wooden main tower – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

105.Shiroishi Castle Part2

The restored three-level Main Tower is on the corner of the stone walls of the main enclosure, which looks really great! Not only is it a symbol of the castle but also of the city. It could also had been seen as the authority of the lord as well as a threat to enemies when the original tower was there.

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Kuniori Katakura, the last lord of the castle moved to Hokkaido with his some retainers. All the castle buildings and stone walls were demolished and sold to earn their expenses. The vacant castle ruins were turned into Masuoka Park which has became famous for cherry blossoms for some time. In 1987, a NHK drama called “Dokuganryu (one-eyed hero) Masamune” aired and became very popular. The drama featured not only Masamune Date but also the Katakura Clan, so many visitors visited the Shiroishi Castle Ruins but were disappointed at the ruins with few historical items. The mayor of the city saw the situation and decided to restore the castle in 1988.

One of the most important topics about it was that the castle would be restored using the traditional wooden construction. However, there was a big problem with the law. The original Main Tower was 16.7m high. Meanwhile, Japan’s Building Standard Act basically doesn’t allow builders to build wooden buildings which are over 13m tall. According to this law, the tower would not be able to be built. After that, The city negotiated with the central government, and finally got an exemption by the competent minster to build the tower at its original height. The restoration was completed in 1997.

The restored Main Tower of Shiroishi Castle

Features

Many Historical Items in Main Enclosure

Today, the Shiroishi city area still has a traditional atmosphere of Shiroishi Castle and its castle town. This is probably because the Main Tower was restored on the hill and the old waterways are still intact in the city area. There were several enclosures on the hill in the past, but they were turned into shrines, parks, and playgrounds, excluding the main enclosure with the restored items.

Shinmeisha Shrine in the second enclosure

The Masuoka Park in the second enclosure

That’s why most visitors go to the main enclosure by walking on the eastern or northern slopes on the hill. If you take the eastern one, you will see the few remaining original stone walls at the base of the enclosure. The other stones above were all demolished and sold during the early Meiji Era. You will next see the restored stone walls which were piled up using natural large stones in Nozura-zumi method. They look mild rather than wild as most of the stones were round-shaped.

The map around the main enclosure

The walls were piled up using natural stones

Well restored Main Tower and Main Gate

The restored three-level Main Tower is on the corner of the stone walls, which looks really great! Not only is it a symbol of the castle but also of the city. It could also had been seen as the authority of the lord as well as a threat to enemies when the original tower was there. In fact, there were three-generation towers on the walls during the Edo Period, which meant it had been rebuilt twice, according to the excavations. The current tower was restored on the second stone foundations because they remain in the best conditions. In addition, the appearance of the tower came from the third generation which was drawn in some pictures. The second and third ones are probably almost the same or similar since the third one was restored in 1823 after the second one burned in 1819.

Part of the Illustration of Shiroishi Castle, attributed to Unyo Koseki, owned by Shiroishi City, exhibited in the Main Tower

The main gate of the enclosure was also restored at the same time as the Main Tower. The gate consists of two gates and stone walls, which form a defensive space called Masugata. The Masugata systems in other castles are usually a square and closed space but that of Shiroishi Castle is very unique. The first gate is always open with no doors (according to the excavations so far) and the space inside is half occupied by a corner of the stone walls of the enclosure. Visitors can’t clearly see the inside, because it is blocked by the walls. That may be the reason for the first gate having no doors.

The second gate is half blocked by the stone walls

The Masugata system seen from the Main Tower

Other Ruins in Main Enclosure

The inside of the main enclosure is empty with the signboard of the Main Hall which was built there. The other sides of the enclosure look like earthen walls which remained after the covering stone walls had been removed. There are the Back Gate Ruins on the opposite side of the Main Gate. There are also the ruins of Tatumi (southeastern) Turret and Hitsujisaru (southwestern) Turret at other corners of the enclosure.

The Back Gate is marked by the red circle, the Southeastern Turret is marked by the blue circle and the Southwestern Turret is marked by the green circle, in the miniature model exhibited by the Shiroishi Castle History Museum

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

141.Gujo-Hachiman Castle Part2

A beautiful symbol of the town

Features

Symbol of Gujo-Hachiman Town

Today, Gujo-Hachiman Castle has become a symbol of the Gujo-Hachiman town. You can see the rebuilt Main Tower of the castle on the mountain from any parts of the town. The mountain is covered with cherry blossoms in spring, green leaves in summer, autumn leaves in fall, and snow in winter. A famous writer, Ryotaro Shiba said the castle was “the most beautiful mountain castle in Japan” when he visited it in the early spring when the snow remained on the ground. If you drive to the castle, you can park either at the foot, halfway up, or on the top of the mountain. You can also hike up the mountain from wherever you park.

A view of Gujo-Hachiman Castle from the town

The map around the castle

If you climb from the parking lot at the foot, you will pass by the ruins of the rice warehouse where the farmers gathered during the Gujo uprising and the Shiroyama Park where the Main Hall was built. From this point, you can enter the mountain trail.

The route from the parking lot at the foot

Three-tier Belt Enclosures

After about a 10-minute climb, you will see the three-tier Belt Enclosures surrounded by old stone walls that were piled up naturaly. The first (lower) tier is now used as the paved road to the parking lot on the top. The second (middle) tier is used as the promenade for visitors from the parking lot to the castle facilities. The third and final upper tier is for the path connecting the Cherry Enclosure and the Pine Enclosure on the top.

The route is mixed with the roadway and trail

The paved road on the lower tier (on the left) and the stone walls of the middle tier (on the right)

The observation platform on the middle tier (originally a barbican?)

The promenade on the middle tier (on the left) and the stone walls of the upper tier (on the right)

The path on the upper tier (on the left) and the stone walls of the Cherry Enclosure (on the right)

Rebuilt Main Tower has Traditional Taste

You can enter the Cherry Enclosure to visit the rebuilt Main Tower. Experts speculate the three-level Main Tower would have been built in this area. However, because it was only seen in some drawings, and not scientifically proven by excavations and records. It would be difficult to call the current tower the reconstructed one. If the original towers was not built on the past, we can call the current tower the imitation tower. Since we can’t be certain of that fact, let’s simply refer to it as the rebuilt main tower.

The map around the top

The original stone wall base for the tower

The Main Tower in the drawing of the battle in 1600 at the castle, exhibited in the Main Tower of the castle

It is the oldest wooden rebuilt Main Tower in Japan, built back in 1933, nearly 90 years ago. However, it is not the original, but it has a taste of traditional Japanese architecher. You can hear squeak noises from wooden floors as you walk or climb in the tower because of this old wooden building. The tower has 4 levels and 5 floors including the lower floors which are used for exhibitions of the castle and town. You can easily climb up on the stairways to the top floor. There, you can enjoy a great view of the area around.

A view of Gujo-Hachiman town from the top floor

To be continued in “Gujo-Hachiman Castle Part3”
Back to “Gujo-Hachiman Castle Part1”

44.Nagoya Castle Part1

Do we really need a wooden Main Tower?

What is happening?

Nagoya City’s Policy

Nagoya Castle, which is located in Nagoya City, is very popular. Its Main Tower with the Golden Grampuses on the top is one of the most famous symbols of the city. The Main Tower is not original but was apparently restored in 1959. The original one was burned down due to the Bombing of Nagoya in 1945 during World War II.

The location of the castle

Takashi Kawamura, the mayor of Nagoya City has been suggesting the construction of a wooden Main Tower which would have the same design as the original one. The present Main Tower is over 60 years old and was found to have poor earthquake resistance. He stresses it is a good opportunity for replacing the present concrete Main Tower with an almost original wooden one. He also says the city can do this as it has a lot of pictures, drawings, and other records of the original one before it was burned down. He tells the citizens a wooden Main Tower gives great power to the city and boosts tourism. Many of the citizens support him, but it is not that simple.

A picture of the original Main Tower (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Claim of Agency for Cultural Affairs

Kawamura needs the approval of the Agency for Cultural Affairs before the launch of the replacement, because the castle has been designated as a Special National Historic Site. The agency claims that Nagoya City should investigate and repair the stone wall base for the Main Tower before the replacement. The base is original but has been left damaged from the fire of the bombing. It is more important for the agency to repair the base than to restore a wooden Main Tower.

The part damaged from the fire of the bombing

The present Main Tower is actually a modern building used as a museum with an elevator. If the building is replaced with a wooden building using the original design, this will not be able to have the elevator. Some groups of disabled people argue that the building must be accessable. In addition, the government will also not allow such a building to be used as the museum, even though the wooden building would have sprinklers to avoid fires, and reinforced woods to protect from earthquakes. It will also have regulations for visitors, such as an admission limit.

The present Main Tower has elevators outside and inside.

Other Opinions

Others suggest that the design of the wooden Main Tower should be changed even if it is different from the original one. It can have the elevator and emergency facilities. Some of the officials agree with it, but Kawamura says a new Main Tower must be built in the original design. Few people say that a wooden Main Tower is not needed, instead, the present Main Tower should be renovated for the anti-earthquake construction and the renewal of the museum. A wooden Main Tower will cost nearly 500 million US$, while the renovation would need about 65 million US$ (in the actual case of Osaka Castle). The present Main Tower itself can also be a cultural property. Indeed, the present concrete Main Tower of Osaka Castle became a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property recently and is 90 years old now.

The Main Tower of Osaka Castle which is a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property

To be continued in “Nagoya Castle Part2”