Wakamatsu Castle – ページ 2 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

81.Matsuyama Castle Part1

Yoshiaki Kato devoted himself to the construction of this castle.

Location and History

Yoshiaki Kato builds Castle as his new Home Base

Matsuyama City in Ehime Prefecture is one of the most popular tourist spots in Japan, which is also known for attractions such as the Dogo Hot Spring. In fact, the area around the hot spring was the center of Iyo Province, the former Ehime Pref. until the Middle Ages. The Kono Clan governed the province by building Yuzuki Castle beside the spring. However, the clan declined during the unification of Japan by Hideyoshi Toyotomi and Ieyasu Tokugawa. When the Tokugawa Shogunate was established by Ieyasu after the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, it gave a large territory in Iyo Province to Yoshiaki Kato who distinguished in the battle.

The range of Matsuyama City and the location of the castle

Yoshiaki was an excellent general who worked under Hideyoshi and Ieyasu, joining many battles including the invasion of Korea. He built the Matsuyama Castle on Katsuyama Mountain which is 132 meters high, using his knowledge about the modern technology and his own experience building castles. The situation was still unstable and it is also said that Yoshiaki quarreled with Takatora Todo who divided Iyo Provence with him. Yoshiaki completely devoted himself to the construction of the castle from 1602 to 1627 until he was transferred to Wakamatsu Castle in the Tohoku Region. Just after the launch of the construction, he renamed Katsuyama (which means Win Mountain) Matsuyama (which means Pine Mountain). For the Japanese at that time, the word Matsu or Pine was a lucky one which can be seen in other castles’ names like Wakamatsu, Matsumoto, and Matsusaka. This is the origin of the names of Matsuyama Castle and City.

The portrait of Yoshoaki Kato, owned by Fujisaka Shrine (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The relief map around the castle

The apparently restored Main Tower of Wakamatsu Castle Yoshiaki originally built

Strictly protected Mountain Part and Convenient Large Foot Part

The top area of Katsuyama Mountain was like a shape of a tongue which became the Main Enclosure. In addition, another enclosure called Hondan or the Central Compound was built for the Main Tower, on the highest point of the Main Enclosure. The style of the Main Tower is called Renritsu-siki or the Tower Grouping, which refers to the Large and Small Main Towers and turrets being connected by the Hall Turrets like a corridor. The first Large Main Tower was said to have five levels. The Second Enclosure was built at the foot of the mountain for the Main Hall for the lord. The enclosures mentioned above were all surrounded by high stone walls. The Main Route connecting the Second and Main Enclosures was built complexly to avoid enemies from attacking easily. Moreover, the route was surrounded on both sides by long-line stone walls called Nobori-Ishigaki or the Climbing Stone walls. This stone wall style was rare and introduced by the lords who joined the invasion of Korea, including Yoshiaki Kato. Finally, The Third Enclosure, which was the largest one in the castle, was built outside the Second Enclosure and surrounded by water moats for government offices and high-ranking warriors’ houses.

the Tower Grouping type Main Tower of Matsuyama Castle

Part of the Secret Picture of Kikaku Castle (another name of Matsuyama Castle) in 1864, from the signboard at the site

The Climbing Stone walls *of Matsuyama Castle*

After Yoshiaki was transferred in 1627, the Gamo Clan followed the castle construction, completing the Second Enclosure. The Hisamatsu-Matsudaira Clan followed the Gamo Clan in 1635 and continued the construction. It had been said the clan reduced the levels of the Main Tower from five to three for some reasons. According to the recent research, it was founded the Central Compound as the base of the tower was moved and renovated. It could be because the ground of the original compound was weak. It is possible that the first thing that the clan built was the three-tier main tower. The clan also completed the Third Enclosure by building another Main Hall in it in 1687.

The partially restored Second Enclosure of Matsuyama Castle

The present Third Enclosure of Matsuyama Castle

Restoring Main Tower and Trial during Meiji Restoration

Fortunately, no battle happened at this castle, however, other natural disasters hit the castle. In 1784, most of the buildings on the Central Compound including the Main Tower were burned down by a lightning fire. The Matsuyama Domain led by the Hisamatsu-Matsudaira Clan couldn’t afford rebuilding them. After a while, the domain somehow restore them in 1853 at the end of the Edo Period. The restored buildings are thought to have the same designs as the previous ones. That’s why the Main Tower of this castle is the newest Main Tower of the twelve remaining ones in Japan.

The remaining Main Tower of Matsuyama Castle was restored in 1853

The Hisamatsu-Matsudaira Clan originally used only Hisamatsu as their family name. However, the founder of the clan, Sadakatsu and that of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Ieyasu were brothers but with different fathers. For this reason, Sadakatsu was allowed to use the family name Matsudaira as a relative of the shogun. This had been fortune during the Edo Period, while unfortune during the Meiji Restoration when the shogunate was defeated. The clan had to support the shogunate and invade the territory of the Choshu Domain which would be a winner of the restoration. They feared the revenge of the Choshu which actually was coming to Matsuyama Castle and would destroy it. Then, the Tosa Domain led by the Yamanouchi Clan, which had a close relationship with Hisamatsu-Matsudaira Clan, saved it. The domain troops intentionally occupied the castle before the Choshu troops arrived to avoid the Choshu doing anything without permission.

The Main Tower of Matsuyama Castle, seen from the ruins of Yuzuki Castle

To be continued in “Matsuyama Castle Part2”

129.Tatsuoka Castle Part1

The second Goryokaku

Location and History

Matsudaira Clans are Shogun’s Relatives

Tatsuoka Castle was located in Shinao Province which is modern day Nagano Prefecture. It was built at the end of the Edo Period and it is one of the two Pentagonal Style Forts in Japan, with Goryokaku in Hokkaido. The builder of the castle was Norikata Matsudaira, who was the lord of the Tatsuoka Domain. In fact, there were so many Matsudaira Clans at that time, which were the relatives of the Tokugawa families in the shogunate. The family name “Tokugawa” was only allowed to be used with the few core family members who could be the Shogun. The other Tokugawa’s relatives used “Matsudaira” as their family name which had been their original before the first Shogun, Ieyasu started to use Tokugawa.

The photo of Norikata Matsudaira, in the Meiji Era (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The Matsudaira Clans can roughly be categorized into three groups. The first group is those which originated from Ieyasu or other Shogun’s children, such as the Echizen Matsudaira Clan at Fukui Castle and the Aizu Matsudaira Clan at Wakamatsu Castle. They were very reliable to the Shogunate, so they often had large territories and castles. The second group is those which had existed before Ieyasu was born, and are sometimes called the Eighteen Matsudaira Clans. In fact, Ieyasu came from one of them, called the Anjo Matsudaira Clan. They were also certainly Ieyasu’s relatives, but he trusted them less than the first group because they could be a competitor to him. As a result, they often had smaller territories which sometimes weren’t allowed to have their own castles because of the area criterion. The last group is those who didn’t have any blood relation with Ieyasu or other Shoguns, but were allowed to use Matsudaira for special reasons.

Norikata from Matsdaira Clans builds Castle

Norikata Matsudaira belonged to the Second group and his clan was also called the Ogyu Matsudaira Clan. Ogyu was the name of their original territory and has been used to identify them among many other Matsudaira Clans. In fact, the clan itself had several branch families because of its long history. Norikata was the lord of the Okutono Domain with an earning of only 16 thousand koku of rice, which meant he was not allowed to have a castle. In addition, his territory was divided into the smaller Okutono in Mikawa Province (now part of Aichi Pref.) and the larger Tatsuoka. His domain had been based in Okutono, so called the Okutono Domain, and the lords had lived in a hall, called the Okutono Camp.

The restored Okutono Camp (licensed by Bariston via Wikimedia Commons)

The situation changed after Japan opened the country to several Western countries in 1854. The shogunate relaxed the restrictions for the lords against the threats from these countries. Norikata was an excellent politician and he learned a lot about the Western items. He thought it was a good chance to do something using his knowledge to follow the government’s new policies. One of them was to move his home base to the larger Tatsuoka, and another was to build his own castle, called Tatsuoka Castle.

The location of the castle

Norikata’s attempts were allowed by the shogunate and the construction of the castle (officially it was still called a camp) started in 1864. The castle was designed to be a European style fort which had five bastions like a star. It came from Norikata’s ideas and was thought to be an effective way to protect it from enemies’ attacks from any directions. The five pointed star shape was all surrounded by advanced stone walls like the Tortoise Shell style and Hanedashi style (in which all the stones in the top row are so layered to prevent enemies from invading). It was expected that water moats were dug all around the castle and canons were placed inside all the bastions. There were the Main Hall for the lord and a parade ground inside. The castle was finally completed in 1866, following the first Pentagonal Style Fort known as Goryokaku in Hokkaido, which was completed back in 1864. Norikata was very pleased to see it, inviting local people to show it, then his domain would be re-considered the Tatsuoka Domain.

The ground plan of Tatsuoka Castle, from the signboard at the site

Castle for Experiment

However, in fact, there were some disadvantages for the castle. First, Tatsuoka Castle was much smaller than Goryokaku. It was about 150m long, about half of Goryokaku at about 300m, so in terms of size, it was about one forth the size. The stone walls were 3.5m high and the moats were about 10m wide at most, which would be insufficient even in the Sengoku Period. The moats actually covered two thirds of the perimeter and only one bastion had a cannon. Moreover, the castle could be easily targeted by a cannon from a mountain, at about 500m away from it. What did the facts mean for the castle? Norikata probably meant the castle to not be used for a battle, but for authority of his government and an experiment of new technologies instead. The life of the castle only lasted a few years because of the Meiji Restoration.

The water moats of this castle is not so wide

The relief map around the castle

To be continued in “Tatsuoka Castle Part2”

48.Matsusaka Castle Part1

Ujisato Gamo, a great isolated talent, built this castle.

Location and History

Matsusaka Castle was located in what is now Matsusaka City, Mie Prefecture, which was called Ise Province in the past. The castle was first built by Ujisato Gamo in 1588 and maintained by other clans later on. Ujisato was a warlord who is not well known, even to people in Japan, for his abilities and achievements. This is probably because he died young at 40 years old – his descendants also all died young, and the clan has become extinct. As a result, few records and traditions of Ujisato remained. He seemed to be a great isolated talent, like a comet.

The portrait of Ujisato Gamo, owned by Aizu Wakamatsu Library (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Ujisato Gamo came from Omi Province, which is now Shiga Prefecture. The clan originally served the Rokkaku Clan, a warlord at Kannonji Castle in the province during the Sengoku Period. When Nobunaga Oda, who would later be the ruler, invaded the province in 1568, the Gamo Clan surrendered to Nobunaga, sending their successor, Ujisato to him as a hostage. However, Nobunaga found Ujisato was particularly outstanding among the many hostages from other clans, and married Ujisato to his daughter. Ujisato became a relative of Nobunaga. After Nobunaga was killed in the Honnoji Incident in 1582, Ujisato supported Hideyoshi Toyotomi, the next ruler. In 1584, he was promoted by Hideyoshi to a lord with an earning of 120,000 koku (rice) in Ise Province. He first lived in Matsugashima Castle which the previous lord had built, but decided to build his new home base which would be Matsusaka Castle.

The portrait of Nobunaga Oda, attributed to Soshu Kano, owned by Chokoji Temple, in the late 16th century (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

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

The range of Ise Province and the location of the castle

Ujisato builds Castle and Town emulating Rulers

Ujisato built the main portion of the new castle on a hill near the previous one. Several enclosures were built on the hill, all surrounded by high stone walls. It was done by inviting a guild of craftsmen called Ano-shu from Omi Province, Ujisato’s hometown. This portion was strictly protected by these walls with alternating gates and some turrets along complex routes. The upper tier of the Main Enclosure on the top had the three-level Main Tower. The Third Enclosure was built around the hill, which was used as warriors’ houses. The water moat surrounded them. Ujisato also built the castle town beside the castle by bringing in merchants from his hometown, which was famous for the “Omi Merchant”. Overall, he built the castle and town in the ways his masters, Nobunaga and Hideyoshi developed their towns, with his own ideas and experiences. He finally named the castle Matsusaka, which combined a good word “Matsu” or Pine, and “saka”, part of the name of his current master, Hideyoshi’s Osaka Castle.

The remaining high stone walls of Matsusaka Castle

Part of the map of old Matsusaka Castle in Ise Province, exhibited by the National Archives of Japan

In 1590, just after Hideyoshi’s unification of Japan, Ujisato was promoted and moved again to the Aizu area in the Tohoku Region to control the region. His territory finally reached an earning of 910,000 koku, which meant he became one of the greatest lords in Japan. He renovated a castle by building high stone walls and the Main Tower like Matsusaka Castle. The castle was renamed Wakamatsu Castle by him. It is also said that he advised a local lord, Nobunao Nanbu to build a castle with high stone walls, which was completed after his death, called Morioka Castle. These two castles are very rare ones, all built with high stone walls, in the region. Ujisato was also known as a tea ceremony master, poet, and Christian. However, he unfortunately died of illness in 1595.

*The remaining stone walls of Morioka Castle*

It is difficult for other lords to maintain Castle

After Ujisato left the castle, which was subsequently inherited by the Hattori, Furuta, and Tokugawa Clans, respectively. The first two clans had smaller territories than Ujisato, so they could not afford to maintain the castle. The Tokugawa Clan, one of the three branches of the Tokugawa family, also could not do so, because the clan was based in Wakayama Castle. The stone walls of Matsusaka Castle were somehow repaired, but the buildings of it eventually deteriorated. For example, the Main Tower collapsed due to a windstorm in 1644 but was not restored. The Back Gate had only a thatched roof at the end of the Edo Period. On the other hand, the castle town prospered in the period. The merchants of the town were known as the “Ise Merchant”. For instance, the founder of the kimono shop Echigoya, which is present Mitsukoshi department store, Takatoshi Mitsui came from the town.

The old photo of the Back Gate which had a thatched roof, exhibited by Matsusaka City Museum of History and Folklore

Echigoya in “*Suruga Town” from the series “100 Famous Views of Edo” attributed to Hiroshige Utagawa in the Edo Period (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimeidia Commons*)

To be continued in “Matsusaka Castle Part2”