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

13.Shirakawa-Komine Castle Part2

the ruins of the castle were turned into a park. Officials changed their policy for developing the ruins because the detailed drawings of the castle buildings were left by Sadanobu Matsudaira. They were wondering if the castle would be restored to its original condition. That would be the first attempt in the way large castle buildings are rebuilt in the present time of Japan.

Later History

During the Meiji Era, the ruins of the castle were turned into a park in which the baseball stadium was constructed in during the Showa Era. Officials changed their policy for developing the ruins because a lot of citizens complained and the detailed drawings of the castle buildings were left by Sadanobu Matsudaira. They were wondering if the castle would be restored to its original condition. That would be the first attempt in the way large castle buildings are rebuilt in the present time of Japan.

The aerial photo around the castle during the 1970’s

The detailed drawing of the three-level turret Sadanobu Matsudaira left

However, there was a big problem with the law. Japan’s Building Standard Act has very strict restrictions on wooden buildings which are over 13m tall. According to this law, new large old-style wooden buildings like the Shirakawa-Komine castle turret are not allowed to be built. So officials continued the restoration of the turret not as a building, but as a structure that would be allowed by the law. It was finally completed in 1991. However, another problem occurred as the government made the most part of the turret inaccessible to visitors, because it was not “a building”. At last, the law had the provisions to be exempt for historical buildings in 1993. The three story-level was finally opened to visitors.

Features

Castle Ruins still look Strong

Today, if you stand in front of the ruins of Shirakawa-Komine Castle, called Shiroyama Park, you will be impressed by its wide remaining stone walls and the slim restored three-level turret on the top. The entrance of the park was that of the second enclosure, which had Taiko (drum)-mon Gate. The enclosure has become an open space where people can enjoy relaxing and exercising. It is also partially used by public facilities such as Komine-jo(castle) History Museum and a tea house.

The aerial photo around the castle

The entrance of the second enclosure (the ruins of Taiko-mon Gate

The appearance around the second enclosure in the past, from the miniature model of the castle, exhibited by *Komine-jo Castle History Museum*

The main portion of the castle ahead still looks very strong, which is surrounded by the inner moat and two-tiered high stone walls. These tiers consist of the main enclosure on the top and the surrounding Take (bamboo)-no-maru Enclosure. You need to go across the earthen bridge over the moat and the ruins of Shimizu(pure water or spring)-mon Gate to enter it. The gate was the largest one in the castle and Shirakawa City is actually planning to restore it by 2026 (as of January 2024). Next, if you climb the stone steps and turn right on the Take-no-maru Enclosure, you will see the three-level turret close by.

*The appearance around the Shimizu-mon Gate and the Take-no-maru enclosure in the past, from the miniature model of the castle, exhibited by Komine-jo Castle History Museum*

Good Combination of restored Turret and Gate

You can also see Mae-gomon (meaning the front gate) next to the turret which has been restored in the original way since 2004, following the turret. The set of the turret and the gate looks very good and shows the authority of the castle. If you enter the gate, you will be at the main enclosure, which is an empty space but had the main hall for the lord in the past.

The three-level turret (in the back) and the Mae-gomon Gate (in the front), seen from the Take-no-maru Enclosure

The ruins of the main hall of the main enclosure

*The appearance around the main hall in the past, from the miniature model of the castle, exhibited by Komine-jo Castle History Museum*

The three-level turret stands on the northeastern corner of the enclosure. Its three floors are simply built with the 11.7meters (6 Ken in the traditional Japanese unit of length) square of fist floor, the 7.8 meters (4 Ken) square of the second one and the 3.9 meters (2 Ken) square of the top one. Each level also has simple roofing and has two-tones of colored walls from white plaster and black-painted lumber. Overall, the tower looks very beautiful with its good design and color arrangement.

The three-level turret, seen from the inside of the main enclosure

Interior of Turret is completely restored as well

You can enter the turret from the inside of the enclosure. From the processes of restoring this turret, officials always stay inside and monitor the safety of the visitors. For example, only five visitors can stay above the first floor at the same time under the current regulations. That’s because the turret was restored exactly in the same way as the original one except for the minimum safety equipment and explanation boards. If you walk around the first floor, you will find that it is not bright and many columns standing inside. Some of the columns came from pine trees of Inari Mountain, one of the hills where the severe battles occurred in 1868 during the Boshin War. That’s why you can see the bullet marks, caused by the war, on one of them.

the bullet marks on the column of the first floor

You can also see the defense systems like machicolations, loopholes and bay windows at the northern and eastern sides of the floor. These sides face the outsides of the enclosure, which could have been attacked by enemies.

A machicolation built in the first floor

The loopholes built in the first floor (the black square ones)

If you want to go to the second and third floors, please be careful when climbing the very steep stairways, but you can use the handrails and ropes.

As you go above, the floor becomes smaller and you may feel you are in a box on the top floor. The floor also has defense systems similar to other floors, where you can understand the turret is very practical for battles. In addition, you can see views of the outside through the lattice windows of the floor.

To be continued in “Shirakawa-Komine Castle Part3”
Back to “Shirakawa-Komine Castle Part1”

13.Shirakawa-Komine Castle Part1

An epochal event happened to the castle in 1627 when Nagashige Niwa came there as the founder of the Shirakawa Domain. Nagashige was a son of Nagahide Niwa who was in charge of building Azuchi Castle, the fist modernized castle in Japan, under Nobunaga Oda. He was a master of castle constructions by following the know-how and connection from his father.

Location and History

Yuki Clan builds Caste as their Branch

The Shirakawa area, which is modern day Shirakawa City, has been the entrance of the Tohoku Region. There was a famous barrier called Shirakawa-no-seki (meaning the Shirakawa Barrier) in the area during the Ancient Times. Shirakawa-Komine Castle was first built by the Yuki Clan during the 14th Century and simply called Komine (meaning small mountain) Castle. The clan had lived in another castle called Shirakawa Castle. They originally came from the Kanto Region to the south and settled there during the 13th Century. Komine Castle was built on a hill beside Abukuma River as their branch castle to protect their home. Komine Castle would later become more popular and also be called Shirakawa Castle. To avoid confusion, historians and officials classify them and call the second Shirakawa Castle, Shirakawa-Komine Castle.

The range of Shirakawa City and the location of the castle

Nagashige Niwa greatly modernizes Castle

The Yuki Clan was unfortunately fired by the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi during his unification of Japan at the end of the 16th Century. After that, Shirakawa-Komine Castle was followed by the Uesugi and the Gamo Clans as their branch. It was said that the basic structures of the castle were built by them but were still mostly made of soil. An epochal event happened to the castle in 1627 when Nagashige Niwa came there as the founder of the Shirakawa Domain. Nagashige was a son of Nagahide Niwa who was in charge of building Azuchi Castle, the fist modernized castle in Japan, under Nobunaga Oda. Nagashige joined the Western Alliance in the decisive battles in 1600 when he was a lord in the Hokuriku Region, against the Eastern Alliance which won and established the Tokugawa Shogunate. That’s why Nagashige was once fired by the shogunate. However, he was appointed as an independent lord again in 1603. One of the reasons may be that he was a master of castle constructions by following the know-how and connection from his father.

The portrait of Nagashige Niwa, *owned by Dairinji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

The portrait of Nagahide Niwa, *from the database of Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

*The imaginary drawing of Azuchi Castle*, exhibited by Gifu Castle

Nagashige renovated the castle as his home between 1629 to 1632. The shogunate also expected him to build a strong castle to monitor many non-hereditary feudal lords in the Tohoku Region to the north. Nagashige built stone walls, water moats, turrets and residences on the existing castle. He also changed the flow of the Abukuma River from the west to the north to make the castle more spacious and more defensive from that direction. The three-level turret was built at the northeastern corner of the main enclosure to monitor the Oshu Road to the north, too. It was 14m high and the symbol of the castle. It was also called the Main Tower in the first stage of the castle, but eventually stopped. This was probably done after the Main Tower of Edo Castle, the shogun’s home, was burned down in 1657 and not rebuilt. The Shirakawa Domain might have considered the relationship with the shogun.

The miniature model of Shirakawa-Komine Castle, exhibited by Komine-jo Castle History Museum

The Abukuma River flowing north of the castle

The restored three-level turret of Shirakawa-Komine Castle

Sadanobu Matsudaira starts Reform

The castle and the domain were followed by several hereditary feudal lord families such as the Sakakibara, Honda, Matsudaira (Okudaira), and Matsudaira (Yuki) Clans. The Tohoku Region including the Shirakawa area was not fertile at that time, often suffering damages from cold weather, droughts, and floods. Therefore, the Shirakawa domain was always having financial problems. In 1783, Sadanobu Matsudaira (Hisamatsu) became the lord and started to reform the government. His basic policies were to simplify lives and save money. He encouraged academics and military arts to the warriors, and more production to the farmers. In particular, his social policies were excellent. For example, he saved farmers even in the Tenmei Great famine during the 1780’s and supported their infants. He finally became the head of the members of the shogun’s council of elders in 1787 to lead Kansei Reforms in the central government. He also made detailed drawings of the castle buildings which would later give us an unexpected fortune.

*The self-portrait of Sadanobu Matsudaira (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons*)

Sadanobu also opened Nanko (meaning South Lake) Park for people

Castle falls in Battle of Shirakawaguchi

The Abe Clan finally followed the domain in 1823. However, Masato Abe, who was involved in the central government, but was punished due to his policy’s failure in 1866. As a result, the Shirakawa area was like terra nullius (officially owned by the shogunate), which would bring a big misfortune to the castle. In 1868 during the Meiji Restoration, the new government, which defeated the shogunate, and many domains in the Tohoku Region, which still supported the shogunate, confronted each other, known as the Boshin War. The new government army’s first target was the Shirakawa area, the entrance of the region. The alliance of the Tohoku domains had to protect the area and Shirakawa-Komine Castle together.

The photo of Masato Abe, the last lord of the castle *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

However, the castle had weak points to the south, the direction from which the army was coming. There were three hills (Inari, Tateishi, and Raijin Mountains) around 1km from the castle, which could be used for cannons to target it. In addition, the new government army were equipped with more advanced guns than the alliance troops. The alliance was also undisciplined without excellent commanders. On the 1st of May, the Battle of Shirakawa-guchi occurred. The army occupied these hills and fired at the troops and the castle. The alliance was eventually defeated and the castle was captured in only one day. Many of the castle buildings including the three-level turret were also burned down. After that, the alliance tried to get the castle back several times but failed each time. One of the reasons may be the strong defense of the castle to the north which the alliance withdrew to and was striking back from.

The relief map around the castle

The monument of the Battle of Shirakawa-guchi at the site

The destroyed Shirakawa-Komine Castle (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

To be continued in “Shirakawa-Komine Castle Part2”

13.白河小峰城（Shirakawa-Komine Castle）

白河駅から見た白河小峰城（A view of Shirakawa-Komine Castle from Shirakawa Station）

Location and History

現在白河市となっている地域は、日本の東北地方の入り口でありました。古代にはこの地域には、現代においてもよく知られている白河の関がありました。中世にはこの地域にはいくつか城が築かれましたが、白河小峰城はそのうちの一つでした。江戸時代になって、丹羽氏がこの城を治め、御三階櫓と呼ばれた三層の櫓を含め城を完成させました。御三階櫓は１４ｍの高さがあり、その大きさからは事実上の「天守」と言っていいものでした。
The area now called Shirakawa city was the entrance of the Tohoku district in Japan. In the Ancient Ages, the area had the Shirakawa Barrier which is very famous even now. In the Middle Ages, several castles were built in this area, one of them was the Shirakawa-Komine Castle. In the Edo Period, the Niwa clan took over and completed the castle including the three story turret called “Gosankai-Yagura”. Gosankai-Yagura was so large that it could actually be the castle keep “Tenshu” which was 14m tall.

*奥州白河城絵図部分、江戸時代（Part of the illustration of Shirakawa Castle in Oshu District in Edo Period）｜出典：国立公文書館*

城主は丹羽氏から松平氏など他の大名に何度か変わりました。明治維新のとき、白河口の戦いがこの城の周辺で、新政府軍と旧幕府軍の間で起こりました。幕府軍は新式の装備を備えた政府軍に敗れ去りました。そしてこの城は破壊され、御三階櫓もまた焼け落ちたのです。
The lords of the castle changed from Niwa to others such as the Matsudaira clan. During the Meiji Restoration, the Battle of Shirakawaguchi took placed between the new Government Amy and the former Shogunate Amy around the castle. The Shogunate Amy was beaten by the Government Amy with modern equipment, and the castle was destroyed. Gosankai-yagura was also burned down.

破壊された白河小峰城（The destroyed Shirakawa-Komine Castle）licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Features

それでも今なお、元の御三階櫓と全く同じ木造建築を見ることができています。
We can still see the wooden building exactly the same as the original Gosankai-Yagura.

それは、一時期城主だった松平定信が詳細な図面を作成させ、それが幸運にも現代に残っているからです。それに加えて白河市が、元来の工法で櫓を再建することを決断したからです。
That’s because the once lord Sadanobu Matsudaira ordered to make drawings of the castle in details and they luckily still remain. In addition, officials decided to rebuild the building in the original way.

松平定信自画像（The self-portlait of Sadanobu Matsudaira）licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedea Commons

ビジターは中に入ることができます。中はどちらかというと狭く、暗く、階段は急です。それは元通りに作られ、そもそも戦いのための建物だったからなのですが。案内係の方が安全に見て回れるよう誘導してくれます。また、城の周りを囲む石垣も見ものです。この石垣は、２０１１年の東日本大震災でかなり崩れてしまったのですが、現時点では復旧しています。
Visitors can enter inside. The inside is rather narrow, dark and the stairs are steep as it is made in the old style and originally made for battles. Official instructors will guide you in order to look around safely. It is also recommended to see stone walls surrounding the castle. These walls partly collapsed due to the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. But they have already been restored now.

石垣とその向こうに見える御三階櫓（The stone walls with Gosankai-Yagura over there）

Later Life

明治時代、城跡は公園に転用され、そこには野球場が建設されました。しかし、昭和時代の後半になって、市民の多くの要望により白河市は城跡の整備方針を変更しました。城を往時の状態のまま復元できないか考え始めたのです。それは、大型の城郭建築物を再建する方法としては、現代日本において初めての試みでした。
In the Meiji Era, the ruins of the castle were turned into a park in which the baseball stadium was constructed. But in the late Showa Era, officials changed its policy of developing the ruins because of a lot of request from citizens. They were wondering if the castle would be restored to the original condition. That would be the first attempt in the way large castle buildings are rebuilt in present day Japan.

１９７０年代の城周辺の航空写真（The aerial photo of the area around the castle in 1970s）

しかし、そこには大きな法的制約がありました。日本の建築基準法は高さ１３ｍを超える木造建築物に厳しい規制を課していました。この法に従えば、白河小峰城の櫓のような新築で大型の、且つ伝統的工法の木造建築物は作れないことになっているのです。そこで白河市は櫓の復元を続けるにあたって、それを建築物ではなく、法で認められる工作物として届け出ました。そして１９９１年に復元は完成したのです。
However, there was a big problem with the law. Japan’s Building Standard Act has very strict restrictions on wooden buildings which are over 13m tall. According to this law, new large old-style wooden buildings like the Shirakawa-Komine castle turret are not allowed to be built. So officials continued the restoration of the turret as not a building, but a structure that would be allowed by the law. It was completed in 1991.

ところが新たな問題が発生しました。国の当局が、櫓は「建築物」ではないのだからビジターを櫓のほとんどの場所には入れてはいけないと言ってきたのです。最終的には１９９３年に建築基準法に歴史的建築物に対する例外規定が追加され、御三階櫓は全て公開されることになったのです。
But another problem occurred as the government made the most part of the turret inaccessible visitors, because it was not “a building”. At last, the law had the provisions to be exempt for historical buildings in 1993. The three story turret Gosankai-yagura was finally open to visitors.

My Impression

本当に白河市の職員、市民の方々の成果に対しては尊敬の念を抱きます。その真摯な努力は、日本の城郭維持の新しい方法への流れを導いたと言えます。白河小峰城のケースは、その後続く白石城、掛川城、大洲城などの「平成の木造復元ブーム」のさきがけとなったのです。
I really respect the achievement of the officials and people in Shirakawa City. Their great effort led to the movement towards new methods for maintaining castles in Japan. The case of Shirakawa-Komine Castle was the pioneer of “The boom of wooden restoration in the Heisei era” followed by other castles such as Shiroishi, Kakegawa, Ozu and so on.

復元された掛川城（The restored Kakegawa Castle）taken by Oshiro-man from photo AC

How to get There

白河小峰城は、ＪＲ白河駅からすぐ近くです。白河駅のプラットフォームからも御三階櫓の素晴らしい眺めを見ることができます。
東京から白河駅まで：東北新幹線で新白河駅まで行き、東北本線に乗り換え。次の駅が白河駅です。
The castle is very near the JR Shirakawa station. You can even see the nice view of Gosankai-yagura from the platform.
From Tokyo to the station: Get the Tohoku Shinkansen super express to the Shin-Shirakawa st., and transfer to the Tohoku Line. The destination will be the next station.

白河駅のプラットフォームからの眺め（A view from the platform of Shirakawa Station）

Links and References

・小峰城跡【こみねじょうあと】 | 白河市公式ホームページ(City of Shirakawa)
・埋木帖～城の復元と法令①　白河小峰城三重櫓（only Japanese）