After seeing the restored Main Gate and Corner Turret, I would like the city to restore the Three-level Turret as the Main Tower of the castle as well.
Features
Only Remaining building in Castle
Back to the central street, you can go further to the Main Enclosure. You may be surprised to see, in front of the enclosure, another but much deeper (22m) dry moat. It is now used as a ground for the Suigun Railway Line. Of course, it is the castle’s original. The enclosure has the only remaining building of the castle, Yakui-mon Gate which was said the Satake Clan had built. If it’s true, the gate might have been used as their Main Gate. Please make sure you don’t enter the school to stay where you are allowed to see it on the designated area around after crossing the Honjo-bashi Bridge over the moat.
The map around the castle, the broken red line shows the Sugiyama Slope and the broken blue line shows the Sakumachi Route
The large dry moat in front of the Main EnclosureIts bottom has become a ground for the Suigun Railway LineGoing to the Main Enclosure over the bridgeThe Yakui-mon Gate, the only remaining building of Mito Castle
Other Attractions in Second and Third Enclosures
There are two original back routes from the Second Enclosure, which we can still use, the Sugiyama-zaka Slope in the north and the Sakumachi Route in the south. Both routes have restored gates called Sugiyama-mon and Sakumachi-Sakashita-mon. If you walk down on the southern route to go back to Mito Station, you will see the large scale plateau on your right side, which is covered by concrete panels today. There was also the large Senba Lake on the left in the past, but it was reclaimed and reduced to the original western part around the Kairakuen Garden.
The restored Sugiyama-mon GateThe restored Sakumachi-Sakashita-mon GateThe southern side of the huge plateau
If you have time, you should consider visiting the large outer dry moat of the Third Enclosure, at the root of the plateau. It remains as it was and only the earthen walls go across the moat to the prefectural office which was the senior vassals’ residences. Overall, the castle was protected by the three huge moats.
The aerial photo of around the castle
The large outer dry moat of the Third Enclosure The earthen bridge has become the entrance of the prefectural office
Later History
Even after the severe events in the early Meinji Era, the Three-level Turret in the Second Enclosure of Mito Castle, which was so great that it was once called “One of the 20 remaining main towers in Japan”, had still remained until World War II, but it was burned down by the Mito air raids in 1945. After World War II, the Kodokan area was designated as a Special National Historic Site in 1952. The other items, the earthen walls, dry moats, and Yakui-mon Gate has been designated as historic sites of Ibaraki Prefecture. Mito City has recently restored some castle buildings as we can see now.
The remaining earthen walls around the Yakui-mon Gate at the Main EnclosureA inside view of the Main Gate
My Impression
After visiting the ruins of Mito Castle, I realized that strong castles don’t always need stone walls. This was proven not only by the past battles, but also by the two dry moats being used for the current transportation. In addition, seeing the restored Main Gate and Corner Turret, I would like the city to restore the Three-level Turret as the Main Tower of the castle as well. This is because the 8 Main Towers, which had been burned down mostly during World War II, were restored except for that of Mito Castle. However, there is no plan for it yet.
A view of the earthen walls and the dry moat in front of the Second Enclosure from the Main BridgeThe explanation board of the Three-level Turret is at a different place from its original position
How to get There
If you want to visit there by car, it is about a 15 minutes drive away from Minami-Mito IC on the Kitakando Expressway or a 30 minutes drive away from Mito IC on the Joban Expressway. There is a parking lot beside the Main Gate. By public transportation, it takes about 10 minutes on foot to get there from JR Mito Station. From Tokyo to Mito Station: Take the Hitachi limited express at Tokyo Station.
城の「亀」の部分が残っています。
The “tortoise” part of the castle remains.
立地と歴史～Location and History
城は交通の要地～The castle has a good location for transportation
土浦市は茨城県の南部にあり、水戸街道に沿っています。また、霞ヶ浦の西端にもあたります。過去においては、このような環境は水陸交通の結節点として絶好の立地となりました。この街は、江戸初期辺りから大いに栄えました。 Tsuchiura City is located in the south part of Ibaraki Prefecture, along Mito-kaido Road. It is also beside the western edge of Kasumigaura Lake. In the past, this environment provided a perfect intersection of transportation for land and waterways. The city flourished since around the first Edo Period.
城の位置～The location of the castle
土浦城は、それより以前に小田氏により築城されましたが、街と同時にに少しずつ拡張されました。この城は土浦藩の本拠地でしたが、最初の頃領主が度々変わりました。最終的には土屋氏が１７世紀後半から江戸時代末期までこの地を治めました。 Tsuchiura Castle was developed little by little at the same time, though it was first built earlier by the Oda clan. The castle became the home base of Tsuchiura Feudal Domain where several clans governed by turns at first. In the end, the Tsuchiya clan governed the area from the late 17th century to the end of the Edo Period.
土屋寅直、第９代土屋家藩主～Toranao Tsuchiya, the 9th lord of the Tsuchiya clan（licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedeia Commons）
土塁と水路の城～ A castle with earthen walls and waterways
土浦城には「天守」や石垣はありませんでした。その代わりに「本丸」にはいくつかの櫓と門があり、土塁と水堀に囲まれていました。二の丸などの他の曲輪は本丸の周りにあり、多くの水堀や水路につながっていました。 Tsuchiura Castle had no “Tenshu” or main tower and no stone walls. Instead, the main enclosure called “Honmaru” had several turrets and gates, and was surrounded by earthen walls and a water moat. Other enclosures such as Ninomaru were set around the Honmaru, connecting with many water moats and waterways.
明治初期の城周辺の地図、まだ水路がたくさん残っていました～The map around the castle in the first Meiji Period, a lot of waterways still remained then
発掘により本丸の土塁は、４段階の工事により積み上げらられ、より強固にされたと判明しました。。最終段階では、防水や美観のために石が敷かれていました。このような立地のため、この城は何度も洪水に襲われましたが、城の中心部分は決して水面下に沈みませんでした。洪水の時期には、城は水に浮かぶ亀のように見えたそうで、そのためこの城は「亀城」とも呼ばれました。 Excavation shows that the earthen walls of Honmaru were built by a four-step construction process, lending extra strength to the walls. In their final state, the walls were covered in stones for protection from water and also for aesthetic value. Due to its location, the castle suffered from floods several times, but the center of the castle never sunk under the water. During the flood season, the castle looked like a tortoise floating in the water, so people have called the castle “Ki-jo” or the Tortoise Castle.
本丸の土塁～The earthen walls of Honmaru
特徴～Features
現存する建物～Remaining buildings
現在、ほとんどの土浦城の土塁と水路は、街の近代化のため、撤去されたり埋められたりしました。実際、ＪＲ土浦駅から城跡への通りでさえ、昔は水路の一つでした。その通りには水路だったことを示す掲示と塗装がなされています。 Now, most of Tsuchiura Castle’s earthen walls and waterways have been removed or filled to modernize the city. In fact, even the street from JR Tsuchiura Station to the castle ruins was one of the waterways in the past. You can see the sign and painting which shows that was a waterway on the street.
水路であったことを示す塗装がある通り～The street with the painting that show it was a waterway
本丸と、二の丸の一部の跡地が亀城公園として残っています。本丸はまだ水堀に囲まれ、亀のように見えますし、現在建物もあります。 The ruins of the Honmaru and part of the Ninomaru remain as the Ki-jo-Koen Park. The Honmaru still looks like a tortoise surrounded by its water moat, where several buildings are now.
城周辺の航空写真～The aerial photo of around the castle
「太鼓門」と呼ばれる正門はオリジナルです。関東地方では唯一の本丸で現存している櫓門です。 The front gate called the Drum Tower or “Taiko-mon” is the original. This is the only remaining turret-style gate in Honmaru in the Kanto Region.
現存する太鼓門～The remaining Taiko-mon Gate
「霞門」と呼ばれる裏門も現存しており、簡便な薬医門という形式です。東櫓と組み合わされて出入口を守っていました。 The back gate called “Kasumi-mon” is also original and has a simple “Yakui-mon” style. It was used combined with the East Turret or “Higashi-yagura” to guard the entrance.
現存する霞門～The remaining Kasumi-mon Gate
復元された建物～Restored buildings
東櫓は１９９８年に、元の状態に近くなるよう伝統的工法で復元されました。土浦市立博物館の別館としても利用されています。 The East Turret was restored in 1998 using traditional methods, to resemble its original state. It is also used as the annex for Tsuchiura City Museum.
復元された東櫓～The restored East Turret（taken by チャコ from photoAC）東櫓の内部～The inside of East Turret
もう一つ西櫓があり、１９４９年の大型台風で破壊され、１９５０年に撤去されましたが、元から使われていた資材を利用して１９９１年に復元されました。 There is aother turret, the West Turret or “Nishi-yagura” which suffered damege from a big typhoon in 1949, was demolished in 1950, but was also restored in 1991 using the same materials as in the original construction.
復元された西櫓～The restored West Turret
本丸の内部は空き地になっていて、以前には御殿がありましたが、明治時代の火事で焼けてしまいました。 The inside of the Honmaru is empty where the main hall stood which was burned out by a fire in the Meiji Period.
本丸の内部～The inside of the Honmaru
更には、本丸の土塁上には太鼓門と東櫓をつなぐ白壁が復元されたことで、本丸の外側からは、復元された城の外観を楽しむことができます。 In addition, the plaster wall between the Drum Tower and East Tower was also restored on the earthen walls of the Honmaru, so you can see the restored appearance of the castle from the outside.
復元された城の外観～The restored appearance of the castle
その後～Later History
明治維新後、土浦城は地方政府庁舎に転用されました。本丸御殿はそのために使われたのですが、残念なことに１８８４年に焼失しました。しばらくして、城跡は１８９９年に亀城公園となりました。１９８８年には二の丸区域に土浦市立博物館がオープンしました。そこでは土浦市の歴史や文化、そして土浦城のことも展示しています。亀の形に似ている城の中心部の模型を見ることができます。 After the Meiji Restoration, Tsuchiura Castle was turned into the hall for the local government. The Honmaru main hall was used for it, but unfortunately it was burned down in 1884. After a while, the castle ruins became the Ki-jo-Koen Park in 1899. The Tsuchiura City Museum has been open since 1988 in the Ninomaru area. It has exhibits about the history and culture of the city as well as the castle. You can see a miniature model of the castle’s center portion, resembling a tortoise.
土浦市立博物館にある城の模型～The miniature model of the castle at Tsuchiura City Museum
私の感想～My Impression
霞ヶ浦は現在、日本で琵琶湖に次ぐ２番目に大きな湖です。中世初期までは内海だっともいいます。土浦市はまた、近代まで洪水の被害を受けていました。水を制御するのは難しかったのでしょうが、この地域の人たちはそれを成し遂げたのです。城跡の地は、周りの敷地よりも少し高くなっており、それを見たとき、人々が城を災害からの被害を防ぎ、城を守ろうとした努力の跡だと理解しました。公園は今は閑静でくつろげる場所となっています。 Kasumigaura Lake is now the second largest lake in Japan, following Biwako Lake. It had been an inland sea until around the first Middle Ages. Tsuchiura City also suffered from floods until the Modern Ages. It seemed to be difficult to control the water, but people in the area were able to use it. When I saw the castle ruins set a little higher than the area around, I was able to understand people made great efforts to prevent disasters and protect the castle. The park is quiet and a relaxing place now.
公園の入り口～The entrance of the park
ここに行くには～How to get There
車で行く場合：常磐自動車道の佐倉土浦ＩＣか土浦北ＩＣから約１５分です。博物館に駐車場があります。 電車の場合は、ＪＲ土浦駅から歩いて約１５分です。 If you want to go there by car: It takes about 15 minutes from the Sakura-Tsuchiura IC or the Tsuchiura-Kita IC on Joban Expressway. The museum offers a parking lot. When using train, it takes about 15 minutes on foot from JR Tsuchiura station.
