(click on the pictures to enlarge)
22) Edo (Chiyoda) Castle Ruin
Another heavily-visited castle in Japan, though for reasons of accessibility. Situated like the crown jewel in the very center of Tokyo, the ancient stone walls contrast sharply with the modern buildings, providing an incredible blending of past with present. Originally constructed in 1457 it served as the military capital during the Tokugawa Shogunate. The Meiji era saw it transformed into the Imperial Palace, the role it maintains today.
23) Azuchi Castle Ruin
The ultimate dream of Japan’s original unifier, Oda Nobunaga, Azuchi Castle was designed and built to impress! It was built in 1579 but destroyed just three years later following Nobunaga’s assassination at Honnoji Temple. This was a massive fortress, built astride three main routes leading to Kyoto, the Imperial Capital. The keep was huge—more palace than castle—and was topped by an eight-floor construction, one level of which was octagonal, another supposedly covered in gold.
24) Fukuoka Castle Ruin
Though multiple iterations of fortification have graced this site throughout history, the current version dates to 1601. The alternative names Maizuru Castle and Seki Castle likely refer to previous versions of the fortress on Fukusaki Hill. While the current castle features no tenshu, both the scale and design of the castle grounds are impressive nonetheless.
25) Takamatsu water castle ruin
Our first Shikoku castle, it was really my first “water” castle. Built in 1590 and sometimes referred to as Tamamo Castle, much of what would be inner baileys are instead a vast moat, making the main bailey all but inaccessible except by crossing a narrow wooden bridge. Two yagura, or turrets remain, but you have to use your imagination for the tenshu, long ago destroyed.
26) Oka castle ruin
Another accidental discovery, this one highlighting the wonders of modern navigation technology. Driving from Kumamoto to Beppu in Kyushu, I see the Japanese character for castle, 城, pop up on the screen . . . and like a moth drawn to flame, found myself drawn to incredible Oka Castle. U-shaped, following a steep ridge line, the logistics involved it its construction must have been staggering! Built in 1185, it would have truly been something to see in its heyday.
27) nagashino castle ruin & battlefield
Probably the second most famous battle in Japanese history after Sekigahara, Nagashino marked the destruction of the powerful Takeda Clan in 1575. That this great defeat was brought about at the hands of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu made it one of those legendary encounters between giants that are sprinkled throughout military history.
15,000 Takeda troops—the majority of which appear to have been cavalry—laid siege to Nagashino Castle, built to overwatch the confluence of the Kansagawa and Uregawa rivers and guard the main east-west road through the mountains. Torii Suneemon, an ashigaru foot soldier, escaped the castle, evaded enemy patrols, and reached the allied Oda-Tokugawa army which then marched to relieve the defenders. The battle which transpired just west of the siege lines resulted in the first documented use of volley-fire by massed firearms in world history, a development that literally blew away the finest cavalry force Japan had ever seen.
Nobunaga’s 3,000 picked arquebusers all but destroyed the flower of Takeda’s army, which was forced to lift the siege and withdraw. Nagashino Castle itself had been garrisoned at the time by a mere 500 elite troops, led by the redoubtable Okudaira Nobumasa, who was greatly rewarded for his defense of the stronghold. As for Suneemon, he was captured trying to return to his comrades in the castle and crucified just across the river, in full view of the garrison. His family, however, would be elevated to the rank of samurai in honor of his sacrifice.
28) Ki (Kinojo) Castle Ruin
I may need to build a separate section for Korean-style fortifications in Japan, but for now, since this is the only one I have visited, I’ll just include it here. Kinojo was built in the late 660s after the unsuccessful attempt by Yamato Japan to intercede on behalf of it’s Korean ally Baekje. Fearing attack by the Silla-Tang alliance, 12 castles were immediately ordered constructed in Kyushu and Western Honshu. Kinojo is one of these and its layout reflects the castle-building style and expertise imported from the fallen Kingdom of Baekje, making it quite unique among Japan’s extant castle ruins.
Kinojo is an active archeological site and thus far only one gate (pictured above) and the wall lengths to either side have been preserved or—when necessary—reconstructed. Still, a visit to the 1400 year-old Japanese castle made the long trip to Soja well worth the effort!
These pictures highlight the interesting fusion of castle-building methods in evidence at Kinojo. Baekje had long since ceased using rammed earth and timber for fortifications, preferring dry masonry techniques. Here at Kinojo, however, you see a combination of the two, with a masonry base topped with both rammed earth and timber ramparts and towers. The section pictured above right, however, provides incentive for further research as instead of topping the masonry wall (as in the left photo), it would appear the rammed earth sections are intermittent throughout, though this may simply reflect the methodology behind the reconstruction project begun just a few years ago.