Today, the ruins of Samegao Castle have been developed as part of a historical park called the Hida Historical Village, which also includes ancient house ruins and groups of burial mounds. If you drive to the ruins, you can use the parking lot beside Hida Shrine which also has a long history. You can also stop by the information center of the park from the parking lot, where you can get a guide for the ruins.
The map around the castle
The park entrancea restored ancient houseThe information center
There are three routes to the castle ruins, which are the Eastern, the Northern and the Southern Routes. The former two routes start from the information center. In addition, the northern one has few historical items, so if it is the first time for you to visit the ruins, the eastern one would be better. The northern one can be used when you return.
The three routes, from the signboard at the site, upwards is west on the map, adding the red lettersThe Northern RouteThe well ruins along the Northern Route, called “Kagetora Spring”
Going on Eastern Route
If you choose the Eastern Route as the original back route of the castle, you will walk on the route which goes on or beside the ridge of the mountain. You will eventually see the sign for “O-horikiri” or “Large Ditch 6” in Japanese. This is around the entrance of the ruins. You will come to Large Ditch 5, followed by several other ditches. The route is cut narrow over these ditches.
The relief map around the castle
The Eastern RouteThe sign for “Large Ditch 6” on the rightLarge Ditch 6The sign for “Large Ditch 5”Large Ditch 5The earthen bridge on the route is cut narrow over these ditches
Then, you will be in the Eastern First Enclosure which seems to have been a lookout.
Getting close to the Eastern First Enclosure over another ditchThe Eastern First EnclosureA view from the Eastern First Enclosure
After passing Ditch 6, you need to climb a very steep slope with a rope to the next enclosure. This must have been an important point for defense in the past.
The very steep slope after Ditch 6You need to climb this slope with a ropeLooking down the steep slope from above
You will soon reach Large Ditch 1, which is also the meeting point of the Eastern and the Southern Routes.
Large Ditch 1The meeting point of the Eastern and the Southern Routes
Second and Third Enclosures on Southern Route
In fact, the Southern Route was the original main route of the castle. The route zigzags through a valley and on another ridge to make enemies attack slowly. The Third and Second Enclosures are the last parts of the route after the ruins of the gateway for defense, called Koguchi. The excavation team found traces of a fire from both enclosures, probably because of the Otate Rebellion. In particular, a burned rice ball was found in the Third Enclosure, which may have been the portable ration for a soldier.
The Southern RouteThe gateway ruinsThe Third EnclosureThe Second Enclosure
There are so many attractions you should check out in the castle.
Features
From Main Gate to Nakagomon Gate Ruins
Today, Wakayama Castle site has been developed as Wakayama Castle Park by Wakayama City. It still includes the main portion of the original castle. It has five entrances same as the castle had, as the Main, Okaguchi, Oimawashi, former Akazuno, and former Fukiage Gates.
The map around the castle
If you want to see what the castle was like, it may be better to enter the Main Gate at the northeastern part of the park. The gate and the bridge in front it over the Inner Moat were restored in the present time. Once you enter the gate, you will see how large the castle grounds and moats are.
The Drawing of the Main Gate Area from the Illustrated collection of Famous Sites in Kii Province, from the signboard at the siteThe Main GateA view from the inside of the Main GateThe Inner Moat at the eastern side of the castle
You will go to the ruins of Nakagomon, the second gateway, which still have alternating stone walls. This is an interesting spot where you can see two types of the gate stone walls using roughly and precisely processed stones. In addition, you can see the old stone walls surrounding the hill using natural greenschists ahead. These walls were built in different periods.
The ruins of Nakagomon GateLooking down the alternated part from the top of the stone wallsThe walls using granite porphyry stones on the left and the walls using sand stones on the rightThe walls using natural Greenschist stones
Second and Western Enclosures
The Second Enclosure is the west of the Main Gate area. It has only a rock garden built in the present time, but it had the luxury Main Hall with turrets beside the Inner Moat. The Large Hall, part of the Main Hall, was moved to Osaka Castle and remained until 1947 when it was burned. Wakayama City is planning to restore the Large Hall at the original position with some turrets and the O-oku residence in a long term. The distant view of the Main Tower may be the best seen from the enclosure.
The map around the Second Enclosure
The inside of the Second EnclosureThe ruins of Monomi-Yagura Turret at the Second EnclosureThe Inner Moat at the northern side of the Second EnclosureThe Large Hall which was moved to Osaka Castle, quoted from the website of Wakayama CityA distant view of the Main Tower from the Second Enclosure
In the next Western Enclosure, the water garden, called Momijidani-teien or the Autumn Leave Valley Garden, was restored in the present time and designated as a National Scenic Beauty. the Passage Bridge between the Second and Western Enclosures was also restored in 2006. You can walk into the roofed and slanted bridge which is quite rare.
The Autumn Leave Valley Garden in the Western EnclosureThe Passage BridgeThe interior of the Passage Bridge
Remaining Okaguchi Gate
The area around the Okaguchi Gate at the southeastern part of the park is also great to visit. The gate building with the mud wall beside is one of the few remaining buildings of the castle and designated as an Important Cultural Property. It looks like a simple gate with a gabled roof, but it was sandwiched by turrets on both sides.
The map around the Okaguchi Gate
The Okaguchi GateThe remaining mud wallsThe top of the Okaguchi GatePart of the Drawing of the Okaguchi Gate Area from the Illustrated collection of Famous Sites in Kii Province, from the signboard at the site
Inside the gate, there is the second gateway similar to the Main Gate area. You can see a great and high stone wall base for Matsunomaru Turret on the left. Other stone walls form a square space called Masugata to prevent their enemies from attacking them. No buildings remain on them, however, these newer stone walls are also worth seeing.
The second gateway from the Okaguchi GateThe stone wall base for Matsunomaru TurretThe square space seen from the top of the base
Going Main Enclosure and Main Tower climbing Slope
There are two routes to the Main Enclosure on the hill as the Front Slope and the Back Slope. The Front Slope is a gentler but longer route. The first part of it is wide and zigzagged, with beautiful paved Greenschist stones.
The map around the Main Enclosure
The Front SlopeThe beautiful paved Greenschist stones
The last part is long, with old stone walls on the right hill side and several turret stone wall bases on the left valley side. Currently, visitors can enjoy a relaxing walk on that route, but at that time, the enemies would have found the route troubling as they could be counter-attacked.
The last part the Front SlopeA turret stone wall base on the valley side
The Back Slope is steeper but shorter. This route is also made and surrounded by old stone walls, but has a different taste with the mossy stones.
The Back SlopeThe mossy stone walls
The top of the hill has two peaks, one was for another Main Hall, and the other is for the Main Tower. The Main Hall coexisted with that of the Second Enclosure, but it was not often used for its small size and inconvenient location. There is a water station now and it is a good view point of the Main Tower.
Going to the Main Enclosure from the Front SlopeThe Main Hall Ruins of the Main EnclosureA view of the Main Tower from the ruins
Most visitors’ destination is the Main Tower. It is actually a modern building, not original, but was apparently restored in 1958. Its stone wall base is original and thought that it is the oldest among the stone walls in the castle. A building like the Main Tower may have been built on it from the first stage.
A close view of the Main TowerThe stone wall base for the Main Tower
The style of the tower is called Renritsu-siki or the Tower Grouping, which refers to the Large and Small Main Towers and turrets being connected by Hall Turrets like a corridor. The interior of the tower is used as a historical museum and the top floor is used as the observation platform.
You can see the style of the Tower Grouping from the top floorA storage box for tea ceremony utensils, one of the exhibitions in the towerThe top floor of the Large Main Tower as the observation platformAn eastern view including the Main Hall Ruins from the platform
Other than that, a small enclosure, called Demaru or Barbican, sticks out of the Main Enclosure towards the river. It looks sharp and cool. It was used to look outside. Because of it, a view of the Kumano-gawa River from around the enclosure is so great.
The map around the castle
The Barbican EnclosureA view around the Kumano-gawa River
You can also climb down to the Water Supply Enclosure beside the river from the Matsunomaru Enclosure if the path is open. It was recently excavated and discovered that it was used as a trade route of the charcoal product which have been known as Binchotan until now. The area around has been developed for visitors to walk around after the excavation.
The path to the Mizunote Enclosure from the Matsunomaru EnclosureThe whole view of the Water Supply EnclosureThe stone walls of The Water Supply EnclosureThe promenade along the Kumano-gawa River
Another attraction of the castle is the remaining stone walls of the Second Enclosure at the foot of the hill. The inside of it is used as a kindergarten, but you can see the stone walls outside, which still stands out among the city area. You should also check out the corner of the walls, which are piled using rectangular stones alternating each other in a method called Sangi-zumi.
The stone walls of the Second EnclosureThe corner of the walls, piled using rectangular stones alternating each other
Later History
Shingu Castle was abandoned after the Meiji Restoration. All of the castle buildings were demolished. The ruins were eventually privately-owned, as a result, the Ryokan opened in the Kanenomaru Enclosure in 1952. Other amusement facilities, like a cable car and a beer garden, also opened around the Main Enclosure. The modification of the enclosure was probably done at that time. In 1980, Shingu City bought the ruins to make them to convert them into a park. The city has been researching and preserving the ruins since they were designated as a National Historic Site in 2003. The city is also thinking about restoring some castle buildings in the future.
The trace of the platform of the cable car below the Main Enclosure
My Impression
I think Shingu Castle Ruins has a big potential to be a great historical site, and soon this will happen. I also think that the city has a lot of things for visitors to do. It at least has to classify historical items and other items first in order to make people understand what they were. Then, it also has to preserve them in good condition before they start restoring some buildings. I would like to go back to the ruins again once the situation has improved.
The current situation of the Mian Enclosure
How to get There
It is about a 40-minute drive away from Kumano-Odomari IC on the Kumano-Owase Road. There is a parking lot halfway up the hill near the eastern entrance of the park to the Main Enclosure. If you want to use public transportation, It takes about 15 minutes on foot from JR Shingu Station. To get to Shingu Station from Tokyo: Take the Tokaido Shinkansen super express, and transfer to the Nanki super express at Nagoya Station.
