2024 Jcastle cleanup and Happy New Year 2025

Happy New Year Jcastle fans! This mini update brings together several small updates, some page cleanups, and technical fixes that have been on my to do list for awhile but that I never quite got around to finishing. I think I've shared the substantive content updates to the Facebook page at some p

2024 Jcastle cleanup and Happy New Year 2025

2025-01-03

Happy New Year Jcastle fans!

This mini update brings together several small updates, some page cleanups, and technical fixes that have been on my to do list for awhile but that I never quite got around to finishing. I think I've shared the substantive content updates to the Facebook page at some point, but feel free to visit the revised pages on Jcastle too.

Himeji Castle - updated the Karamete album with photos from the recent special exhibit, combining photos from visits in 2022 and 2024. This area of the castle will again be open from the mid February to Mid March 2025 for any who may be interested.

I also added the Oremawari and Bizen Gate limited exhibit photos to their own album. This makes a nice set because the Oremawari Yagura and Bizen Gate make up one side of the courtyard defending the To-ni-ichi Gate and courtyard at the top of the karamete entrance.

I also added a small album for the boat tour of the moats. I wasn't going to do so originally but thought people might be interested in this tour as a different way to visit the castle.

Hikone Castle - Added a video and album for the yakatabune boat tour of the moat. Similar to Himeji I debated putting this up but especially here, you can see more of the moats and stone walls than you are likely to see on a single visit, especially if you don't have time or energy to walk them.

Kurita Castle - ART created the original profile but I renewed photos and added some notes.

Funage Castle - added Funage Castle as the precursor to Akashi Castle. There is not much to see but historically important. The Oda Residence now located near Akashi Castle was originally moved from here.

Akashi Castle - Added photos from atop the Piole shopping center, including the main highlight photo

Ohmizo Jin'ya - added photos and information about the newly refurbished gate

Ohmizo Castle - added information about a relocated part of the palace at Shoanji Temple

Nijo Castle - added a few photos of the Honmaru Palace which was recently reopened to the public and updated the notes as well.

Finally I cleaned up some more technical admin bits and pieces which never seem to be completely done either!!

It's good to start the new year with a mostly clean slate. The next new content additions will likely be updates to Bitchu Matsuyama Castle, Shuzan Castle, and Hagi Castle from recent visits and then working on 31 new mountain castle profiles around Kyoto, Shiga, and Hyogo prefectures including two more themed feature pages. There's lots to look forward to in 2025!

Akashi Castle / 明石城

Currently the 2 yagura are open during different times of the year, the Tatsumi Yagura from March Through May and Hitsujisaru Yagura from September to November. They are only open on weekends and holidays and will cancel for light rain. In the past each was open during alternating months during the same seasons so if you wish to go be sure to check the website (and weather!) and plan accordingly. When I visited the Tatsumi Yagura, I was there when it first opened at 10am but it had started raining and by the time I left they were taking down the signs and packing up. Supposedly this is to protect the interior of the yagura or they will have to close the windows. Only the first floor is open. The guide said someone was once injured falling from these steep steps so they stopped showing the second floor. The guide also said there is a special tour of both including the second floor if you buy a tour through the Furusato Nozei system but I was unable to any such thing today. (May 2024)

https://www.yokoso-akashi.jp/facility/2684

Most of the original stone walls of the castle are well preserved but the weeds and trees growing out and around them are horrible. They really need to do some more work to keep them free of plants or the walls will be damaged. They cut some trees around the "front" side of the castle to make the walls and yagura more clearly visible but the growth from the walls needs to be maintained better. Around the back side is especially atrocious. Reviewing my 2009 photos it was much better back then. One of the paths is so choked with vegetation it's now blocked off. It seems the huge castle park in front of the castle is constantly having events, lightups, project mapping, etc so one would think they could collect some fees or at least do a better job collecting donations to help pay for the maintenance before it's too late.

For your visit to Akashi Castle, don't forget to take some photos from the train station platform. The Piole Akashi Shopping Center on the other side of the train station also provides spectacular views of the castle, including the highlight photo above.

Funage Castle / 船上城

There is really nothing here to see but I had to drop by because of the connection to Akashi Castle and as the original site of the Oda Residence Gate outside Akashi Castle. The small wooded area in the pictures below has a little shrine with a stone pillar that says Funage Castle but I could not find a way to get there without going through the rice field.

Kurita Castle / 栗田城

Since I had time to spare in downtown Nagano I went on a little castle walk, going from site to site. Kuritajō was the best and last, possessing the most substantial ruins, although only a portion of the original castle remains. Kuritajō's layout was square-like; in fact, almost a parallelogram. It had tall earthen ramparts and mizubori (water moats) around the main bailey. An outer enclosure also existed, surrounded by the moat system. Now only the northwestern corner segment of dorui (earth-piled ramparts) survives, but it is still very tall. There is now a shrine built atop, and the remaining ruins are part of the shrine's grounds. The shrine is called the Minochi-sōja Hiyoshi-jinja. The flat ground at the foot of the dorui which is now parkspace is the moat which has been filled in. The stone platform shown here is a modern one built for the shrine's kami house. (ART)

Although it is not related to the castle, a Kosatsu stood here in Kurita village that listed announcements from the Bakufu (national) government. For a relatively small site, there is a great 8 page color pamphlet with detailed history, photos and maps of the castle and Kurita Village available on site or through this link (as of Jan2025). (Eric)

Profile by ART, photos and additional notes updated by Eric in 2025.

Nijo Castle / 二条城

Nijo Castle is a popular site for visitors to Kyoto but most don't realize that the palace was not the castle. They skip all the other artifacts and go straight to the ornate Karamon and then the palace. The entire compound along with the main keep (that no longer exists) would have been the castle. All those old gates and other buildings are important historical relics too. Nijo Castle provides something a little different If you get tired of visiting all the temples in town. Be sure to pay attention to the many original gates, storehouses, walls, turrets and other structures that also make this a magnificent castle ruin and must see for any castle fans. The Honmaru Goten was re-opened to the public in Sept.2024. It is open most days through an online reservation system. If you don't reserve a ticket in advance you can buy tickets at the castle information center if tour spots are available. I need make it clear this was not originally part of the castle. The palace was the Kyoto villa of the Imperial Family. It originally belonged to a branch family of the imperial family, and was located in the northeast corner of the Kyoto Imperial Palace (gosho). It was moved to this location after the Meiji Restoration when the imperials moved to Tokyo and Nijo Castle became the Nijo Villa of the Imperial Family.

Ohmizo Castle / 大溝城

There is only the stone base of the castle keep left here but the stone remains are impressive for their size and that they survived in the middle of the town this whole time. There are some signs of districts that existed around the castle town to help provide some sense of the original castle. I found it to feel even smaller than it looks on the maps! A few of those photographs may be found below, but to be honest I'm not sure if they should belong to the castle or Ohmizo Jin'ya.

On my latest trip I also found that the nearby Shoanji Temple claims that their main hall was relocated from one of the halls of the palace at Ohmizo Castle. This seems to be well written about and is now even identified on Google Maps, but the book 城郭移築建造物大全 is skeptical of the claim. It does not look like there is much evidence of castle architecture from that time period unless it has been heavily renovated, but no one has been allowed to study it in detail.

Original Profile by RaymondW (2012) updated by Eric in 2024.

Ohmizo Jin'ya / 大溝陣屋

The jin'ya lands overlap some with the former castle but for all intents and purposes they are two distinct fortifications and the jin'ya developed over the castle remnants that were not carried off to build Minakuchi Okayama Castle. Remnants from the jin'ya include the Somon Gate, which is often erroneously attributed to "Ohmizo Castle". Likewise, the old samurai home (despite its horrible condition) also dates from the Edo Period. The Kasai Residence, a bukeyashiki a short walk from the Somon, was occupied until recently. It is now in very poor shape but photos from just a few years ago show it in much better condition with a tended garden. The house also used to have a Nagayamon Gate but it was dismantled in the Taisho Period. The main gate for Omizo Jin'ya was repaired and restored re-opening in the Spring of 2024. The photos below are of the newly refurbished gate. Inside one wing of the gate is a small tourist information center and the other side has a very informative video about the castle and jin'ya. The information center also offers free ice coffee made with local water. An insider tip is that anyone who watches the full video is eligible to receive a free Ohmi Castle Card for Omizo Jin'ya while supplies last.

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