagara-gawa River also flows on the north and west of the castle as a part of the natural terrain and served as a defense mechanism for the castle.

The location of the castle

*Mt. Kinkazan (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

Nobunaga Oda declares Unify Nation by Force

It is said that the Nikaido Clan first built the castle in the 13th Century, but the details are uncertain. In the mid 16th Century, the Saito Clan improved the castle which until then, was called Inabayama Castle. In 1567, Nobunaga Oda took over the castle from the Saito Clan, and moved his home base from Komakiyama Castle to this castle. At the same time, he renamed the castle Gifu Castle, which comes from the hometown’s name of an ancient Chinese Dynasty, Shou. He also started using his seal of “Tenka-Fubu” or Unify the Nation by Force for his documents. This was seen as Nobunaga’s declaration of his intention for the unification of Japan.

The *seal of Unify the Nation by Force (licensed by 百楽兎 via Wikimedia Commons)*

However, even according to the excavations, it is still not entirely sure what the top of the mountain looked like and if there was a Main Tower or not. Some gates and stone walls were built, but the natural terrain on the mountain was not modified so much. Some historians speculate this is because the mountain was originally a sanctuary spot where its rocky terrain itself could be the object of worship. There was actually an Inaba Shrine on the mountain before the Saito Clan improved the castle. Nobunaga lived on the top of the mountain with his family and relatives, and usually didn’t allow other people to climb on the mountain.

The miniature model of the top of Mt. Kinkazan (Gifu Castle Museum)

Featured Nobunaga’s Palace Residence

On the other hand, at the western foot of the mountain called Keyakitdani, Nobunaga’s residence, which was like a luxurious palace, was built. The residence had four stories covering the terraced terrain with golden foiled roof tiles. The foundation of the residence was built with stone walls, in particular, and its entrance was decorated by huge stone walls. The back of the residence had deluxe artificial gardens also with huge stones. The way of building the castle is said to have led to the next way for building the Azuchi Castle later.

The imaginary drawing of Nobunaga’s residence *(Gifu Castle Museum)*

After Nobunaga died, his relatives continued to govern the castle. In 1600, when Hidenobu Oda, Nobunaga’s grandchild was the lord of the castle, the battle of Sekigahara happened. Hidenobu supported the Western Army led by Mitsunari Ishida, while the Eastern Army under the Tokugawa Shogunate attacked Gifu Castle. Hidenobu was defeated and it is said that the buildings Nobunaga built were burned down during the battle.

The portrait of Hidenobu Oda, owned by Raikoji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

To be continued in “Gifu Castle Part2”