The path to the top becomes zigzagging and the highlight of the castle, the great Ano-zumi high stone walls appear soon.
Features
Third Enclosure as Parking lot
Today, the ruins of Tsunomure Castle have been developed by Kusu Town since they were designated as a National Historic Site in 2005. If you drive to the ruins, you can go from the foot of the mountain to the Third Enclosure at the middle of the slope through the paved forest road. However, please be careful when passing each other as the road is narrow. The Third Enclosure has become a parking lot which is still surrounded by stone walls. You can also see some collapsed stones lying around the enclosure. Some historians speculate that they came from the Climbing Stone Walls which the builder, Takamasa Mori might have brought and built from his experience of the invasion of Korea.
The map around the castle
The entrance of the forest roadThe Third Enclosure became a parking lotSome of the lying stones around the enclosure
Great Ano-zumi High Stone Walls
You will walk from the Third Enclosure to the center of the ruins above. You will also see some Vertical Moats made of soil on the slopes to prevent enemies from moving freely, which had been built before Takamasa came. That’s why the final version of the castle was mixed with the older and newer items. The path to the top becomes zigzagging and the highlight of the castle, the great Ano-zumi high stone walls appear soon. These stone walls made of natural stones and rubble, which remain for about 100m long by over 7m high, may look rough but were actually piled elaborately. You can feel the unique techniques of the past stone guild.
The vertical dry moatsClimbing the zigzagging pathThe high stone wallsThe stone walls, built in the Ano-zumi way, look so great
Going to Second Enclosure after passing Main Gate Ruins
You will next pass the Main Gate Ruins beside the current path, which had the defensive Koguchi entrance and its turret gate. The gate was also the entrance of the Well Enclosure, a lifeline of the castle. In fact, the gate was once called “the Back Gate” by local people and historians according to traditions, however, it is now considered “the Main Gate” as the studies about the castle improve. Please make sure that some of the official pamphlets and signboards still say it is the Back Gate. In that case, you need to understand it is actually the Main Gate.
The ruins of the Main GateA signboard still says it is the Back Gate Ruins, inside the red circle in Japanese
You will eventually walk up to the Second Enclosure, which is also surrounded by stone walls. The excavation team found stone foundations for some buildings in the enclosure. The enclosure also had the Western Gate Ruins, which had a gate with roof tiles and entrance, similar to the Main Gate. In addition, the gate was once called “the Main Gate”. Overall, the area above the Ano-zumi stone walls below the second enclosure was certainly modernized by Takamasa Mori.
Going to the Second EnclosureThe stone walls of the Second EnclosureThe inside of the Second EnclosureThe ruins of the Western Gate
Nakatsu City planned to replace old stones with new ones to re-pile the walls because it didn’t think the stones were original. The construction was just on the point of starting.
Features
Many Shrines in Main Enclosure
There are now many shrines in the Main Enclosure such as Nakatsu Shrine, Nakatsu Grand Shrine, and Okudaira Shrine. An interesting one among them is Kii Shrine, which worships a local warlord, Shigefusa Kii who was invited but murdered in the castle by Nagamasa Kuroda, Yoshitaka’s son. A tradition says Nagamasa established the shrine because he was feared by a ghost of Shigefusa’s revenge and regretted his action.
The map around the Main Enclosure
Nakatsu ShrineNakatsu Grand ShrineOkudaira Shrine on the leftKii Shrine, quoted from the Tourism Nakatsu Yabakei websiteThe portrait of Shigefusa Kii, owned by Tentokuji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Third and Second Enclosures
The Third Enclosure is next to the Main Enclosure, but has become the city area. It has the Main Gate Ruins to the center of the castle, where the past visitors had to pass one more gate, Kuro-mon to reach the Shiki-mon Gate of the Main Enclosure. You can still see part of the great stone walls of the Main Gate among the modern residences.
The map around the castle
The current THird EnclosureThe remaining stone walls of the Main Gate, the front part was first built by the Kuroda Clan and the back part was added by the Hosokawa Clan to make a defensive square space called MasugataThe inside of the gate was like this illustration, the remaining part is marked white, the Kuro-mon Gate and the Shiiki-mon Gate are below it, from the signboard at the site
The other neighboring Second Enclosure has become a park where you can see some remaining stone foundations of Samurai residences.
The Second Enclosure ParkThe ruins of the Samurai residences
Fukuzawa’s Old House
Another recommendation you can visit is the old house of Yukichi Fukuzawa, about 1km away from the enclosure in the east. He bought this house when he was 16 years old and lived in it until 19. He came from a lower warrior class in the Nakatsu Domain, so the house can be seen as an example of those which lower class warriors lived in. The house is well maintained, for instance, the thatched roof of it is supported by wooden bars. A storehouse made with thick earthen walls also remains beside the house, where Yukichi studied on its second floor.
Fukuzawa’s Old HouseThe interior of the houseThe supported thatched roofThe storehouse where Fukuzawa studied
Later History
After the Meiji Restoration, Nakatsu Castle was abandoned and all the castle buildings, except for the Main Hall in the Main Enclosure, were demolished. The hall was used as a government office for a while, but was burned down in 1877 by a disturbance during the Seinan War. After that, the castle ruins were used for the several shrines and the Imitation Main Tower was built in 1964. A recent topic about the castle ruins was that there was an internal controversy among the officials of Nakatsu City when it was planning to repair the stone walls opposite the riverside in the Main Enclosure in 2002. The department in charge planned to replace old stones with new ones to re-pile the walls because it didn’t think the stones were original. The construction was just on the point of starting. However, the Cultural Heritage Division argued that the wall might be original and should be preserved. As a result, the stone walls were repaired using the old stones, as it had been discovered that they were the original ones used when Yoshitaka Kuroda first built the castle. The city announced that they are the oldest remaining stone walls in the Kyushu Region.
The repaired stone walls which use the original stones
My Impression
When I visited the current Nakatsu Castle, I was little confused that the site was mixed with the original items and many ones added later such as the Imitation Tower and the shrines. However, as I learned about history of the castle and people in Nakatsu, I understood that these items came from how they made great efforts on maintaining the castle and ruins. I also understood that running castle buildings can be difficult for private sectors which need profit to continue operating. Please give it your consideration to visit Nakatsu Castle when you travel around Nakatsu City.
The Imitation Main Tower seen from the riverside
How to get There
If you want to visit there by car, it is about a 15 minutes drive away from Sadanomi IC on the Nakatsu-Hita Road. There are several parking lots around the park. By public transportation, it takes about 15 minutes on foot to get there from JR Nakatsu Station. From Tokyo or Osaka to Nakatsu Station: Take the express bus to Oita Station from Oita Airport after using a plane, and get the train on the Nippo Line from the station.
A big event for the Hitoyoshi area happened in 1877, when a hero of the restoration, Takamori Saigo started a rebellion against the government known as the Seinan War.
Features
Climbing to Moutain part
Next comes the hill area of the castle, which probably has existed since the first stage of it, but was modernized with stone walls in the later stage. There are no buildings but the foundations remain. You will climb the ruins of Oshita-mon or the Lower Gate which was the only entrance to the Third, Second, and Main Enclosures. You will need to climb wide stone steps and then turn right and walk around below the edge of the hill, where the defenders on the hill must have attacked enemies in the past.
The map around the castle
The ruins of Oshita-mon GateClimbing the stone stepsEnemies must have been attacked from aboveThe path goes around below the hill
You will first be in the Third Enclosure which widely covers the edge of the hill. The enclosure has mostly been made of soil and a square since the castle was active. It may be a good viewing spot of the Hitoyoshi city area.
The Third EnclosureA view of the city area from the Third Enclosure
Going to Second and Main Enclosures
The Second Enclosure is higher than the Third Enclosure and surrounded by stone walls with two ruins of defensive gates, Nakano-gomon and Uzumi-gomon. This is because there was another Main Hall for the lord which had been considered as the center of the castle before the Mitachi hall was built below the hill.
The Second Enclosure seen from the Third EnclosureThe ruins of Nakano-gomon GateThe ruins of Uzume-gomon GateThe inside of the Second Enclosure
The Main Enclosure is the highest enclosure of the castle, but it is small and had no Main Tower. Instead, this enclosure seemed to be used as a religious spot of the Sagara Clan. Its stone steps and foundations have become curved which make us feel its long history.
The stone steps to the Main EnclosureThe inside of the Main EnclosureThe stone steps and foundations have become curved
Later History
After the Meiji Restoration, Hitoyoshi Castle was abandoned and all the castle buildings were sold or demolished. Only one gate of the Main Hall, called Horiai-mon, was move to the residence of a senior vassal, the Shingu Clan and remains. A big event for the Hitoyoshi area happened in 1877, when a hero of the restoration, Takamori Saigo started a rebellion against the government known as the Seinan War. His troops started an attack on Kumamoto Castle from the south in Kagoshima, while many warriors of Hitoyoshi also joined the Saigo’s side as the Hitoyoshi Party. However, they failed to capture Kumamoto Castle and withdrew to the Hitoyoshi area. The party suggested for Saigo to go there because the area has natural defenses, surrounded by mountains.
The Horiai-mon GateThe portrait of Takamori Saigo by Edoardo Chiossone (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)Kumamoto Castle
Saigo’s headquarters was at the Eikokuji Temple in the area and his staff stayed in the Shingu Clan’s residence. They thought they would be able to hold the area for a long period of time, but the response of the government army was prompt. A gun battle occurred between the army in the north and the Saigo troops in the south, binding the Kumagawa River. The Saigo troops shot from around the Third Enclosure of Hitoyoshi Castle on the hill, however, the shot did not reach the enemy because their guns were outdated. As a result, Saigo withdrew again to other places and was eventually defeated at Kagoshima Castle, his home base. The Hitoyoshi Party surrendered before then.
The map aound the castle
The Third Enclosure of hitoyoshi Castle, where the Saigo troops set their butteriesThe ruins of Kagoshima Castle
As castle ruins, they have been developed as Hitoyoshi Castle Park and were designated as a National Historic Site in 1961. Some castle buildings at the riverside, such as Sumi-Yagura or the Corner Turret and Otemon-waki-Tamon Yagura or the row-style turret beside the Main Gate, were recently restored. The Hitoyoshi Castle History Museum opened in 2005 but is currently closed as mentioned in the previous section.
The restored castle buildingsThe closed Hitoyoshi Castle History Museum
My Impression
I was very impressed by the great view of Hitoyoshi Castle Ruins with a large stream of the Kumagawa River. I understood nature could provide not only good things like the terrain for the castle but also bad things like disasters. I really hope that the castle ruins will be completely repaired soon and would like to visit their again so that I will be looking forward to seeing the mysterious basement in the museum and walking over the castle ruins to see larger area of the first stage of the castle.
The panorama view of Hitoyoshi Castle Ruins from a bridge over the Kumagawa River
How to get There
If you want to visit the castle ruins by car, it is about a 10-minute drive away from Hitoyoshi IC on the Kyushu Expressway. There is a parking lot for visitors in the castle ruins. If you want to use public transportation, it takes about 20 minutes on foot to get there form JR Hitoyoshi Station. From Tokyo or Osaka to Hitoyoshi Station: Get an express bus from Kagoshima Airport or Sin-Yatsushiro Station of the Kyushu Shinkansen super express, get off at the Hitoyoshi IC bus stop, and transfer to the Sanko bus bound for the station.
