Takamatsu castle – ページ 2 – 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”

77.Takamatsu Castle Part1

One of the three greatest sea castles in Japan

Location and History

Chikamasa Ikoma built Castle based on experience

Takamatsu Castle, one of the greatest sea castles in Japan, was located in Sanuki Province which is now Kagawa Prefecture. The name of the prefectural capital, Takamatsu City, actually originates from this castle. Chikamasa Ikoma, who was a warrior in the 16th Century during the Sengoku Period, first built the castle. Chikamasa took part in many battles such as those at Nagashino Castle, Ishiyama Honganji Temple (former Osaka Castle), and Bicchu-Takamatsu Castle under the ruler Hideyoshi Toyotomi. Chikamasa contributed to the unification of the country by Hideyoshi who gave Chikamasa Sanuki Province in 1587.

The location of the castle

The portrait of Chikamasa Ikoma, owned by Kokenji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The present Osaka Castle, which was once Ishiyama Honganji Temple

Chikamasa at first used the existing Hiketa Castle, but he decided to build a new castle as his home base. From his experiences, his concerns about the castle were:
・whether it would be able to get naval support during battles.
・whether it would be able to withstand gun attacks.
・whether it would be able to survive a long siege.
In the end, he devised Takamatsu Castle, which was completed in 1590.

Castle surrounded by Sea and Triples Moats

Takamatsu Castle was built facing the Seto Inland Sea to the north, making it possible to ship directly to the sea. The castle was also surrounded by water moats tripled in the other directions, to which the sea supplied water. The main enclosure which had the three-layer main tower was isolated in the inner moat, connecting to the second enclosure with only a wooden bridge called saya-bashi. The third enclosure was next to the second enclosure, which had the gate opening to the sea. The enclosure also had the main hall for the lord of the castle. Such a castle was classified not only as a plain castle, but also a sea castle. It would be impossible for enemies to completely besiege this castle with technology at that time.

The folding screen of Takamatsu Castle and the castle town, owned by Kagawa Prefectural Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Matsudaira Clan followed and developed Castle

The Ikoma Clan was allowed to maintain their territory of Sanuki Province for a while by supporting the Tokugawa Shogunate in the battle of Sekigahara in 1600. However, the clan was forcibly moved by the shogunate in 1640 due to their internal strife. After that, the Shogun’s relative, Yorishige Matsudaira was sent to Takamatsu Castle as a replacement for the Ikoma Clan. Though lords were basically not allowed to renovate their castles at that time, he developed and improved Takamatsu Castle by rebuilding the main tower and adding the northern and eastern enclosures. This was because he was also responsible for monitoring non-hereditary feudal lords in Shikoku Island, who might have been against the shogunate.

The old photo of the Main Tower Yorishige rebuilt

Part of the whole illustration of Old Takamatsu Castle, the illustration drawn after Yorishige developed the castle, from the signboard at the site

The Matsudaira Clan governed the castle and the area around as the Takamatsu Domain until the end of the Edo Period. In the peaceful time of the Edo Period, the beautiful view of the castle became a famous attraction for people. A guide book at the time says that the castle looks as if it is a floating castle on the waves from the Seto Inland Sea. The castle has also been said to be one of the three greatest sea castles in Japan.

The miniature model of Takamatsu Castle and the castle town, exhibited by Tamamo Park Museum

To be continued in “Takamatsu Castle Part2”

177.Hiketa Castle Part2

The great stone walls of the castle, the great view from the castle

Features

Becoming hiking trail now

Now, the ruins of Hiketa Castle has also become a hiking trail. There are two trails to the top of the mountain called the Tanoura Campsite side route and the Hiketa Port side route. If you drive to the castle ruins, it’s better for you to park beside the Tanoura Campsite side route.

The map around the castle

The location map of Hiketa Castle Ruins at the site

The trail is steep, but the top area is relatively flat. That meant it was a good point for a mountain castle as it was difficult to attack but easy to defend. You will first find the Northern Enclosure which has no stone walls. It was thought that the enclosure remained the same as what it had been before the Ikoma Clan came. However, the clan didn’t use it as their castle.

The entrance of the Tanoura Campsite side route

You can see the trail is very steep from above

Great stone walls of Northern Second Enclosure

You will now see the apex of the castle, the doubled tier stone walls which surrounded the Northern Second Enclosure. The upper tier is 2 to 3m high and the lower tier is 5 to 6m high. So together, they are almost 10m high in total. Though the upper one is unfortunately covered to prevent it from collapsing, even just seeing the lower one is great.

Approaching the Northern Second Enclosure

The upper tier of the stone walls of the Northern Second Enclosure

The lower tier of the stone walls of the Northern Second Enclosure

These stone walls are originally form the Ikoma Clan’s period which can’t be seen in other castles like Takamatsu and Marugame Castles. This is because both castles were improved and developed by other lords after the Ikoma Clan. Only the remaining old stone walls at the foot of Marugame Castle might have been built by the Ikoma Clan.

It was said that this enclosure had the Main Hall for the lord and there was the Main Gate under the enclosure. That is the reason why the great stone walls were built to show the authority of the lord to the visitors. Finally, the original Main Route to the Main Gate is not being used now.

The inside of the Northern Second Enclosure

Great view from Main Enclosure

From the Northern Second Enclosure, other enclosures spread into two directions which look like the letter U. One of them is the Main Enclosure in the south. It is long and narrow and faces the Hiketa Port. It also has some remaining stone walls and the ruins of the base for a Main Tower. Therefore, the enclosure would have stood out in the past. You can see a good view of the port and Hiketa town from the enclosure. That meant people in Hiketa would have looked up at the buildings and stone walls clearly in the past.

The remaining stone walls of the Main Enclosure

A view of Hiketa Port seen from around the base for the tower

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