Kiyosu Castle

From 12th to 16th August during Obon holidays, hubby and I visited his ancestral home at Ichinomiya city in Aichi prefecture. On 14th August, we visited Kiyosu Castle located in Kiyosu city which is adjacent to Ichinomiya city. Kiyosu Castle is a flatland castle. The castle was built by Shiba Yoshishige of Shiba clan, the military governor of Owari province, in 1405 during Muromachi period. This castle was built as a defensive stronghold meant to protect Orizu Castle located in Inazawa city, the seat of Owari province's government until its destruction by fire in 1476 during a battle evoked by Oda clan. After the loss of Orizu Castle, the government shifted to Kiyosu city and Kiyosu Castle became the main castle, which brought prosperity to the city. In 1555 Oda Nobunaga captured Kiyosu Castle and established his residence there. The castle became the base of his operations to conquer and unify entire Japan during Sengoku period. After the death of Oda Nobunaga at Honnoji Temple in Kyoto, a big meeting was held at Kiyosu Castle to decide his successor, and Nobunaga’s second son Nobukatsu became the lord of the castle in 1582. Nobukatsu started large scale renovations of the castle in 1586, and the castle was transformed into a great structure with three-tiered system of outer, middle, and inner moats. The castle and its surroundings extended 1.6 kilometers east to west and 2.8 kilometers north to south. Afterwards the owner of the castle changed to Toyotomi Hidetsugu and Fukushima Masanori during Toyotomi clan rule in Sengoku period. Also, the castle was an important base for Tokugawa clan during the Battle of Sekigahara. After the battle, the owner of the castle changed to Matsudaira Tadayoshi (fourth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu), and Tokugawa Yoshinao (ninth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu). During Yoshinao’s ownership of the castle, Kiyosu city became very important and the population of the city grew, and there were more than 60000 residents. In 1610, Tokugawa Ieyasu ordered that the capital of Owari province be moved from Kiyosu to Nagoya, and the new capital was completed by 1613. In fact, parts of Nagoya Castle were constructed with the extensive use of building materials taken from Kiyosu Castle. Thus Kiyosu Castle and its surrounding town vanished in what is known as the ‘Moving of Kiyosu’. The original golden shachihoko of Kiyosu Castle are now kept at Sofukuji Temple in Gifu prefecture. The castle ruin has now become a park known as Kiyosu Koen. The current Kiyosu Castle was rebuilt in 1989 and is a four-storied ferroconcrete building. It is a partial reconstruction of the original castle and was built as a centennial celebration for the modern-day city of Kiyosu. The present castle complex has an area of 11000 square meters.

Kiyosu Castle is located about 17 kilometers southeast of hubby’s ancestral home and it took us 30 minutes to reach the castle by car. Hubby borrowed his father’s Audi car and he felt great to drive it. After parking the car at a parking area located to the east of the castle, we walked for about five minutes to reach the castle complex. We entered the complex from the eastern side. We bought tickets worth 700 Yen per person as admission fee to enter the castle keep called Tenshukaku and a museum hall that displayed goods related to an ongoing popular NHK television drama series named ‘Go - Himetachi no Sengoku’ that depicts the life of princesses and feudal rulers of Sengoku period. We, however, visited only the castle. At the entrance near the eastern side of the castle complex, we saw a statue of Nohime who was the wife of Oda Nobunaga. The castle keep Tenshukaku looked wonderful from the eastern side of the complex. A crest of Oda clan was on display outside the castle keep. We took a few photos of the keep and the crest.

Hubby in his father’s car at a parking area near the castle complex

I am standing next to the statue of Nohime

The castle keep Tenshukaku as viewed from the eastern side of the complex. A crest of Oda clan is displayed.

Hubby standing in front of Tenshukaku

I am standing next to the crest of Oda clan

We entered the castle keep premises from the back entrance gate named Karametemon located adjacent to the south of the keep. We walked along the Japanese garden and walked past the main gate named Otemon located on the western side, and reached outside the castle keep premises. This is because we wished to enter the castle premises from the main gate. On leaving the castle keep premises from the west, right in front of us we saw a beautiful red bridge named Otebashi Bridge located over Gojo River. The bridge, the river, and the castle are the symbol of Kiyosu city. We leisurely walked along the bridge and took a few photos. From the bridge the castle looked amazingly beautiful. Afterwards we walked back towards Otemon Gate and saw a castle staff standing at the gate dressed as a samurai.

Tenshukaku as viewed from the southeast of the complex. Steps located on the left side of the photo lead to Karametemon Gate.

Otebashi Bridge

I am standing on Otebashi Bridge. Otemon Gate and Tenshukaku are seen in the background.

Hubby standing on Otebashi Bridge

I am standing with a castle staff dressed as a samurai

We entered back inside the castle keep premises from Otemon Gate and saw a Japanese rock garden in front of Tenshukaku. The arrangement of rocks in unraked sand looked so aesthetically pleasing. Inside the premises, we also saw a Japanese garden with pine trees and a small ornamental carp pond located southwest of Tenshukaku. We took rest near the pond for some time. It was so relaxing.

Japanese rock garden in front of Tenshukaku

The rock garden and Otemon Gate as viewed from inside the castle keep premises

Japanese garden along with a small ornamental carp pond

Hubby standing near the pond

The castle keep Tenshukaku is a three-level, four-storied steel-framed reinforced concrete structure, and covers an area of 773.01 square meters. It is a wonderful structure and is a replica of the original Sengoku period castle. Tenshukaku features a gabled and hipped roof that incorporates roof ornaments like golden shachihoko, a mythical animal intended to ward off fire and evil spirits. The brilliant red balcony balustrade of the fourth story looks stunning.

The castle keep Tenshukaku as viewed from the west

Tenshukaku as viewed from the west-northwest

Topmost story of Tenshukaku along with the red balcony balustrade and golden shachihoko (side view) on the roof

We entered inside Tenshukaku and saw that traditional castle construction techniques are incorporated throughout its design. Polished wooden stairs lead up to each floor. On the first three floors, there are displays of swords, roof tiles, samurai armors, and many other artifacts that give information about the history of Kiyosu city, Kiyosu Castle, and its feudal lords who ruled Owari province during feudal era. The fourth floor is the top floor with a lookout balcony. A model of a golden shachihoko is displayed at this floor. A taiko drum and a small golden statue of Oda Nobunaga performing traditional Atsumori warrior dance are also displayed at the top floor.

Replica of Sengoku period warrior helmet displayed at the second floor of Tenshukaku

Model of a golden shachihoko displayed at the fourth floor

A taiko drum and a small golden statue of Oda Nobunaga displayed at the fourth floor

Next, we went to the balcony of the fourth floor and got a wonderful view of the castle surroundings. Kiyosu city with many high rise buildings looked great from this height. There are railway tracks nearby and we saw several trains pass by.

Hubby enjoying Kiyosu city views from the lookout balcony of the fourth floor of Tenshukaku. A stone shachihoko ornament of the third floor roof is seen here.

I am standing at the lookout balcony

Japanese Garden of the castle keep premises, Otemon Gate, and Otebashi Bridge over Gojo River as viewed from the lookout balcony. A shinkansen train is seen passing by.

Otemon Gate and Otebashi Bridge over Gojo River as viewed from the lookout balcony

We returned back to the first floor of Tenshukaku and saw a display of suits of samurai armor made out of recycled beer cans, which visitors are encouraged to try on. But hubby was in no mood to wear such heavy armor suit as it was a very hot day. I wore a feudal era princess dress and took a few photos for the sake of memory. It was a wonderful experience.

I am wearing a feudal era princess dress and posing

A castle staff helped in arranging the dress so nicely

Another pose wearing the feudal era dress

Next to the castle keep Tenshukaku there is a culture hall museum named Geino Bunkakan, which is designed like a palace and used for events and meetings. In addition, there is another museum hall in the castle complex with displays of goods from a popular NHK television drama series. We skipped visiting both these museum halls. We bought cute dolls of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and his wife Chacha at a souvenir shop located inside the castle complex.

Cute petit dolls of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (left) and his wife Chacha (right)

In spite of the fact that hubby was initially a bit reluctant to visit Kiyosu Castle as it is reconstructed just two decades ago and not old enough, we enjoyed our visit to the castle.

Hikone Castle

Hubby and I had been to hubby’s ancestral home (jikka) during Obon holidays from 12th to 15th August. Obon is an annual Buddhist event to commemorate our ancestors. It is believed that each year during Obon, the spirits of ancestors return to this world in order to visit their relatives. Last year I had written a blog about Obon, which is posted here. Hubby's jikka is in Ichinomiya city of Aichi prefecture, which is in the suburbs of Nagoya. Hubby and I did a bit of sightseeing before going to jikka. We visited Hikone Castle in Shiga prefecture, met a few of hubby’s relatives in Okazaki city of Aichi prefecture, and then went to jikka. On the morning of 12th August, we took a flight from Akita airport and after about an hour we reached Komaki airport in Nagoya. At Komaki airport, we took a limousine bus and went to Nagoya railway station. Then we took a train to Hikone railway station and reached Hikone at about 2.45 pm. At Hikone station we hired a taxi and went to Hotel Route Inn, where we were going to spend the night. We left our baggage at the front desk of the hotel and then using the same taxi, we went to see Hikone Castle. Before writing about our sightseeing experiences, I will briefly introduce the history of Hikone Castle.

Suit of armor in the Gusoku style of Edo period exhibited at Hikone railway station

Hikone Castle is the most famous historical site in Hikone of Shiga prefecture. The castle is one of the four national heritage castles, along with Inuyama Castle in Aichi, Himeji Castle in Hyogo, and Matsumoto Castle in Nagano. It is an Edo period castle. Ii Naomasa, a Tokugawa daimyo administrator, received Sawayama Castle and surrounding areas as a fief from Tokugawa Ieyasu for his work in the Battle of Sekigahara. But due to its inconvenient location and poor condition due to a fire, he planned for a new castle on a new location that would become Hikone Castle. However, Naomasa died soon after and the castle was actually begun under his son Naokatsu (also known as Naotsugu) in 1603. Tokugawa's policy of destroying all castles except for one in each feudal domain led to the destruction of many castles around the area. Many gates and turrets (yagura) from the remains of those destroyed castles were incorporated into the construction of Hikone Castle. These castles include the Nagahama (which was built using materials from Kotani Castle), Sawayama, and Otsu. The donjon (castle tower) of Hikone Castle is famous for having used several types of gables, unique construction techniques, and various architecture styles to make it well fortified. The main tower (tenshu in Japanese) of the Hikone Castle was originally five floors and part of the Otsu Castle. After Otsu Castle was destroyed, the tenshu was removed and went to the Hikone Castle with only three floors. Also, three moats were constructed around the castle to keep the invaders out. It took 19 years for the construction of the castle, and was finally completed in 1622 under Naokatsu's younger brother Naotaka who had become lord of the castle in 1615. The castle served as the residence of the local Ii daimyo (feudal lords) for 14 generations until the end of Japan's feudal age in 1868. The present day Hikone Castle is an original castle. The castle survived the post feudal era war battles and the castle demolition policy of the Meiji Government. The donjon tower and most of the inner moats, walls, guard houses, and gates remain intact, which gives visitors a good impression of a relatively complete feudal castle.

Our taxi driver dropped hubby and me just in front of the main entrance of Hikone Castle area. There was a stone monument marker sign indicating that Hikone Castle is one of the ‘Omi Hakkei’ or eight views of Omi in the spring. Next to the stone monument was the Omotemon Bridge over the inner moat of the castle. It was a wooden bridge with bronze giboshi (ornamental pillar capping on the bridge handrail). The view of the moat from the bridge was wonderful. After crossing the bridge, we reached the main entrance to the castle area. There was a ticket office at the entrance where we had to pay 600 Yen per person as castle admission fee.

Stone monument sign indicating that Hikone Castle is one of the eight views of Omi in spring

Omotemon Bridge

Me standing on Omotemon Bridge over the inner moat

Sign indicating the entrance to Hikone Castle

After purchasing the tickets, we started walking up the Omotezaka path that led to several gates, turrets, and the main castle tower. It was a rather steep and rugged pathway. We could clearly visualize that getting through the pathway would not have been an easy task for an enemy intruder.

Omotezaka path to castle tower

Omotezaka path and a part of Tenbin Yagura

After climbing for some more time, we reached Tenbin Yagura and Rokabashi Bridge, one of the famous symbols of the castle. Near Tenbin yagura there were several examples of the amazing stone base structures of the castle. There was a very convoluted approach to the yagura. After crossing the path under the bridge, the path looped around to the left. After walking up this looped pathway, we reached the front of Rokabashi Bridge and Tenbin Yagura. Rokabashi Bridge was designed is such a way that it could be easily torn down during a war, and is also so architecturally unique that it remains the only such bridge in Japan. Tenbin means a pair of balance scale in Japanese, and the yagura is named as balance scale tower because of the symmetric design of the turret. It is said that this tower was moved from Otemon front gate of Nagahama Castle, originally built for Toyotomi Hideyoshi. This structure is thought to be the only example of its type in Japan. The stones on the right side of the tower wall are built up in the style of gobo-zumi (lower walls constructed of large fitted boulders and resulting gaps filled with smaller stones) but the left side has been reconstructed from the base and layered in the style of otoshi-zumi. Tenbin Yagura is an important cultural property.

Tenbin Yagura and Rokabashi Bridge

Walking up the looped path near Tenbin Yagura

Front view of Tenbin Yagura and Rokabashi Bridge

Hubby standing near the Rokabashi Bridge

Right end of Tenbin Yagura turret

Left end of Tenbin Yagura turret

After crossing the Tenbin Yagura, we again started climbing the steps that led to Taikomon Yagura Gate. Path to the gate was really steep, and we were very tired of climbing up the steps. After climbing for some time, we reached the time signal bell called Jihosho. The bell was recast in 1844 at the time of the 12th lord Ii Naoaki. It was moved to the present position because the bell sound did not reach the northern end of the castle town. Now it is rung five times daily at 06 am, 09 am, 12 noon, 03 pm, and 06 pm. In 1996, Environment Agency selected the time-keeping bell of Hikone Castle as one of the ‘hundred soundscapes of Japan’.

Path to Taikomon Yagura

Steps leading to Taikomon Yagura

Time signal bell Jihosho

Hubby and Jihosho

Next, on our steps up the path was the Taikomon Yagura turret gate. This is the gate just before we reach the main castle tower. The yaguramon gate was to fortify the turret and served as the front entrance of the main castle enclosure. The gate was unusually unique as the back of the building was an open corridor with a banister. Taikomon means Taiko drum gate. It had a taiko drum that was beaten to convey signals to the inner castle. Taikomon yagura is an important cultural property. Inside the Taikomon Gate, there is an exhibition room for photos of Japanese castles and a model of Hikone Castle. However, we skipped going inside as hubby was too tired due to a very hot and humid weather.

Front of Taikomon Yagura turret

Exhibition room inside the Taikomon Gate

After passing through the Taikomon Yagura, we finally reached the Hikone Castle main tenshu tower. The main tower is designated as a national treasure. The castle tenshu looked superb. The stone base of the tenshu is only five meters tall, and the structure itself rises another sixteen meters. The tenshu, while smaller than most others of its era at three stories with a basement, is quite stylish. It is built in the Momoyama style and the structure demonstrates the superior design required of a castle during the periods of war. With its artistic arrangement of different roof styles, different sized windows on the tower with elaborately designed lotus-petal shaped windows on the second and third floors, and the balustrades or railings that surround the verandas on the third floor, the external appearance of the tenshu tower is spectacular, beautiful, and unique. The tenshu tower was originally the five-storied castle tower of Otsu Castle whose lord was Kyogoku Takatsugu. After the Otsu Castle was destroyed, only the upper three stories of the castle were moved here in 1606. Hikone Castle tower with its black roof tiles, white-chalk colored walls, and details decorated in gold, maintains its noble and heroic appearance as a symbol of Hikone city and bewitches everyone with its simple but powerful beauty. We took several photos of the castle tenshu from various angles.

Front view of Hikone Castle main tenshu tower

Me in front of Hikone Castle tenshu

Hubby in front of Hikone Castle tenshu

View of Hikone Castle main tower slightly from the left

Enlarged view of the castle main tower

View of Hikone Castle main tower from the left

View of Hikone Castle main tower slightly from the right

After climbing up to the top of the hill in a very hot (37 degrees Celsius) and humid summer day, hubby and I were both very tired. So before entering the castle tower, we had some cold drinks and took rest for a while. We got some relief from the oppressing heat by entering the semi-dry fog outdoor cooling system that was located at the grounds of the main castle tower for the visitors. The system gave out controlled mist shower, which felt very relieving in the hot and humid weather.

Hubby standing inside semi-dry fog outdoor cooling system and enjoying the mist shower

After taking rest at the grounds of the main castle tower for about 20 minutes, we entered the tenshu tower building. The entrance to the castle tower was rather small. At the first floor of the tower, there was a display of the type of ornamental roof tiles and shachihoko used in the construction and architectural design of the castle tenshu roof. Shachihoko is an animal in Japanese folklore with the head of a tiger and the body of a carp fish and it was believed that this animal could cause the rain to fall. Castles were usually adorned with shachihoko in order to protect them from fire.

Entrance to the castle tower

Display of ornamental roof tiles and shachihoko used in the construction of tenshu

Display of ornamental roof tiles and shachihoko used in the construction of tenshu

The staircase leading to the second floor was extremely steep. I had some difficulty in climbing the steps of the staircase. At the second floor, there was another display of the type of roof tiles used in the construction of Hikone Castle.

Extremely steep staircase inside the tower

Display of roof tiles used in the construction of Hikone Castle

Display of roof tiles used in the construction of Hikone Castle

After climbing another steep staircase leading to the third floor, we both were rather tired. Hubby sat down on the floor of the third floor and took some rest. The interior of the top floor, though small, was very remarkable. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all made up of timber wood. The windows were small but the interior of the tenshu was full of light. We got a beautiful view of the Biwa Lake from the window of the castle tower.

Hubby taking rest at the top floor of the castle tenshu

Top floor ceiling of the castle tenshu

Outside view from the castle tower

Outside view from the castle tower

After spending about 15 minutes at the top floor of the tenshu tower, we came out of the castle tenshu. We went down all the rugged stone steps and after about 20 minutes of walking down the path, we reached back to the main entrance area of the castle premises. Hubby and I really loved Hikone Castle. Next, we went to see the Hikone Castle Museum, which was located adjacent to the ticket office at the entrance area. I will write about our visit to the Hikone Castle Museum in the next post.