53.Nijo Castle Part1

Nijo Castle is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Kyoto, and a World Heritage Site, where many tourists overseas visit. The castle was built by Ieyasu Tokugawa who was the last ruler and the first Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate. However, do you know about other Nijo Castles which other rulers and Shoguns had owned before Ieyasu? The current Nijo Castle, which only remains, is the final version of Nijo Castle including the others.

Location and History

Nijo Castle is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Kyoto, and a World Heritage Site, where many tourists overseas visit. The castle was built by Ieyasu Tokugawa who was the last ruler and the first Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate. However, did you know about other Nijo Castles which other rulers and Shoguns had owned before Ieyasu? The current Nijo Castle, which is the only remaining castle, is the final version of Nijo Castles including the others. That’s because historians call the castles which the rulers and the Shoguns built in the center of Kyoto, the series of Nijo Castles. (Nijo Castle was originally the name for Ieyasu’s one at that time.)

The current Nijo Castle

Shoguns and Rulers of Nijo Castles

The first Nijo Castle was built by Yoshiteru Ashikaga, the 13th Shogun of the Ashikaga Shogunate. His ancestors had lived in a residence called “The Flower Palace” but it was weak defensively. When Yoshiteru became the Shogun, he couldn’t stay long even in Kyoto because of the conflicts against his retainers. In 1558, he eventually lived in Kyoto by making peace with Nagayoshi Miyoshi who was the most influential retainer, called “the first ruler”. Yoshiteru launched the building of his new palace, which was actually a castle with doubled moats and stone walls. Living in a simple palace was very dangerous even for a Shogun to survive at that time. Yoshiteru’s government was stable for a while. However, the situation got worse after Nagayoshi, whom Yoshihide relied on, died in 1564. Some of the Miyoshi Party suddenly attacked Yoshihide’s castle the following year. Yoshiteru, who was said to be a master swordman, fought bravely against his enemies, but was eventually killed by them.

The portrait of Yoshiteru Ashikaga, owned by National Museum of Japanese History  (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
“The Flower Palace” from “The views in and around Kyoto (Uesugi version)”  (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The location of Yoshiteru’s Nijo Castle, marked by the red box, the current Nijo Castle is surrounded by the doble moats (Google Map)

The owner of the second Nijo Castle was Yoshiaki Ashikaga, the last shogun of the Ashikaga Shogunate. His Nijo Castle had already been known as “The old Nijo Castle”. He decided to build the castle at the same place as Yoshiteru’s one after he came to Kyoto with Nobunaga Oda and became the shogun in 1568. Many may think this castle was given by Nobunaga, but in fact, it was that Nobunaga was mainly in charge of the civil construction of the castle before many buildings and garden items were moved from others. Nobunaga instructed the construction all by himself, which resulted in nearly 8m high stone walls completed in only less than 3 months. Another episode about it is that Nobunaga collected stone materials, including stone buddha status, for the walls by force. The castle is also famous for having the first Tenshu (which means Main Tower) building on record, which provided a historical epoch. The building seemed to look like a three-level turret. Yoshiaki and Nobunaga eventually fought each other; Yoshiaki fortified his castle even more to fight against Nobunaga. However, Yoshiaki escaped from his Nijo Castle to another castle and surrendered to Nobunaga. Nobunaga ordered his retainers to destroy the Nijo Castle.

The seated statue of Yoshiaki Ashikaga, owned by Tojiin Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The location of Yoshiaki’s Nijo Castle, marked by the blue box, the current Nijo Castle is surrounded by the doble moats (Google Map)
Some of the stone walls of Yoshiaki’s Nijo Castle, unearthed and moved to Kyoto Imperial Park

The owner of the next Nijo Castle was Nobunaga, which is still not popular.
He had stayed in temples before that while being in Kyoto for a long time. He decided to build his own castle in Kyoto to stay in, in 1576, which is now called another “Nijo Castle”. The castle had buildings like a palace including a room for the emperor’s visit. The others about the castle were unclear. However, a question about its size is unclear. In fact, experts later confirmed that Nobunaga’s Nijo Castle was in fact smaller than Yoshiteru’s and Yoshiaki’s Nijo Castle. Moreover, Nobunaga gave the castle to the current prince after only two years. He resumed his stay in temples, including Honnoji where he would be easily killed by Mitsuhide Akechi in 1582. His son, Nobutada stayed in another temple with only a few retainers, heard about the incident, and decided to move to Nobunaga’s former Castle. He battled against Mitsuhide’s troops, but was eventually forced to commit Harakiri, while the castle being burned down.

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 location of Nobunaga’s Nijo Castle, marked by the green box, the current Nijo Castle is surrounded by the doble moats (Google Map)
The portrait of Nobutada Oda, owned by Sokenji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Ieyasu Tokugawa of Nijo Castle

Hideyoshi Toyotomi, the successor of Nobunaga, built Jurakudai Castle as his residence in Kyoto in 1587. The castle was located in the north of Nijo and was much larger than all three Nijo Castles earlier on. He invited the emperor to his castle, which meant its functions were similar to the three other Nijo Castles. However, he had built Myokenji Castle at Nijo to live in before Jurakudai Castle. Myokenji Castle was said to have its Main Tower while its other points are unclear. If more information would have been recovered, the castle would have been called another Nijo Castle.

The Portrait of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, attributed to Mitsunobu Kano, owned by Kodaiji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
“The folding screens of Jurakudai Castle”, owned by Mitsui Memorial Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The location of Hideyoshi’s Myokenji Castle, marked by the brown box, the current Nijo Castle is surrounded by the doble moats (Google Map)

Ieyasu Tokugawa, who won the battle of Sekigahara in 1600, became the last ruler. He started to build his castle in Kyoto the following year, which would be the current Nijo Castle. The castle was completed in 1603, with its Main Tower added three years later by moving it from Yamato-Koriyama Castle. However, the range of it was different from the current one, which was over half the size of it, with only a single square. That’s why the castle at that time was called, Keicho Nijo Castle (Keicho was the name of the Emperor’s Era at that time).

The Portrait of Ieyasu Tokugawa, attributed to Tanyu Kano, ownd by Osaka Castle Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The range of the Keicho Nijo Castle, marked by the purple box, the current Nijo Castle is surrounded by the doble moats (Google Map)
“The views in and around Kyoto” including the Keicho Nijo Castle, owned by Metropolitan Museum of Art (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Ieyasu used his Nijo Castle to stay in and hold important ceremonies in Kyoto. For example, he invited the envoys from the emperor to the castle where a party was held after he became the first Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate. His successor, Hidetada Tokugawa also used the castle in the same way. Ieyasu met his rival, Hideyori Toyotomi at the castle in 1611. Some say Ieyasu decided to destroy the Toyotomi Clan before they become a big threat to the Tokugawa Clan. The castle was eventually used as Ieyasu’s headquarters when he went to the battle of Osaka Castle in 1614. As a result, Ieyasu held patties at Nijo Castle again after his victory in 1615. Meanwhile, he issued the Acts Governing the Imperial Court and Nobility to control them at the same place in the same year. That meant the castle was an iconic place for the government.

The portrait of Hideyori Toyotomi, owned by Yogenin Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The summer campaign of the siege of Osaka folding screens, owned by Osaka Castle Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Hidetada and Iemitsu Tokugawa of Nijo Castle

After Ieyasu died in 1616, his son, Hidetada and grandson, Iemitsu still had many things to do. One of them was to form a good relationship with the Imperial family. Hidetada married his daughter, Masako to emperor Gomizuo in 1620. He became the emperor’s father-in-law. The final practice for his purpose would be to invite the emperor to Nijo Castle like Hideyoshi had used to do in Jurakudai Castle. Hidetada tried to have a special event to surpass that of the previous ruler.

The portrait of Hidetada Tokugawa, owned by Saifuku-ji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The portrait of Iemitsu Tokugawa, owned by Kinzanji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The portrait of the emperor Gomizuo, attributed to Korin Ogata, owned by Imperial Household Archives (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The portrait of Masako Tokugawa, owned by Kounji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

This event would be held in 1626 during the Kanei Era after Nijo Castle was fully renovated. Therefore, the castle would be called Kanei Nijo Castle as what we see it now. The renovation included the land of the castle being extended to the west. It resulted in the land looking like two overlapped squares. The square on the west became the main enclosure for Hidetada’s main hall while the right one became the second enclosure for Iemitsu’s main hall which is the remaining one. The remaining gorgeous Kara-mon gate in front of it was built at the same time. The main enclosure also had the new main tower being moved from Fushimi Castle. The palace for the emperor’s visit was built in the second enclosure. The front gate of the castle had had two levels but was rebuilt to a single-level gate. This was because someone might have looked down on the emperor from the second floor.

The aerial photo of the current Nijo Castle (Google Map)
The remaining main hall of the second enclosure
The remaining Kara-mon Gate
The rebuilt front gate for the emperor’s visit, quoted from the website of Chiba Prefectural Central Museum
The current front gate being changed to a two-level gate after the visit

The event, called “Kanei Royal Visit”, was held for 5 days from the 5th of September (according to the lunar calendar), in 1626. The parade of about 9,000 people, including the emperor and his wife, Masako, went from the imperial palace to the castle. During the visit, lots of ceremonies were held. The most interesting one for us may be that the emperor climbed the main tower twice. There was the corridor bridge with roof overhead, covering the moat between the main and second enclosures. That meant the emperor was able to go the tower from his palace in the castle without having to go out. His first visit to the tower was on the 3rd day, but the view from the top was not good because of the bad weather. He went there again on the last day just before returning to his home. The royal visit was recorded on many sources, which would make people remember it for a long time. This event also symbolized the arrival of peace. After that, the 3rd shogun, Iemitsu went to Kyoto and Nijo Castle in 1634, which was his last visit there. Since then, the castle has been dormant for over 200 years when no shoguns went to Kyoto.

Part of “the Screens of the Royal Visit to Nijo Castle”, exhibited by Kyoto National Museum
The current bridge between the main and second enclosures, which had the corridor with roof overhead on it in the past

Iemochi and Yoshinobu Tokugawa of Nijo Castle

During the first 200 years, Nijo Castle was devastated. For example, the main hall and main tower of the main enclosure were burned down by accidental fires. The main hall of the second enclosure deteriorated. However, the castle got back to the political scenes at the end of the Edo Period. This was because the 14th shogun, Iemochi Tokugawa went to Kyoto for the first time as a shogun in 229 years, after he had been married to Kazunomiya, the emperor’s daughter. The imperial court was getting more powerful, backed up by some influential domains which later resulted in the Meiji Restoration. The shogun needed to deal with such a situation by himself. The shogunate tried to resume Nijo Castle for Iemochi’s stay. However, it was not enough due to the shortage of their budget. As a result, Iemochi mainly used the restored main hall of the second enclosure. He also used Osaka Castle to battle against the Choshu Domain, where he unfortunately died in 1866 due to illness.

The portrait of Iemochi Tokugawa, owned by he Tokugawa Memorial Foundation (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Iemochi’s successor, Yoshinobu Tokugawa had stayed long in Kyoto to back up Iemochi. However, he didn’t use Nijo Castle. He said the reason was that he couldn’t move freely when he stayed there under bureaucratic official rules. He continued to stay in his retainer’s residence even after he became the last shogun. He finally moved to the castle just one month before the famous Returning of the Power to the Emperor in October (according to the lunar calendar), in 1867. He announced it in the main hall of the second enclosure. The purpose of it was that after he resigned, he assumed he would be given another position to continue working for the imperial court while avoiding attacks from the influential domains. However, the domains refused Yoshinobu’s plan by issuing the Decree for the Restoration of Imperial Rule and asking Yoshinobu to return all his ranks and territories. His retainers got very angry, but it was a provocation from the domains. Yoshinobu eventually decided to escape from Nijo Castle to Osaka Castle with his retainers to avoid conflicts.

Yoshinobu Tokugawa when he was the shogun  (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The picture of the announcement of Returning the Power to the Emperor, owned by the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery  (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

After that, Nijo Castle belonged to the imperial court. On 3rd February (according to the lunar calendar), in 1868, the emperor Meiji went to the castle and ordered to abolish the shogunate. The castle was used as an iconic place for the government until the end.

The picture of the visit of the emperor Meiji to Nijo Castle, owned by the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

To be continued in “Nijo Castle Part2”

158.Fukuchiyama Castle Part2

The southwestern side of the stone wall base of the Main Tower is covered with many diverted stones and some of them are used for its corners. Why did Mitsuhide use them for the important part of the tower?

Features

Main Enclosure as Fukuchiyama Castle Park

Today, the current Fukuchiyama Castle remains as a historical park. The original castle includes the Main, Second and Third Enclosures in a line on a hill. However, the park has only the Main enclosure at the edge of the hill because the Second Enclosure’s part was cut down and turned into residential areas. Therefore, the Fukuchiyama Castle park looks like a castle on a small mountain, which stands out in the city.

The map around the castle

The park has been well developed for visitors so that they can easily walk up on the paved slopes to the top of the hill. You will climb the slope along the remaining stone walls and the restored stone one’s of the Main Enclosure where you can see a diverted stone being used as fillings for the gaps on the wall.

Fukuchiyama Castle Park
The paved path on the slope
The diverted stone that fills the gap

You can access the Main Enclosure by entering the restored Tsurigane-mon or the Hanging Bell Gate after climbing the stone steps or by going on the slope. There is a large well called Toyoiwa-no-i, which is 50m deep and still has 37m deep water.

The slope on the left and the stone steps to the Hanging Bell Gate on the right
The restored Hanging Bell Gate
The Toyoiwa-no-i Well

Main Tower Base uses lots of Diverted Stones

The restored Main Tower is on the original stone wall base which has a complex shape in a plane view because the original tower was extended several times. The entrance of the tower is at the eastern side which has a newer part of the original base.

The aerial photo around the Main Enclosure, there are lots of deverted stones at the lower left of the red lines

The restored Main Tower of Fukuchiyama Castle
The entrance at the eastern side of the Main Tower

If you walk around the base to the southern side, you will find the base uses a lot of diverted stones. Diverted stones refer to the stones which had originally been processed and used for other purposes, such as tombstones, stone statues, and stone mills, but were collected and used for rapid castle constructions. Other examples of using them can be seen in castles like Yamato-Koriyama, Matsusaka and Himeji Castles.

The southern side a lot of diverted stones
A diverted stone used in Yamato-Koriyama Castle (little above the middle)
A diverted stone used in Matsusaka Castle

You may be surprised to see that the southwestern side of the stone wall base is covered with more diverted stones. The view of the restored Main Tower is good, but you should also check out how the stones are used. The stone wall base was mainly piled using natural stones in a method called Nozura-zumi. The diverted stones in other sides are used to fill gaps between these natural stones. However, the diverted stones at the southwestern side are used to form the corners of the base, the most important part of it. Basically, the corners of stone wall bases must support most of the weight of the tower, even in a case of emergency, such as an earthquake.

A view of the Main Tower of Fukuchiyama Castle from the southwest
So many diverted stones
The diverted stones used in a corner

What is Mitsuhide’s intention?

For example, in 2016 many earthquakes happened in Kumamoto, the Iidamaru-five-level Turret of Kumamoto Castle was once supported by only one corner stone even though other stones around had collapsed. Around the southern part of the Fukuchiyama Castle’s Main Tower was said to be the oldest, so Mitsuhide Akechi probably built it. Why did he use so many diverted stones and installed them into the important part of the tower?

Iidamaru-five-level-turret and the miracle lone stone walls in July,2016, quoted from the Sankei Photo

One possible reason is purely technical. The diverted stones in the corner are cuboid ones which look like tombs or carved Buddha status. Collecting them might have been useful for Mitsuhide to build the castle efficiently and rapidly. On the other hand, a local tradition says that Mitsuhide’s troops destroyed the temples which were against his orders and took the tomb stones away from them to build the castle. If it is true, using the stones might have meant the new lord showing the conquest and the authority to people. Other historian argued that it must have symbolized the contribution of people to the castle’s construction or taking Buddha’s power in the castle. Overall, only Mitsuhide can answer this question.

Why did Mitsuhide use these diverted stones for the important part of the tower?

So far, about 500 diverted stones were found in the stone walls of the castle or excavated in other places. The excavated ones lie down in vacant spaces in the Main Enclosure.

The diverted stones lying down in the Main Enclosure

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

25.Kofu Castle Part1

A very important strongpoint for the Tokugawa Shogunate

Location and History

Mitsuyasu Kato might have developed it greatly

Kofu Castle was located in Kai Province (what is now Yamanashi Prefecture). Kai Province was owned by the Takeda Clan for a long time until 1582 when the clan was defeated by Nobunaga Oda. Since then the Oda clan governed the province but immediately followed by the Tokugawa, Toyotomi, and the Tokugawa clan again. Kofu City, which is the prefectural capital of the prefecture, had already been the castle town for the Takeda Clan Hall. It is said that the Tokugawa Clan first built Kofu Castle at the south of the town in 1583 of their first governance, but it is uncertain. In 1590, Toyotomi’s servant, Mitsuyasu Kato was given Kai Province. He improved Kofu Castle greatly, probably with building the large scale stone walls. This is because Toyotomi had the craftsmen who were able to build stone walls called Ano-shu, which Tokugawa didn’t have. It is thought that the basic structure of the castle was completed at the same time.

The location of the castle

The portrait of Mitsuyasu Kato, private owned (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Protected by High Stone Walls and Tripled Moats

The castle consisted of three parts. The main portion is called Uchi-shiro, it includes the Main Enclosure, the base for the Main Tower and other enclosures. It was surrounded by stone walls and the Inner Moat. It was also on a hill called Ichijo-koyama, and had three entrances – the Main Gate on the south, the Yamanote-mon Gate on the north, and the Yanagi-mon Gate on the west. The eastern part of the main portion is protected strictly by the high stone walls. Secondly, the ground for the warriors’ houses called Naikaku was around the main portion, surrounded by the Second Moat. Lastly, the ground for the castle town was around Naikaku, also surrounded by the Third Moat.

The old map of Kofu Castle, from a book “Rakushido-nenroku” by Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa, owned by The Yanagisawa Library (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The miniature model of the main portion of Kofu Castle, the front of the photo is the high stone walls on the east (an exhibition in the Inari Turret)

Important Strongpoint for protecting Edo

In the Edo Period from the 17th Century, Kofu Castle became a very important spot. The Tokugawa Shogunate set the Five Major Roads including the Kofu Road passing through Kofu town. Kofu was regarded as the western strongpoint to protect Edo (what is now Tokyo), the Shogun’s home base. For this reason, the Shogunate basically governed the castle directly. For example, the Shogun’s relative Tsunatoyo Tokugawa lived in the castle, who became the sixth Shogun Ienobu later. Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa was the first lord of the castle out of non-Shogun’s relatives in 1705, who was a senior vassal of the Shogunate. His son, Yoshiyasu was transferred to Yamato-Koriyama Castle in 1724, then Kofu Castle was Shogunate-owned again.

The positional relation between Kofu and Edo

The portrait of Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa, owned by Ichiren-ji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

In 1868 during the Meiji Restoration, the battle between the New Government and the Shogunate happened. Taisuke Itagaki, one of the leaders of the New Government Army thought they needed to capture Kofu Castle faster than the Shogunate. The Shogunate also sent the famous warrior party called the Shinsen-gumi led by Isami Kondo to Kofu Castle. Itagaki rushed and succeeded to enter the castle by a narrow margin, so that he could defeat the Shinsen-gumi.

The picture of Taisuke Itagaki, published by the Eastern Culture Association (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The picture of Isami Kondo, owned by the National Diet Library (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

To be continued in “Kofu Castle Part2”