You can see the completed version of Takeda’s method for building castles.
Features
The ruins of Shinpu Castle is open to the public. Visitors usually enter the ruins from the eastern side using two trails which were either built in the present time. One of them is the very steep approach with stone steps to the shrine on the top of the mountain. The other is the gentle steep footwalk going around the mid slope of the mountain to the south. I recommend using the latter if you want to look around the ruins.
The approach to the shrineThe footwalk for visitors
Powerful ruins of Main Gate and Umadashi system
The footwalk goes under the Third Enclosure above the Main Gate. You can walk down from the inside to the outside of the ruins of the gate. The gate ruins are still surrounded by the earthen walls.
The map around the castle
The ruins of the Main Gate
The ruins of the Umadashi system remain outside the gate. Umadashi was Takeda’s unique defense system which is a round shaped stronghold sticking out of a gate. It usually had a convex moon shaped moat in front of it to make it more protective. The defenders could also counter the attackers from the sides. The ruins of Umadashi in Shinpu Castle are very large and you can clearly see the shapes of the stronghold and the moat.
The imaginary drawing of the Umadashi part (from the signboard at the site)The round shaped stronghold of UmadashiThe convex moon shaped moat of UmadashiThe side part of the stronghold
Main Enclosure which worships Takeda
Going back to the footwalk, you can walk up to the Main Enclosure through the Second Enclosure. The Main Enclosure is largest one and on the top of the mountain, which had Katsuyori Takeda’s Main Hall. The excavation team recently found the foundation of the hall gate and the traces of the leveling probably done by Tokugawa.
The Main Enclosure of Shinpu Castle
The only things that remained was the Shinpu-Fujitake Shrine which worships Katsuyori and the shrine which worships the war deaths in the battle of Nagashino on the spacious area.
The Shinpu-Fujitake ShrineThe steep approach that can be seen from the shrineThe shrine which worships the war deaths in the battle of Nagashino
You can see a good view from there including the Kamanashi-gawa River below and the mountains above.
A view from the Main Enclosure
Also pay attention to Back Gate
You can also walk down to the northern part of the castle from the Main Enclosure. Passing the ruins of the well and the wooden bridge, you will reach the ruins of the back gate called Inui-Mon.
The map of the northern part of the castle
the ruins of the wellThe ruins of the wooden bridgeThe imaginary drawing of the wooden bridge (from the signboard at the site)
The gate was built in the Masugata style which had a square space sandwiched by two gate buildings, which could prevent enemies from attacking easily. The earthen walls surrounding the space still remain intact and the foundations of the gate were also found.
The ruins of the Back GateThe Masugata space which is surrounded by the earthen walls
「一夜城」は一日にしてならず。
”The castle built in one night” was not built in a day.
石垣山城の入り口の一つ～One of the entrances of Ishigakiyama Castle
立地と歴史～Location and History
石垣山城には「一夜城」という異名があります。文字通り一夜でできた城という意味です。これは１５９０年に豊臣秀吉と北条氏の間で起こった小田原城包囲戦に由来します。 Ishigakiyama Castle is nicknamed as “Ichiya-jo” which means a castle built in one night. It comes from an event in Siege of Odawara Castle between Hideyoshi Toyotomi and the Hojo clan in 1590.
小田原城～Odawara Castle
小田原にいる北条の西方にある笠懸山の上にこの城が完成したとき、秀吉は配下の者に、一夜のうちに城の周りの木々を全て伐採するよう命じました。翌朝、北条は城が突然現れたと思い、驚愕しました。この話により一夜城と呼ばれるようになったというわけです。しかし、この話は後になって江戸時代の軍記物により広められたものなのです。今でも北条がいた小田原市域からは、この城跡で何か起こればはっきり見ることができます。 When this castle was completed on a mountain called Kasagakeyama, located in the west of Hojo in Odawara, Hideyoshi ordered his men to cut down all the trees around the castle in one night. Hojo was very surprised to see the castle suddenly appear the next morning. The story calls it Ichiya-jo. However, it was spread later by war chronicles in the Edo Period. Even now you can clearly see how it goes in the castle ruins area from Odawara city area where Hojo was.
城周辺の地図～The map of around the castle
小田原城址から見た石垣山城～Ishigakiyama Castle from Odawara Castle Ruins
この城にはこのような不可思議な話もありますが、訪れる価値は十分にあります。それは、東日本では初めてとなる総石垣造りの城だからです。それまでは、主に土を使った基礎による城が普通でした。秀吉は最初１５９０年４月６日から包囲戦のため寺院に滞在しました。そして、すぐに築城を開始し、穴太衆と呼ばれる石垣積みの専門集団も連れてきました。彼は６月２６日に本陣として城に移ったので、３ヶ月弱で完成したことになります。当時の正規の城を作る期間としては驚異的でした。 Though the castle has such an unclear story, it is still worth the visit, because it is the first castle made up entirely of stone walls in eastern Japan. Until then, it was common to build castle foundation mainly from soil in the area. Hideyoshi first stayed at a temple for the siege from April 6 in 1590, then started to build the castle right away, bringing the specialists of piling stone walls called Anoushu. He moved to the castle as his stronghold on June 26. That means the castle was built in less than three months. It can be seen as a surprisingly short term to build a formal castle at that time.
豊臣秀吉肖像画、加納光信筆、高台寺蔵～The Portrait of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, attributed to Mitsunobu Kano, owned by Kodaiji Temple（licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons）
歴史家の多くは、この城は秀吉の権威を北条や味方に対して見せつけるものだったと言います。一方、この城はもっと長期の包囲戦に備えたものだったと指摘する人もいます。事実としては、北条は７月５日に降伏してしまいますが、それまではわかりませんでした。古文書には、秀吉側の兵隊は厭戦気味で、兵糧も尽きてきていたとあります。また、包囲戦の後も、工事がまだ続いていたこともわかっています。北条の後に入った徳川氏はしばらく城を使い続けていたようです。包囲戦よりも新しい日付のある天守瓦が発掘されています。その後はいつしか廃城となったようです。 Many historians and writers say the castle demonstrated Hideyoshi’s authority to Hojo and his supporters. Some point out that the castle would be for a longer term siege. The fact was that Hojo surrendered on July 5, but it was uncertain before then. Old documents say Hideyoshi’s soldiers got bored and supplies were getting less. There is another evidence that the construction was going on after the siege. The Tokugawa clan, following Hojo, seemed to use the castle for a while. Roof tiles for the Tenshu keep with newer dates than the siege were found by excavation. After that it seemed to be abandoned for sometime.
城周辺の航空写真～The aerial photo of around the castle
特徴～Features
今でも、この城跡にこんなにも巨石があるのに驚かれるかもしれません。その当時の人たちにとっては尚更だったでしょう。観光客の人たちは大体駐車場から、南曲輪を通り過ぎて二の丸に登っていきます。道すがら半分崩れた石垣が目に入ってきます。粗野ながら威風堂々としています。 Even now, you may be surprised to see there are the castle ruins with such large stones, to say nothing of the people at that time. Visitors usually go up from the parking area to the Ninomaru enclosure through the South enclosure. You can see a lot of half collapsing stone walls alongside. They look rough but regal.
南曲輪の石垣～The stone walls of South enclosure崩れかけた石垣～The half collapsing stone walls二の丸～Ninomaru enclosure
井戸があったことに由来する井戸曲輪は是非見ていただきたいです。井戸の円錐の形に沿って自然石を全面的に積み上げてあります。その様はとても美しく、穴太衆の高度な技術が見て取れます。 Don’t miss to see Ido enclosure which was used for the well. It is totally covered with piled natural stones along the corn shape of the well. It is very beautiful and shows the high level technique of Anoushu.
井戸曲輪～Ido enclosure（licensed by Tak1701d via Wikimedia Commons）
二の丸の方に戻れば、本丸の北門跡の方に入っていけます。本丸には秀吉の御殿があり、その周辺では茶会が開かれていたそうです。ここからは、小田原城を含む小田原市域一帯を見渡せます。秀吉の本陣として相応しい場所でした。 You can enter the North Gate Ruins of the Honmaru enclosure if you turn back to Ninomaru. There was Hideyoshi’s palace where he is said to hold a tea ceremony around. You can see the whole view of Odawara City including Odawara Castle. It served as Hideyoshi’s stronghold.
北門跡から見た本丸石垣～The stone walls of Honmaru enclosure from North Gate Ruins本丸～Honmaru enclosure本丸からの眺め～A view from Honmaru
天守跡は本丸のとなりにありますが、現在はあまりそのように見えません。その石垣は、関東大震災のときに崩れてしまったようです。最後は大手門跡を通って、東口にたどり着きます。 The Tenshu ruins are next to Honmaru, but they don’t look so now. Their stone walls seemed to collapse due to Great Kanto Earthquakes. Lastly you can go down through the Main Gate Ruins and reach the East Entrance.
天守跡～The Tenshu ruins大手門跡～The Main Gate Ruins大手門跡から見た南曲輪～South enclosure from Main Gate Ruins
その後～Later Life
江戸時代の１８世紀初期、小田原藩の有浦氏が城跡を調査し、遺跡の図面を残しました。この図面によれば、石垣はまだ良好に残っていました。しかし、残念ながら１９２３年の関東大震災で多くが破壊されました。城跡は１９５９年に国の史跡に指定されました。 In the first 18th century in the Edo Period, the Ariura clan of the Odawara Domain investigated the castle ruins and left the drawings of the ruins. According to the drawings, the stone walls still kept well. But unfortunately Great Kanto Earthquakes in 1923 broke many of them. They were designated as a National Historic Site in 1959.
本丸の石垣～The stone walls of Honmaru enclosure
私の感想～My Impression
私が思うに、この城の素晴らしいことの一つは、その「石垣山」という名前です。単に石垣の城という意味ですが、その当時の人たちがどんなに驚いたかがわかります。この城は相当な衝撃を与えたのでしょう。それで山の名前が笠懸山から石垣山に変わったのです。この新しい名前は遅くとも江戸中期には一般に広まりました。恐らく一夜城伝説と組み合わされて定着したのでしょう。 I think one of the greatest things of the castle is its name “Ishigakiyama”. It just means a stone walls castle. It shows how surprisingly people at that time felt. The castle must have had a big impact on them. That’s why the name of the mountain was changed from Kasagakeyama to Ishigakiyama. The new name spread to the public at the latest in the mid Edo Period. It was probably combined with the Ichiya-jo story, and have fixed.
本丸からの眺めをもう一枚～Another view from Honmaru
ここに行くには～How to get There
石垣山城跡に行くには車が便利です。西湘バイパスの小田原ＩＣか小田原厚木道路西小田原ＩＣから数キロの範囲です。電車を使う場合は、ＪＲ早川駅から歩いて約４０～５０分かかります。急坂を登っていく必要がありますが、それも面白いかもしれません。 東京から早川駅まで：東海道新幹線に乗って小田原まで行き、東海道線に乗り換えてください。 It is useful to access Ishigakiyama Castle Ruins by car. It is several kilometers from the Odawara IC on Seishou Bypass or the Odawara-Nishi IC on Odawara-Atsugi Road. When using train, it takes about 40～50 minutes on foot from JR Hayakawa Station. It needs to climb up a steep slope, but it may be interesting. From Tokyo to Hayakawa Station: Take the Tokaido Shinkansen super express to Odawara, then transfer to Tokaido local line.
早川駅からの坂道～The slope from Hayakawa Station 坂道から見た小田原城～Odawara Castle from the slope
