Takeda Clan Hall – ページ 3 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

25.Kofu Castle Part1

A very important strongpoint for the Tokugawa Shogunate

Location and History

Mitsuyasu Kato might have developed it greatly

Kofu Castle was located in Kai Province (what is now Yamanashi Prefecture). Kai Province was owned by the Takeda Clan for a long time until 1582 when the clan was defeated by Nobunaga Oda. Since then the Oda clan governed the province but immediately followed by the Tokugawa, Toyotomi, and the Tokugawa clan again. Kofu City, which is the prefectural capital of the prefecture, had already been the castle town for the Takeda Clan Hall. It is said that the Tokugawa Clan first built Kofu Castle at the south of the town in 1583 of their first governance, but it is uncertain. In 1590, Toyotomi’s servant, Mitsuyasu Kato was given Kai Province. He improved Kofu Castle greatly, probably with building the large scale stone walls. This is because Toyotomi had the craftsmen who were able to build stone walls called Ano-shu, which Tokugawa didn’t have. It is thought that the basic structure of the castle was completed at the same time.

The location of the castle

The portrait of Mitsuyasu Kato, private owned (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Protected by High Stone Walls and Tripled Moats

The castle consisted of three parts. The main portion is called Uchi-shiro, it includes the Main Enclosure, the base for the Main Tower and other enclosures. It was surrounded by stone walls and the Inner Moat. It was also on a hill called Ichijo-koyama, and had three entrances – the Main Gate on the south, the Yamanote-mon Gate on the north, and the Yanagi-mon Gate on the west. The eastern part of the main portion is protected strictly by the high stone walls. Secondly, the ground for the warriors’ houses called Naikaku was around the main portion, surrounded by the Second Moat. Lastly, the ground for the castle town was around Naikaku, also surrounded by the Third Moat.

The old map of Kofu Castle, from a book “Rakushido-nenroku” by Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa, owned by The Yanagisawa Library *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

The miniature model of the main portion of Kofu Castle, the front of the photo is the high stone walls on the east (an exhibition in the Inari Turret)

Important Strongpoint for protecting Edo

In the Edo Period from the 17th Century, Kofu Castle became a very important spot. The Tokugawa Shogunate set the Five Major Roads including the Kofu Road passing through Kofu town. Kofu was regarded as the western strongpoint to protect Edo (what is now Tokyo), the Shogun’s home base. For this reason, the Shogunate basically governed the castle directly. For example, the Shogun’s relative Tsunatoyo Tokugawa lived in the castle, who became the sixth Shogun Ienobu later. Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa was the first lord of the castle out of non-Shogun’s relatives in 1705, who was a senior vassal of the Shogunate. His son, Yoshiyasu was transferred to Yamato-Koriyama Castle in 1724, then Kofu Castle was Shogunate-owned again.

The positional relation between Kofu and Edo

*The portrait of Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa, owned by Ichiren-ji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

In 1868 during the Meiji Restoration, the battle between the New Government and the Shogunate happened. Taisuke Itagaki, one of the leaders of the New Government Army thought they needed to capture Kofu Castle faster than the Shogunate. The Shogunate also sent the famous warrior party called the Shinsen-gumi led by Isami Kondo to Kofu Castle. Itagaki rushed and succeeded to enter the castle by a narrow margin, so that he could defeat the Shinsen-gumi.

The picture of Taisuke Itagaki, published by the Eastern Culture Association *(licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

*The picture of Isami Kondo, owned by the National Diet Library (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)*

To be continued in “Kofu Castle Part2”

24.Takeda Clan Hall Part3

One of the most popular tourist spots in Yamanashi Pref.

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, people in Yamanashi Prefecture started to honor the activities of Shingen Takeda. In addition, it was recommended to worship gods of war like Shingen in shrines after Japan’s victory in the Russo‐Japanese War in 1905. As a result, Takeda Shrine was established on the ruins of Takeda Clan Hall in 1919. The Shrine and Shingen have now become symbols of the prefecture and famous attractions for tourism.

My Impression

After I visited the ruins of Takeda Clan Hall, I understood the Takeda Clan, including Shingen, made great efforts to reinforce their home base. In fact, I think the hall was a bit small for a great warlord like Shingen. It could be because Shingen thought that a good offense is the best defense. Shingen tried to broaden his territory all through his life. I also think that the style of a castle is often reflected by the character of its founder or owner.

The statue of Shingen Takeda in front of Kofu Station *(licensed by そらみみ via Wikimedia Commons)*

The entrance of the West Enclosure of Takeda Clan Hall

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car:
It is about 30 minutes away from Kofu-showa IC on Chuo Expressway.
Takeda Shrine offers a parking lot near the shrine.
By public transportation, it takes about 30 minutes on foot or take the Yamanashi-kotsu Bus bound for Takeda-jinja (Takeda Shrine) from Kofu Station.
To get Kofu Station from Tokyo: Get the limited express Azusa or Kaiji at Shinjuku Station.

Links and References

・Visit Kofu (Official Tourism Website for Kofu City)

That’s all.
Back to “Takeda Clan Hall Part1”
Back to “Takeda Clan Hall Part2”

24.Takeda Clan Hall Part2

The legacies of Takeda and Tokugawa remain around the shrine.

Features

Center of Ruins becomes Takeda Shrine

Now, the center of the ruins of Takeda Clan Hall have become Takeda Shrine. If you visit there from JR Kofu Station, you have to go up through the gentle slope for about 2km. After that, you will see the entrance of Takeda Shrine with the front guard frame on the south of the shrine. In fact, the entrance is not original, and was built when the shrine was founded. You can also see the stone walls on both sides of the entrance, which were built by the Tokugawa Clan. The earthen walls and water moats surrounding the whole shrine were built by the Takeda Clan.

The stone walls built by the Tokugawa Clan

The earthen walls and water moat surrounding the shrine

The Main Shrine stands inside where the Main Hall of the Takeda Clan stood in the past. A circuit style garden was also built in front of the hall to host visitors. Next to the Main Shrine, there is the treasure hall where you can learn more about Takeda Clan Hall and see Takeda’s items such as a flag of Sun Tzu which shows Shingen’s motto and their armors.

The map around the castle

Eastern part developed as Park

There is another entrance on the east of the shrine called the Main Gate which was the original front gate. The stone walls around the gate are likely originally from Takeda’s period. In front of the Main Gate, there is the restored square stone mound to protect the gate. This is due to the achievement of the recent excavation, which was originally built by Tokugawa Clan. In fact, the ruin of the round Umadashi system by the Takeda Clan was found under the ruin of the square stone mound. That means Tokugawa replaced the Umadashi system with their stone mound. The excavation team found that another enclosure was also built on the east of the gate and the stone mound. It is thought that this enclosure was built probably by the Tokugawa Clan to protect the Main Gate as well. The entrance and earthen walls of the enclosure have been restored as a park area.

The restored enclosure on the east of the Main Gate

West Enclosure with Takeda’s atmosphere

On the west of Takeda Shrine, the West Enclosure remains. You can walk across the earthen bridge from the shrine to the enclosure. You can also see the exit to the enclosure with the stone walls on both sides, which may be Shingen’s period in origin. The inside of the enclosure is empty, and the halls for Shingen’s family and relatives were there. The antique earthen walls and water moats surrounding the enclosure highlight the mood at that time. In addition, the front entrance of the enclosure on the south also shows one of Takeda’s defense systems called Masugata. It has a square space inside the entrance surrounded by earthen walls like brackets to protect the enclosure.

Going to the West Enclosure form the shrine

The stone walls at the exit to the West Enclosure

The West Enclosure with an antique appearance

The southern entrance of the West Enclosure

The Masugata part surrounded by the earthen walls

To be continued in “Takeda Clan Hall Part3”
Back to “Takeda Clan Hall Part1”