タグ: Uchijo

197.Shibushi Castle part2

You can experience a castle on the Shirasu Plateau well after looking at a great miniature model.

Features

Great miniature model of Castle Ruins

Today, only the main portion of the ruins of Shibushi Castle called Uchijo has been developed for general visitors. The ruins had been reclaimed by nature after its abandonment, so the officials installed wooden footpaths and guide signboards so that visitors can walk safely and not to lose their way.

The map around the castle

A wooden path installed in the castle ruins
A guide signboard installed in the castle ruins

In addition, I recommend visiting Shibushi City Center for Archaeological operations to see the great miniature model of the Uchijo portion before visiting the real Uchijo. It is a 1/200 scale model which is about 2m long and 1.25m wide, very large for a miniature model, but it is also precisely crafted. You can see how deeply and vertically the dry moats are cut and how the many enclosures equipped with buildings and fences are built by looking at it. If you also check the point of the Main Route and the Back Route of the model, you will understand how they worked well when you visit the real site.

The miniature model of the Uchijo, exhibited in Shibushi City Center for Archaeological operations

Going beside outstanding Turret Place to Main Route

The ruins of Uchijo are on the mountain behind Shibushi Primary School. If you drive to the ruins, you can park at a parking lot for visitors on the opposite side of the school. From the parking lot, go straight on the street beside it, if you want to visit the Main Route of the ruins. Otherwise, if you turn left at the intersection in front of the parking lot, you will reach the Back Route. The signpost leads you to the very narrow path to the Main Route between the school and old houses.

The parking lot for visitors
Going to the Main Route
Going on the narrow path

The ruins has 6 major and many other small enclosures and the first major one called Yaguraba or the Turret Place stands out with its vertical cliff on your right side before the Main Route entrance. Even today’s visitors may be scared to see it. There is no telling how enemies in the past felt.

The map around the Uchijo portion, the red broken line is the route from the parking lot to the Main Route, and the blue broken line is the route to the Back Route

The Turret Place on the right
The vertical cliff of the Turret Place
the ruins of buildings on the Turret Place
The Turret Place part of the miniature model

Main Route on Bottom of Moat

The Main Route climbs up the zigzagged path on the bottom of a deep dry moat to the center of the castle. The path is always surrounded by several high enclosures where the defenders would have attacked enemies. All the enclosures have a similar vertical cliff and defensive entrance called Koguchi to which you need to climb another very steep, unstable and zigzagging path. If you get out of the path, you will be stuck in the rough slope with bushes and the fragile soil made of the volcanic ash. These structures were all created artificially by processing the natural Shirasu plateau.

The entrance of the Main Route
The zigzagging Main Route
The entrance of the Enclosure No.2 on the right of the Main Route
The inside of the Enclosure No.2
The Main Route goes on the bottom of the moat
the Main Route part of the miniature model

Main Enclosure with view of Shibushi Port

After walking in the dry moat for a while, you can enter the Main Enclosure on your left. The enclosure has two tiers which are squares with no buildings but surrounded by earthen walls, same as the others. The front lower tier seemed to be used as a lookout, so it is thought to have had a tall turret. You can still actually see a view of Shibushi Port with the Sunflower ferry anchored. This may also prove the relation of the castle and the trading at the port in the past.

The entrance of the Main Enclosure
The lower tier of the Main Enclosure
A view of Shibushi Port from the enclosure
The Main Enclosure part of the miniature model
Looking down at the Main Route from the enclosure

The upper tier is the highest in the castle, where a large building like a residence was built. It might have been used for the lord of the castle when a battle happened or other cases. There is only a small shrine in the back of the enclosure, with a huge deep dry moat behind it.

The upper tier of the Main Enclosure
The earthen walls surrounding the Main Enclosure
The small shrine in the back of the enclosure
The deep dry moat behind the shrine

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

197.Shibushi Castle part1

A castle on the Shirasu Plateau, built near an important port

Location and History

Shibushi has been Important Port

Shibushi City, which is located in the eastern part of Kagoshima Prefecture, may have kind of a unique name even in Japanese. This is because when you say the city’s name in Japanese, you will say “SHI-BU-SHI-SHI(city)” which may be difficult to pronounce. This phrase is sometimes used as an example of a Japanese tongue twister like “Shibushi-shi, Shibushi-cho, Shibushi, no, Shibushi-shiyakusho, no, Shibushi-shisho” which means “The Shibushi branch office of the Shibushi city hall, Shibushi, Shibushi Town, Shibushi City”. If you want to understand why it’s called “Shibushi”, you can find it refers to “Present, Cloth and Present” in Japanese. It is said to originate from the legend of the ancient Emperor Tenchi visiting. He was presented cloths from both upper-class and lower-class people, he was very pleased and came up with the name. We are uncertain if the legends are true but the land does have a long history.

The range of Shibushi City and the location of the castle

The signboard of the Shibushi branch office of the Shibushi city hall at the site  (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Another feature of the city is Shibushi Port which is designated as a Major Port and a Core International Port. If you go around the port area, you can see huge amount of containers and wood, and some ferries such as Sunflower. The port has actually been prospering since the end of the Ancient Times when some manors in the southern Kyushu Region were developed. International trading was also done during the Middle Ages, which made lords around the area rich. That’s why they wanted to possess the area and they often battled each other over it. Shibushi Castle was a mountain castle for the base to govern the area.

The Sunflower ferry in port

One of Southern Kyushu type Castles

Shibushi Castle also had an important feature as one of the Southern Kyushu type castles which were built on the Shirasu Plateau looking like a mountain or hill in the area. The plateau has been made from volcanic ash caused by ancient eruptions. Its soil is fragile and can easily collapse to form cliffs. Warriors in the area often used this to build their castles because it was easy for them to process natural terrain for strong defensive systems such as deep moats and high walls. Some popular examples of that type castles were Chiran, Sadowara, Obi and Shibushi.

The ruins of Chiran Castle
The ruins of Sadowara Castle
The ruins of Obi Castle

The relief map around the castle

For example, if you are in Shibushi Port and look back at the inland area, you will see the long lying cliffs set back from the coastline. The lords in Shibushi built their castles one by one using that natural terrain. In fact, Shibushi Castle is the generic name of four local castles, Uchijo, Matsuojo, Takajo, and Shinjo. It is said that the Nirei Clan first built Matsuojo in the 14th Century, followed by Uchijo, used as the Hatakeyama and the Niro Clan’s home base in the 16th Century. By then, Takajo and Shinjo were also built as outer compounds for the other two castles. The lord of Shibushi Castle changed again and again to the Kimotsuki Clan and finally the Shimazu Clan. This was because the area around the castle was attractive so it became a battle field between great warlords, the Ito Clan in the north and the Shimazu Clan in the south. Some lords of the castle changed loyalty between the two great lords.

A view of the long lying cliffs of the Shirasu Plateau from Shibushi Port
The aerial photo of the local four castle in Shibushi Castle, from the signboard at the site (adding the red Englich letters)

Strong Defense system using Shirasu Plateau

At the peak of the castle, the main Uchijo had a very complex defensive system. The original Shirasu plateau was cut by three dry moat lines lengthwise and five dry moat lines crosswise. The remaining parts of the plateau became enclosures independently, surrounded by earthen walls and fences. These enclosures had turrets, barracks and residences to maintain and protect the castle. If visitors or enemies wanted to enter the enclosures, they needed to go from the bottom of the moat and pass the defensive gateway of the enclosure. Enemies at the bottom would be attacked from far above by defenders at the enclosures.

The miniature model of Uchijo, exhibited by Shibushi City Center for Archaeological operations
the part of the Main Enclosure from the miniature model above

The lords of the castle usually lived in the residence at the foot and used the castle in the cases of emergency such as a battle. However, the excavation team found in the castle ruins, expensive trading items from overseas such as Ceramic ware as well as daily necessities like domestic pottery, coins, and bullets. These items show that the castle was used for a long time and involved with Shibushi Port where the international trading was done. The castle was finally abandoned by the last owner, the Shimazu Clan due to the Law of One Castle per Province, issued by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1615.

The ruins of Shibushi Castle (the Main Enclosure)

To be continued in “Shibushi Castle Part2”