stone wall base for main tower – ページ 9 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

77.Takamatsu Castle Part2

A glimpse of Sea Castle remains.

Features

To Inside of Castle with seeing Ushitora Turret

Now, the ruins of Takamatsu Castle have become Tamamo Park (tamamo is an old Japanese word which means something like “beautiful algae”.) The range of the park is inside the inner moat and part of the middle moat of the castle. The park has several entrances, but if you drive to the ruins of the park, you can park in front of the main gate called Asahi-mon. From the parking lot, you will see a great view of the remaining three-story turret called Ushitora-Yagura with the background of some modern buildings. The turret was actually moved from the Eastern Enclosure to the present position in 1967.

The aerial photo around the castle

Ushitora-Yagura Turret that can be seen from the parking lot

You can enter the gate after walking on the Asahi-bashi Bridge over the middle moat. You will also go through a square space surrounded by large stone walls called Masugata, which was built for defense.

Entering the Main Gate after crossing the Asahi-bashi Bridge

Going Third, Second Enclosures, and Main Tower Base in Main Enclosure

The inside of the gate is the riding ground enclosure or Sakura-no-Baba which is now planted with lots of cherry trees. Then, you go across the earthen bridge to enter the ruins of the Sakura-mon Gate and the third enclosure. However, as of February 2022, the gate is under construction and scheduled to be restored by the spring of 2022, so you will have to use the temporary path.

The earthen bridge to the Third Enclosure

The Sakura-mon Gate under the restoration

The third enclosure still has a traditional hall, called Hiunkaku, which is not original to the castle, but was built as the house for the former lord, the Matsudaira Clan, in modern times. It is now owned by Takamatsu City and used for ceremonies and events. The enclosure also has a Japanese garden you can enjoy looking around.

The Japanese garden in the Third Enclosure

You can go further from the third enclosure to the second enclosure and the main enclosure with the stone wall base for the Main Tower. The only way to get to the main enclosure is by crossing the restored roofed wooden bridge called saya-bashi.

From the Second Enclosure to the Main Enclosure

You can also go on the top of the base and see a good city view, and inside of the base which was recently repaired. In fact, the city is considering restoring the main tower.

The inside of the base for the Main Tower

Tsukimi Turret beside Sea in old days

I recommend you also visit the northern side of the park, which was the sea in the past. You will see the other remaining three-story turret called Tsukimi-Yagura with the remaining Mizunote-mon Gate and the Watari-Yagura Turret. The Mizunote-mon Gate was open to the sea and is the only remaining such gate. The Tsukimi-Yagura Turret is also very beautiful with many decorations. You can imagine them standing out beside the sea in the past.

Tsukimi-Yagura Turret, Mizunote-mon Gate and Watari-Yagura Turret

This area in front of the turrets and gate was in the sea

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

4.Hirosaki Castle Part2

The castle remains in nearly its original range.

Features

From Outer Moat to Third Enclosure

Surprisingly, almost all the range of Hirosaki Castle remains as Hirosaki Park.

The aerial photo around the castle, it looks almost the same as the old illustration of the castle below.

Part of the illustration of Hirosaki Castle in Tsugaru District, in the Edo Period, exhibited by the National Archives of Japan

If you visit the park from the south such as Hirosaki Station, you will enter the Main Gate at the Third Enclosure surrounded by the earthen walls and the Outer Moat. You will also find huge amount of cherry trees planted on the earthen walls and can imagine beautiful cherry blossoms even if it is not spring.

Around the Outer Moat with cherry trees planted

The gate is one of the two remaining gate buildings at the enclosure. You may also find the gate turning to the other side not facing you. This is because other castles built in the same period as Hirosaki Castle usually have a gateway with two gate buildings. The first one is facing the visitors and the second one is turning to other the side. The two buildings form a square space with other walls to protect the castle, called “Masugata”. In the case of Hirosaki Castle, the first one was omitted, which has a very unique style.

An example of the Masugata style from the restored Yamanote-mon Gate of Kofu Castle

There is an Information Center in the enclosure.

Second Enclosure still has all its Gates and turrets

The aerial photo of around the Second Enclosure

You will walk inside, then see the Second Enclosure surrounded by the earthen walls and the Central Moat. It is also amazing that the two gates and three Three-Story Turrets of the enclosure all remain now. These turrets have cooper plate roof tiles, which make them look thin. The combination of the turrets and the earthen walls also look very good. There is an Information Center in the enclosure.

The remaining Second Enclosure South Gate

The remaining Second Enclosure Tatsumi Turret

The remaining Second Enclosure Hitsuji-saru Turret

Main Enclosure where Main Tower was once moved

The aerial photo around the Main Enclosure

You will soon reach the Main Enclosure with the remaining Main Tower inside the Inner Moat. In fact, the stone walls on the eastern side of the enclosure are being repaired (as of Sep 2021). This is because the surface of the stone walls are inflated that might collapse if there’s an earthquake.

The stone walls of the Main Enclosure which are being restored

For this reason, the Main Tower was once moved from the stone wall base at the southeast corner to the center of the enclosure. Therefore, you can see the Main Tower close by. The two sides of the tower that faces the outside are much decorated. On the other hand, the other sides facing the inner part are very simple. It might be for that the tower was at first built as a substitute, anyway it’s so interesting.

The present stone wall for the Main Tower without it

The sides of the Main Tower which are decorated

The sides of the Main Tower which are very simple

You can also see the large stone base for the first five-layer Main Tower at the southwest corner in the enclosure. If the weather is fine, you can see a great view of Iwaki-san Mountain from there.

The stone wall base for the first Main Tower

The view could be like this if the weather is fine (taken by u**m from photoAC)

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

11.Nihonmatsu Castle Part2

Castle ruins from many different periods

Features

The aerial photo around the castle

Foot of Mountain

The area around the castle was turned into a park called Kasumigajo Park (Kasumigajo is a nickname of the castle which means “Castle with a Mist”). The great stone walls which are said the Kato Clan built remain at the foot of the mountain. The buildings of the Minowa-mon Gate, the Two-story Turret and the Tamon Turret were rebuilt on the walls during the present time. Visitors usually enter the Minowa-mon Gate. The statues of the child soldiers, Nihonmatsu Shonentai stand in front of it.

The stone walls at the foot of the mountain

The statues of the child soldiers, Nihonmatsu Shonentai

After passing the zigzagged route surrounded by the stone walls, you will enter the Third Enclosure. It is now empty, but this is where the Main Hall used be for the lord which was also the center of the castle in the Edo Period.

Top of Mountain

After that, you can climb up to the Main Enclosure on the top of the mounttain through the trail the Hatakeyama Clan might have originally made. The mountain part was said to be first built for the castle. When you are alomost at the top, you will see large scale old stone walls on a gentle slope under the Main Enclosure. They are called Ohishigaki or the Large Stone Walls which were probably built by the Gamo Clan. They are also one of the oldest stone walls in the Tohoku Region. At this point, you will soon reach the top.

The Main Enclosure on the top is surrounded by the wonderful stone walls which still look new today. They were originally build by the Kato Clan or the Niwa Clan, and recently restored after the recent excavation. They also have three stone bases for the Main Tower, the Eastern Turret, and the Western Turret. The Eastern Turret and the Western Turret seemed to be actually built on these bases, but there has been no evidence on whether the Main Tower was built or not. If such relics were found or such drawings were discovered it would prove that these structures were indeed built the way we suspected.

The restored stone walls of the Main Enclosure

The inside of the Main Enclosure, the back is the stone wall base for the Eastern Turret

Great view from Main Enclosure

Anyway, you can see a great wide view of the area around the castle on the top of the stone walls. The Mountains in the Tohoku Region such as Adatara-yama Mountain can be seen across the great distance. You can feel you are standing on the region with a lot of mountains. In addition to this, you will see monuments with written description of senior vassals of the Boshin War who committed suicide beside the stone wall base for the Main Tower.

Adatara-yama Mountain that can be seen across the great distance

The monuments for the senior vassals of the Nihonmatsu Domain, who committed suicide

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