stone wall – ページ 5 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

167.Shingu Castle Part3

The ruins are still developing.

Features

Other Enclosures

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

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 Enclosure

The whole view of the Water Supply Enclosure

The stone walls of The Water Supply Enclosure

The 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 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.

That’s all. Thank you.
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167.Shingu Castle Part2

Castle ruins with a mysterious atmosphere

Features

Developed as Tankaku Castle Park

Today, the ruins of Shingu Castle have been developed by Shingu City as the Tankaku Castle Park. The park actually has a mysterious atmosphere because it consists of the castle ruins, the ruins of an amusement facility developed in the Showa Era, and the modern park facilities. It has two entrances but they were not originally for the castle. If you enter it from the main entrance on the western side, you will walk up the stairs to the hill for a while.

The map around the castle

Walking up the stairs from the main entrance

Then, you will eventually walk on the original Main Route which comes from another side and meets at some point. You can see the rest of the original route goes down, but you can not to go there directly over the poles and ropes.

The meeting point with the original Main Route

If you want to go there, you need to go around the residential area which surrounds the route.

The remaining sone walls among the residential area

Enclosures surrounded by Precise Stone Walls

There are four enclosures on the hill, which are the Matsunomaru, Kanenomaru, Main, and Barbican from the west to the east, with only the stone walls remaining. The Matsunomaru Enclosure is the first one from the Main Route, whose entrance is a defensive square space surrounded by stone walls, called Masugata. This enclosure also has the route to the Water Supply Enclosure beside the river, it should have been the pivot point for defense.

The entrance of the Matsunomaru Enclosure

The next is the Kanenomaru enclosure which has another Masugata entrance. Its stone walls were well processed and piled with precision, in a method called Kirikomi-Hagi. It had had the Main Hall for the lord in Asano’s period, but the hall was moved to the Second Enclosure at the foot during Mizuno’s period. It now has a square and a Japanese Garden which was probably built when it was used as a Ryokan or a traditional Japanese style hotel in the Showa Era.

The entrance of the Kanenomaru Enclosure

*The stone walls of the Kanenomaru Enclosure* seen from the foot of the hill

Main Enclosure with complex design

You will next reach the Main Enclosure, which has a more complex design. Basically, it has many different kinds of great remaining stone walls. First, it has doubled front gate ruins, especially, the second one is surrounded by stone walls piled with the most precision in the castle, using a method called Kikko-zumi or Piling like Tortoise Shell.

The map around the Main Enclosure

From the first gate ruins to the second gate ruins

The stone walls of the second gate ruins, built using a method called Piling like Tortoise Shell

Second, the stone walls of its Back Gate Ruins show an excellent surface treatment.

Finally, the stone walls surrounding the enclosure are curved elaborately like a folding screen called Byobu-ore which made it possible for the defenders to counterattack to the enemies’ side.

The stone walls of the Main Enclosure, like a folding screen

The top of the folding screen stone walls

These stone walls have two tiers with the upper one being newer which was built by the Mizuno Clan, contrasted by the older lower tier which was built by the Asano Clan. The enclosure looks like a museum for stone walls.

The stone walls of the Main Enclosure have two tiers, but the lower one is covered with grass

The stone walls of the Main Enclosure, seen from the Matsunomaru Enclosure

Unfortunately, the stone wall base for the Main Tower had mostly collapsed due to a typhoon in 1952. Only one side of it remains.

The few remaining stone wall base for the Main Tower

On the other hand, the enclosure was also heavily modified by several stairs and paths which could have been built using the collapsing stone walls. The added structures are supposed to have been built for the amusement facility during the Showa Era. Visitors may be confused to see these structures made of stones because there are not enough explanations for it.

The stone steps which were added in a later period

The enclosure is mixed with the original structures and added ones later

To be continued in “Shingu Castle Part3”
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155.Akagi Castle Part3

What was the most important value of this castle?

Features

Long narrow Western Ridge with Tiered Stone Walls

Consider visiting the western ridge as well. It has four tiered enclosures, which are also surrounded by stone walls, on the long narrow ridge. It had buildings including a warehouse. It doesn’t have a complex route like the eastern ridge, but the sides of it are artificially cut vertically to prevent enemies from attacking easily. If you look up the tiered stone walls to the Main Enclosure, they look so impressive.

The aerial photo around the castle

The western ridge seen from the Main Enclosure

Looking up the Main Enclosure from the western ridge

The stone walls of the Western Enclosure I

The stone foundations in the Western Enclosure II (Building ruins)

You can also climb down from the edge of it to the valley between the eastern and western ridges, called the Southern Enclosures. It is thought to be used for living quarters as the remains of cooking stoves were found there, and it seems like an obvious location because of the convenience of access.

The Southern Enclosures seen from above (The Southern Enclosure II in the center)

The Southern Enclosures (The Southern Enclosure III in the front)

Later History

After Akagi Castle was abandoned, many of its stone walls collapsed. This was because some of them were destroyed by the final occupants of the castle to show the castle could be no longer used, and others collapsed naturally over long periods of time. The ruins also got overgrown with trees and bushes. However, since they were designated as a National Historic Site in 1989, Kumano City researched and restored the ruins mainly by re-piling and repairing the stone walls, finishing 2004. For example, they reused the original stones as much as possible, but in the parts where that was not possible, they built new stone walls like the original, indicating with signs that this was not original structure.

The Eastern Enclosure before the restoring, form the signboard at the site

The stone walls of the Eastern Enclosure II after the restoring

The ruins have recently become popular as they sometimes look like a Castle in the Sky above the clouds in certain weather conditions.

The image of the Castle in the Sky, form the signboard at the site

My Impression

Of the ten or so of Takatora Todo’s great works I think this is the first of them to be built. He was in an area which was still surrounded by possible enemies who were heavily armed. I also think when he built the castle, he considered how to protect himself and his soldiers during the construction even if they were attacked by guns. The layout of the castle seems to protect the center from direct gunfire. I believe one of the most important values of the castle was that Takatora achieved this combining the original conditions at the site such as natural terrain and current technologies like building stone walls.

How to get There

If you want to visit the castle ruins by car, it is about 40 minutes from Kumano-Odomari IC on the Kumano-Owase Road. There is a parking lot below the eastern ridge of the castle.
By public transportation, it would be better to use a rental car from Kumanoshi Station or Shingu Station on the JR Kisei Line as there are few or no buses for the site from these stations.
To get to these stations from Tokyo: Take the Tokaido Shinkansen super express, transfer to the Nanki limited express at Nagoya Station.

The castle ruins seen from the parking lot

That’s all. Thank you.
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