Yamanouchi clan – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

Location and History

Pre History of Kochi Castle

Kochi City originated from the name Kochi Castle and is the capital of Kochi Prefecture on Shikoku Island. Kochi Castle is one of the most popular tourist spots of the prefecture. It has many remaining castle buildings including the Main Gate, the Main Hall, and the Main Tower. The castle was built on a low mountain called Mt. Otaka-sakayama, but it is uncertain when it was first built. In 1588, Motochika Chosogabe, the lord of Tosa Province, what is now Kochi Prefecture, moved his home base from Okoh Castle to Kochi Caste, which was called Otaka-sakayama Castle at that time. However, he moved again to Urado Castle after only a three-year stay in Otaka-sakayama Castle. This could be because the area received a lot of rain but had poor drainage.

The location of the castle

The portrait of Motochika Chosogabe, owned by Hada Shrine (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Kazutoyo Yamanouchi built Kochi Castle

In 1601, Kazutoyo Yamanouchi was promoted by the Tokugawa Shogunate to a new lord of Tosa Province and became the founder of the Tosa Domain. He tried to rebuild and live in Otaka-sakayama Castle which had enough space to build the castle town. The castle was rebuilt with advanced technology at that time, such as building stone walls and large-scale buildings. After the completion of the castle, it was renamed Kochi Castle. As a result, the Yamanouchi Clan governed the castle and the province all through the Edo Period.

The statue of Kazutoyo Yamanouchi in front of Kochi Castle

Part of the illustration of Kochi Castle in Tosa Province, in the Edo Period, exhibited by the National Archives of Japan

The miniature model of Kochi Castle in its Main Tower

Features of Kochi Castle

Kochi Castle had several interesting features. First, the castle had a lot of stone troughs to allow for proper drainage if it rained a lot. Such a system was very rare for castles in Japan and can even now be seen when you visit the castle.

One of the stone troughs on the stone walls

Secondly, the castle had an old-style Main Tower, called the lookout tower type, for the period of its construction. It is said that Kazutoyo wanted to build the Main Tower resembling the Main Tower of Kakegawa Castle, where he lived before he went to Tosa Province. For this reason, when people in Kakegawa restored the Main Tower of Kakegawa Castle in the present time, they used the design plans of the remaining Main Tower of Kochi Castle.

The restored Main Tower of Kakegawa Castle, taken by Oshiro-man from photo AC

The remaining Main Tower of Kochi Castle

Most of the castle buildings including the Main Tower were unfortunately burned down by a great fire in 1727. When the Tosa Domain rebuilt the castle after the fire, they restored the Main Tower in 1749 in a way which was almost the same as the original one, not using a new style. This could be because the shogunate just allowed the domain to use the original style even for rebuilding. It is also said that the warriors in the domain still loved the style of their founder, Kazutoyo. The Main Tower also didn’t stand on a stone wall base and was connected directly to the Main Hall in the Main Enclosure on the top of the mountain. It is thought that this is also one of the styles of old castles.

The Main Tower, connected directly to the Main Hall

The castle also had a feature using both buildings and natural terrain of the mountain for defense. If enemies attacked the castle to reach the Main Tower, they had to pass through the Suginodan Enclosure and the Second Enclosure which were built around the slope of the mountain. In addition, if enemies passed the Iron Gate before the Second Enclosure, they could be near the Main Tower and see the Tsumemon-Gate which looked like the gate to the tower. However, it was just a bridge between the Main Enclosure and the Second Enclosure, which the enemies could never go across from that point. This is a tricky system to prevent enemies from reaching the center of the castle.

The route from the Main Route to the Main Enclosure and Main Tower (The illustration of Kochi Castle adding the red colored letters)

The Main Tower that can be seen close from the front of the Tsumemon Gate

To be continued in “Kochi Castle Part2”

Features

Walking around Castle Ruins

The Enclosure which was supposed to be a Former Stable is a little far from the main portion of the castle. It was used as a lookout as well.

The map around the castle

The castle also had many dry moats dug on the mountain in both vertical and horizontal directions to prevent enemies from attacking. You can still see some of them remained.

The castle ruins now have many routes like network and many enclosures for stop and rest, so you can enjoy walking and relaxing as well as learning history.

Some of the routes going around the castle ruins

A view from the Enclosure which was supposed to be a Former Stable

Later History

After Okoh Castle was abandoned, the Chosogabe Clan was unfortunately fired by the Tokugawa Shogunate. The Yamanouchi Clan from Kakegawa Caste came to govern Tosa Province and lived in Kochi Castle. The remaining Ichiryo-Gusoku group suffered from the Yamanouchi high-class warriors as the low class ones during the Edo Period. However, due to their rebellious spirit, some heroes in the Meiji Restoration such as Ryoma Sakamoto and Shintato Nakaoka appeared from the low class to change Japan later.

The portrait of Ryoma Sakamoto, published in a book called Kinsei Meishi Shashin vol.2 (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The photo of Shintaro Nakaoka, published in a book called Ishin Tosa Kinnoshi (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

As for the castle ruins, they were first developed as a normal park with cherry trees planted. The excavation was done between 1985 and 1990. Since then, the ruins have been developing as Okoh Mountain Historical Park. They were finally designated as a National Historical Site in 2008. In addition, Kochi Prefectural Museum of History was built beside the park in 1991, where you can learn more about the castle and the Chosogabe Clan.

My Impression

I recommend visiting the three Chosogabe’s home base castles at once because they are close to each other. Kochi Castle basically remains as the Yamanouchi Clan’s legacy now, but the castle’s hill still has many tiers like Okoh Castle, probably it came from Chosogabe’s period. Though the ruins of Urado Castle were mostly destroyed by modern facilities, you can still see the great ocean view of Katsurahama Beach and the famous statue of Ryoma Sakamoto nearby.

The statue of Ryoma Sakamoto (taken by 末っ子魂 from photoAC)

How to get There

I recommend using a car when you visit the ruins.
It is about 10 minutes away from Nankoku IC on the Kochi Expressway.
The park offers a parking lot.
If you go there from Tokyo or Osaka, I recommend going there by plane. When you get there, it’s better to rent a car as there are few buses in the area.

Links and References

・National Historical Site: Oko Castle Ruins, Kochi Prefectural Museum of History

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Okoh Castle Part1”
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タグ: Yamanouchi clan

84.Kochi Castle Part1