triangular shaped gable – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

83.Uwajima Castle Part2

The Main Tower of peace time remains

Features

Entrance to Castle

Today, Uwajima Castle has few buildings, but including one of the twelve remaining Main Towers in Japan. The sea and water moats around the castle were removed and only the mountain parts remained. If you want to visit the castle from Uwajima Station, you can walk through the city area and enter the eastern side of the mountain beside the fire station. There was the Third Enclosure in the past. You will see a traditional building like the Main Gate at the entrance. It is actually the Nagaya-mon Gate of the house of the Kori Clan, a senior vassal of the Uwajima Domain, which was moved from another place in 1963.

The map around the castle

The entrance to the castle from Uwajima Station

The Nagaya-mon Gate of the house of the Kori Clan

Climbing up with Seeing Stone Walls

You can climb up to the top of the mountain through the zigzagged trail, seeing old stone walls which might have been built in Takatora’s period. You will first be the Well Enclosure on the way. This is one of the many small enclosures of the castle, which had not only a well but also a set of defense; a gate, turret and stone walls. If you go farther, you will be under the high stone walls of the Main Enclosure. You can see half of the stone was built using some old stones and you can also see the trace of some parts that were repaired. After that, you will reach the Main Enclosure, passing the Second Enclosure.

The high stone walls of the Main Enclosure

The right side of the blue line was built using old stones, while the left side was repaired, from the signboard

Views from Main Enclosure

The Main Enclosure originally had many buildings around the Main Tower which was the only thing that remained. You can enter the enclosure through the stone walls of the Kushigata-mon Gate. You can also enjoy views of the city area in the northeast and the Uwajima Bay in the northwest. In fact, the bay was beside the mountain, but the reclamation of the bay started in the Edo Period, probably it was reclaimed earlier than other castles.

The past Main Enclosure drawn in the “Folding Screen of Illustration of Uwajima Castle and Town”, from the signboard

A view of Uwajima city area from the Main Enclosure

A view of Uwajima Bay from the Main Enclosure

Elegant Appearance of Main Tower

The highlight of the Main Enclosure is, of course, the Main Tower. The tower is not so large (15.7m high) compared with other remaining Main Towers in Japan. However, it looks very elegant with white plaster walls and lots of decorations. It has three levels with three roofs which all have a good design. The top roof has a Chinese styled gable. The second roof has a large triangular shaped gable, and the first roof has two smaller gables. In addition, the entrance of the first floor has another Chinese styled gable on its roof.

The Main Tower seen from below the high stone walls

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

84.Kochi Castle Part2

You can sense the original state of the castle.

Features

Spot for seeing both Main Tower and Main Gate

As a visitor to Kochi Castle today, you will likely enter the remaining Main Gate first, where you can also see the remaining Main Tower over there. In fact, this is a very rare spot where you can see the two kinds of remaining buildings together in Japan.

The Main Tower and Main Gate of Kochi Castle

The aerial photo around the castle

From Suginodan Enclosure to Iron Gate Ruins

After entering the gate, you can climb on the stone steps to the Suginodan Enclosure where the statues of Kazutoyo Yamanouchi’s wife, called Chiyo, and a horse stand. These statues show that she spent her dowry to buy a fine horse for Kaszutoyo’s parade which was the chance for his promotion. You can also see the great high stone walls of the Third Enclosure above.

The high stone walls of the Third Enclosure

If you go further by climbing the stone steps, you will be at the ruins of the Iron Gate which was an important point for defense. The gate was next to the Third Enclosure and led to the Second Enclosure. That’s why the tricky system which could lead enemies to the false gate to the Main Tower, called Tsumemon, was built.

The Tsumemon Gate seen from the iron Gate Ruins

Third and Second Enclosures

The Third Enclosure is the largest enclosure in the castle where a large building for ceremonies was in the past. In addition, the stone walls of Chosogabe’s period were found there by excavation.

The Main Tower seen from the Third Enclosure

The Second Enclosure had another Main Hall for the lord where he usually lived, as the hall in the Main Enclosure was too small for daily life. However, the Second Enclosure is just a square now.

From the Iron Gate Ruins to the Second Enclosure

Main Enclosure, almost same condition as original

You can finally reach the Main Enclosure by crossing the remaining Tsumemon Gate from the Second Enclosure. Surprisingly, this enclosure is in almost the same condition as its original, with the 11 remaining buildings. This is also the only spot where the original Main Tower and Main Hall remain at the same place in Japan.

Going to the Tsumemon Gate from the Second Enclosure

The buildings of the Main Enclosure seen from the Main Tower

You will need to enter the Main Hall first to reach the Main Tower as they are directly connected to each other. The hall is not large because the space of the enclosure is limited, but important ceremonies for the domain were held there.

The Main Tower has four layers and six stories, that means two of the stories are attics (3F and 5F). Its style is called the lookout tower type. In the case of Kochi Castle, there is the small two-layer lookout tower on the large two-layer turret with a hip-and-gable roof. The tower also has decorations like Chinese style gables and triangular shaped gables on the roof and a veranda with the lacquered handrail at the top floor. It looks traditional and very beautiful.

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

59.Himeji Castle Part3

Every time you go the castle, you will have a new perspective.

Features (The Large Main Tower)

The Large Main Tower has five layers, but its inside has six levels with a basement. The tower was built using the lookout tower style. This type of tower usually has a small look-out tower on a large-scale turret with hip-and-gable roofs. But Himeji’s tower looks smart and doesn’t have a veranda at the top floor that other look-out towers usually have. The tower is categorized as the late lookout tower type that would evolve into the multi-storied type later.

The Large Main Tower of Himeji Castle (the late lookout tower type)

The Main Tower of Inuyama Castle (the lookout tower style)

The Main Tower of Fukuyama Castle (the multi-storied type)

Its roofs are decorated with many Chinese style gables and triangular shaped gables. White plaster is painted thickly over its walls as well as the gaps among the roof tiles to protect against fire, that makes it looks like a white heron. On the other hand, it is also equipped with lots of machicolations and loopholes for battles. You can enter into the tower, but please note that you may have to stand in a line over an hour because the tower is very popular. In addition, only a limited number of visitors are allowed inside at a time. Unlike its gorgeous appearance, its inside is built very practically. The tower was actually built as a place just for battle.

The beautiful decorations of the Main Tower

The interior of the Main Tower (licensed by alisdair via Wikimedia Commons)

The inside has kitchens, toilets and warehouses to accommodate many soldiers for a long siege. You can also see how soldiers could use machicolations and loopholes inside. The Large Main Tower is mainly supported by two large pillars (the East and West). The West Large Pillar had actually been spoiled, so it was replaced with new one when The Showa Great Repairs were done in 1959. The foot of the East Large Pillar was also fixed then. You can now see these large pillars clearly above the third floor.

A kitchen in the Main Tower (licensed by Corpse Reviver via Wikimedia Commons)

The West Large Pillar (taken by あけび from photoAC)

Features (Sides and Back of Castle)

The map around the castle

Himeji Castle has a lot of perspectives even in the sides and back. Let me introduce some of them. First, on the front foot of Himeyama mountain, you can see terraced stone walls which are piled with natural stones, a primitive method called “Nozura-zumi”. They are said to be built by Hideyoshi Hashiba or Kanbe Kuroda. They also surround Kamiyamazato Enclosure which is one of the oldest enclosures in the castle.

The old stone walls surrounding Kamiyamazato Enclosure

Moving to the right side of the castle, you can see the edge of the moat which is separated from the Inner Moat. There was the warehouse for freight called Uchisenba-gura nearby. This meant that the moat was used as a port.

The stone walls on the eastern side of Ido Enclosure are among the highest stone walls in the castle. In addition, the right side of the Large Main Tower is outstanding where you can see the great hip-and-gable roof on the second layer. The combination of them is perfect for a picture.

The high stone walls under Ido Enclosure

The combination of the Main Tower and the high stone walls

On the back side of the castle, you can see another edge of the moat. In fact, the edge is the starting point of all the swirling moats in the castle. The back of Himeyama mountain still remains natural, so its appearance with the Main Towers has a unique perspective. The area around has the doubled Inner Moats as the second turn of the moats starts there and they offered strong protection to the back of the castle.

The Main Tower on the back of the mountain

To be continued in “Himeji Castle Part4”
Back to “Himeji Castle Part2”