Umadashi – ページ 7 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

127.Shinpu Castle Part1

The mysterious Takeda’s last castle

Location and History

Katsuyori Takeda moved from Kofu to Simpu

Shinpu Castle was located in what is now Nirasaki City, the northwest part of Yamanashi Prefecture which was called Kai Province. The province was owned by the Takeda Clan for a long time until the late 16th Century and their home base had been located in the Takeda Clan Hall in Kofu, the center of the province. Katsuyori Takeda, the last lord of the clan decided to move his home base to Shinpu Castle in 1581. He moved to the castle within the year.

The location of the castle

The Portrait of Katsuyori Takeda, ownd by Koyasan Jimyoin (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The move was done for several reasons. First, Takeda’s territory expanded to the west such as Shinano Province (now Nagano Pref.), in order to make Shinpu Castle the center of their territory. Secondly, the large territory made Takeda’s vassals so many that the Takeda Clan Hall and Kofu were too narrow and small for them. Lastly, Katsuyori was threatened by Nobunaga Oda and Ieyasu Tokugawa from the west, after several defeated battles with them such as those of Nagashino Castle and Takatenjin Castle. Katsuyori needed to prepare a stronger castle for a possible invasion from them.

The location of Shinpu Castle and the range of Shinano Provence (on the left) and Kai Province (on the right)

Final version of Takeda Clan’s Method for building Castles

Shinpu Castle was built on a mountain on a long cliff wall called Shichiri-Iwa, which means about 28km long rock, along the Kamanashigawa River on the westerly direction. The eastern side of the castle was also a steep cliff of the mountain. The southern part of the castle had the Main Gate with the large Umadashi which was Takeda’s characteristic defense system. The northern part had this castle’s unique defense system called Degamae with water moats. The back entrance had doubled gates with a square space inside called Masugata. The Main Enclosure, the Second Enclosure, and the Third Enclosure were placed on several tiers to protect the castle. Katsuyori’s Main Hall was built in the Main Enclosure on the top. Overall, the castle could be very defensive even though it was all made of soil.

The relief map around the castle

The imaginary drawing of Shinpu Castle (from the signboard at the site)

However, Katsuyori burned the castle by himself and escaped from it in Mar 1582 after only his three-month stay, when he had heard of Takato Castle, located in the west of Shinpu Castle, being captured by Nobunaga’s invasion. Moreover, Katsuyori was defeated by his retainer’s betrayal just after eight days from the escape. So, why did Katsuyori withdraw from the castle?

The positional relation between Shinpu Castle and Takato Castle

Why did Katsuyori throw Castle away?

The reason which had been often said was that the castle was still unfinished. For example, the Main Gate was found to have no buildings through excavation. Others point out that Katsyori had only hundreds of his troops including women and children when they escaped because most of his vassals left him. Some remaining senior vassals recommended that he should be accommodated to another castle. For example, Masayuki Sanada offered Sanada’s Iwabitsu Castle in Kozuke Province (now Gunma Pref.). Katsuyori finally took another suggestion from the retainer who would deceive him. Another historian even says Sinpu Castle maybe did not deserve a castle, but a large hall would have been more suitable. This is because it needed more moats for a castle. Only Katsuyori knew the answer.

The portlait of Masayuki Sanada, privately owned licensed under Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

After Nobunaga was also killed in the Honnoji Incident in June 1582, Ieyasu used Sinpu Castle again for his stronghold to get Kai Province. He succeeded in getting it, used Takeda Clan Hall to govern it, and built Kofu Castle as its new home base before Shinpu Castle was eventually abandoned.

The Portrait of Ieyasu Tokugawa, attributed to Tanyu Kano, ownd by Osaka Castle Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

To be continued in “Shinpu Castle Part2”

121.Motosakura Castle Part1

The castle of the Chiba Clan, an illustrious clan in Kanto Region

Location and History

Chiba Clan built it in 15th Century

Motosakura Castle was a large castle which was located in Shimosa Province (what is now the northern part of Chiba Prefecture). A warlord, Suketane from the Chiba Clan, first built the castle at latest in 1484 on a hilly area called Masakado-yama. The area was surrounded by Inba-numa Lake, and only open to the Shimosa Road on flat land in the southern direction. This meant the area was defensive and convenient for water and land transport.

The map around the castle in the early Meiji Era, Inba-numa Lake was still near the castle

The Chiba Clan’s family crest, Gessei or Moon and Star *(licensed by Los688 via Wikimedia Commons)*

Central portion, Inner Compounds.

When the castle was first built, the warlords in the Kanto Region were split into two groups, the western group and the eastern group. The western group was led by the shogunal deputy for the Kanto Region, the Uesugi Clan, and the eastern group was led by the head of the Kanto government in Koga, the Ashikaga Clan. The Chiba Clan was included in the eastern group and the Motosakura Castle was also an important site which connected Koga in Shimosa Province to the other provinces in Boso Peninsula inside the group. The clan built several enclosures in the central portion of the castle called the Inner Compounds.

The location of the castle

The Main Enclosure called Shiro-yama had the Main Hall for the lord of the castle. The hall had a set of two formal buildings called Shuden and Kaisho, because the clan was the governor of the province. The Okuno-yama enclosure, which had the Myoken Shrine where the clan went for worship, is next to the main enclosure on the west. The Okuno-yama enclosure was connected to the Main Enclosure by a wooden bridge . The next one is the Kura-ato Enclosure which had warehouses. The westmost one is the Settei-yama Enclosure which was used for guesthouses. In addition to these enclosures, the Higashi-yama Enclosure was set to protect them, and the Tokoji-byo Enclosure, which had temples, faced Inba-numa Lake.

The enclosures of the Inner Compound (from the signboard at the site)

Outer Compounds were built against Satomi Clan

In the middle of the 16th Century, the situation of the Kanto Region changed. The Hojo Clan captured most of the region, then the Chiba Clan decided to support Hojo by adopting a son from them. However, the Satomi Clan in Boso Peninsula (the south of Honsakura Castle) was against Hojo. As a result, the Chiba Clan had to reinforce the defense of the castle on the south.

The location of Motosakura Castle and the home base of the Satomi Clan

The clan built large enclosures outside the Inner Compounds, called the Outer Compounds such as Araue, Negoya, and Mukai-Negoya. They were surrounded by thick earthen walls and had the sticking out defensive positions called Umadashi, which were built using Hojo’s techniques. In addition, the Settai-yama Enclosure became the pivot of the defense because it was the connecting point between the Inner Compounds and the Outer Compounds. The range of the castle finally reached 39,000 square meters.

The whole image of the castle including the Outer Compound *(from the signboard at the site)*

However, The Chiba Clan was fired by the ruler Hieyoshi Toyotomi in 1590, as their master Hojo Clan was also defeated by Hideyoshi. After that, Motosakura Castle was sometimes used by several clans. The castle was finally abandoned in 1615.

The Portrait of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, attributed to Mitsunobu Kano, ownd by Kodaiji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

To be continued in “Motosakura Castle 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”