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

93.Hitoyoshi Castle Part3

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

Enemies must have been attacked from above

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.

A 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 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 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 portrait of Takamori Saigo by* **Edoardo Chiossone** *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons*)

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 butteries

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 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.

Links and References

・Hitoyoshi Tourist Information, Hitoyoshi City

That’s all. Thank you.
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195.Nobeoka Castle Part2

The 1,000 Murder Stone Walls as the highlight of the castle,

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Nobeoka Castle was abandoned and most of the castle buildings were demolished. Some buildings such as the Drum Turret remained for a while. However, the turret was burned down. In 1877, a hero of the restoration, Takamori Saigo started a rebellion against the government known as the Seinan War. From the south in Kagoshima, his troops started an attack on Kumamoto Castle. However, after failing to capturing Kumamoto Castle, they were forced to withdraw and battles took place all over the Kyushu Region. Nobeoka was one of them. In fact, Nobeoka Castle was held by the government army, but their navy shot the castle by mistake. The army had to burn the turret to show the castle was already friendly.

The monument of the battle of Wadagoe at the Nobeoka area between the Saigo troops and the government army (licensed by shikabane taro via Wikimedia Commons)

Another interesting episode for the castle is about the 1,000 Murder Stone Walls. In fact, the nickname first came out in Meiji Era after abandonment of the castle. It is said that there were gaps between the base stones where children could play inside. That might have made some people imagine and create such an interesting story to express how great the stone walls were.

Features

Sandbank becomes City Area

Today, if you visit the ruins of Nobeoka Castle on foot from JR Nobeoka Station, you will go across the Gokasegawa river by using one of the bridges over it. You will also see the hill which the castle ruins are located a little far away from the bridge. The sandbank, sandwiched by the rivers, has become a modern city area with many official buildings and no moats remain in the area, so you can easily arrive at the eastern edge of the ruins.

The map around the Nobeoka area

Castle Ruins becomes Castle Mountain Park

The castle ruins have become Shiroyama-Koen or the Castle Mountain Park, which has two entrances in the north and the southeast. The former was the main route to the castle and the latter was the back route. Either route is well developed for visitors. If you walk around the hill to the northern entrance of the park, you will see old stone walls partially surrounding the hill. You will eventually enter the park through the restored Northern Main Gate.

The map around the castle

The restored Northern Main Gate *(licensed by ja:User:Sanjo via Wikimedia Commons)*

Stone Walls are modified due to their Nickname

After entering the gate, here comes the highlight of the castle, the 1,000 Murder Stone Walls once you enter the Second Enclosure. The stone walls surround the Main Enclosure, upper than the Second Enclosure where you can look up close by. They look so great and it is unbelievable to imagine how the stone craftsmen built them 19m high using such rough natural stones. In addition, if you look at the corner base stone which might have caused the collapse of the stone walls, it is enforced with concrete. According to the signboard at the site, it had been done before the Emperor Showa visited in 1935. In fact, the 1,000 Murder Stone Walls is kind of an overstatement for the great stone walls, which was created after the castle was abandoned. However, the emperor was treated as Arahitogami or a Living God until the World War II. That’s probably why people in Nobeoka enforced the stone to avoid any accidents.

This picture shows the corner base stone clearly *(licensed by ja:User:Sanjo via Wikimedia Commons)*

To be continued in “Nobeoka Castle Part3”
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97.Kagoshima Castle Part3

The last place where Samurais and Castles existed

Features

Melancholy Saigo Caves

Finally, please consider visiting the Saigo Caves which was the last place of Takamori Saigo and the Seinan War. This place is on the way to car road between the city area and the top of the mountain. Therefore, you can choose the timing of your visit either when you go to or return from the top. This is also another popular historical spot but there are just several caves in a line on the cliff. You may feel sad seeing them and imagining Saigo or his soldiers having to choose them as the last place, not a castle-like place.

The relief map around the castle

Later History

In the Seinan War, the remaining castle buildings of the Second Enclosure were also burned down. After that, the castle ruins at the foot of the mountain were used as schools like Kagoshima University. After the university moved to another location, the Reimeikan museum opened in the Main Enclosure in 1983. As for a historical site, the mountain part was first designated as a National Historic Site in 1931. In addition, the foot part is being added to the site based on the achievement of the recent excavation. Kagoshima Prefecture is also considering to restore other structures at Main Enclosure such as turrets and moats in the future.

The Reimeikan museum seen from the trail to Shiroyama Mountain

The illuminated Main Enclosure of Kagoshima Castle

My Impression

When I saw the Saigo Caves, I felt like Saigo had been in a guerrilla warfare. If he had fought in a final battle of the Sengoku Period, he would have stayed in a castle building such as the Main Tower, like the Toyotomi Clan used to do at Osaka Castle in the summer campaign of the siege of Osaka in 1615, or on the top of a mountain, like Masashige Kusunoki used to do at Chihaya Castle in the siege of Chihaya in 1333. However, the situation and technology had completely changed from those periods. I think Seinan War proved the end of the warriors as well as the end of Japanese castles.

The summer campaign of the siege of Osaka folding screens, owned by Osaka Castle Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The illustration of Siege of Chihaya, attributed to Yoshikazu Utagawa, in the Edo Period, owned by Minatogawa Shrine (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

How to get There

If you want to visit the castle ruins by car, it is about a 20 minute drive away from Kagoshima-kita IC on the Kyushu Expressway. There are several parking lots around the castle ruins. You can also use the parking lot of Reimeikan if you enter the museum.
If you want to use public transportation, you can take the Kagoshima City-view Bus from Kagoshima-chuo Station and get off at the Satsuma-gishihimae bus stop or take the city tram bound for Kagoshima-ekimae from the station and get off at the Shiyakusho-mae stop.
From Fukuoka to Kagoshima-chuo Station: Take the Kyushu Shinkansen super express.
From Tokyo to Kagoshima-chuo Station: Take the express bus from Kagoshima Airport after using a plane.

The Shiyakusho-mae stop of the city tram

That’s all. Thank you.
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