Sawayama Castle - Relocated Gates

Sawayamajō: Relocated Gate at Kōgenji (Taga, Inukami, Shiga) 　佐和山城移築裏門・高源寺［滋賀県犬上郡多賀町］ Sawayamajō has three relocated gates. The sōmon or sanmon (main gate) at Kōgenji, a temple in Taga Township, Inukami County, is said to be a relocated gate of Sawayama Castle where it was originally the castle's

Sawayama Castle - Relocated Gates

佐和山城の移築門

Sawayamajō: Relocated Gate at Kōgenji (Taga, Inukami, Shiga) 　佐和山城移築裏門・高源寺［滋賀県犬上郡多賀町］

Sawayamajō has three relocated gates. The sōmon or sanmon (main gate) at Kōgenji, a temple in Taga Township, Inukami County, is said to be a relocated gate of Sawayama Castle where it was originally the castle's uramon (rear gate). I was lucky to visit that castle alongside fellow j-castle contributor Ron who had possessed the foresight to check for relocated gates from that site ahead of time. He was a mad man and I could barely keep up with him, as I remember it, but we made it before dark to the two relocated gates he had found in Hikone downtown at the temples Sōanji and Myōgenji.

However, the gate at Kōgenji is way out in rural Taga, so it was many years later before I could complete this relocated gate trinity of Sawayamajō. Another gate is located below the castle-mount at Ryōtanji, but its authenticity as a remnant of Sawayama Castle is generally rejected (it doesn't look so old, though perhaps it could be a reconstruction of an original gate that was lost?).

At the main gate of Kōgenji a sign read 'Fukō Sanmon'. I had never seen such a note before. Fukō means 'unhappy' and it seemed ominous. The reason for the sign was that the temple's priest had recently passed away. So this time I also bowed toward the parochial house in condolence. I hope a new priest can manage the temple and its architecture, including Sawayamajō's gate, will be preserved. The temple also contains some handsome stone-piled walls.

Sawayamajō: Relocated Gate at Myōgenji (Hikone, Shiga) 　佐和山城法華門・妙源寺［滋賀県彦根市］

A relocated gate from Ishida Mitsunari's Sawayama Castle can be found at the temple Myōgenji in downtown Hikone. The richly painted gate was originally used as the main gate to Sawayamajō's Hokkemaru (Lotus Sutra Bailey).

Sawayamajō: Relocated Gate at Sōanji (Hikone, Shiga) 　佐和山城移築門・宗安寺［滋賀県彦根市］

Of the three relocated gates widely ascribed to providence at Sawayama Castle, this one at Sōanji, a temple in downtown Hikone, may be the least likely authentic, as it does not especially resemble a gate which may not have just been built for a temple, though no doubt parts of the structure are very aged. The gate is a gabled yakuimon-type gate painted with lacquer of vermilion. The gate was relocated from Sawayamajō in 1603, but details are unknown. It is known locally as the Akamon (Red Gate).

Sōanji has itself a long history as part of Hikone's castle-town with cenotaphs to notable samurai and various gruesome legends of the kind that one often finds in castletowns. The temple's main hall is said to have been relocated from Nagahama Castle's palatial annex in 1702 following a large fire that had ravaged Hikone the year before. If a fire burnt down Sōanji then it's lucky the gate survived.

Gallery by ART.