Nakoso no Seki
Nakoso-seki is an ancient fort and barrier gate site in Nakoso Township, Iwaki Municipality. The pleasant walk through the mountains to the locale known as Sekiyama ('Gate Mountain), is filled with gateways, statues of heroic figures, and poetry on rocks. Nakoso-seki was built on the scale of a smal
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History
The Nakoso-seki was first constructed by the Yamato in the 5th century on their northern frontier. At that time the site was on the very edge of Japanese civilisation (its southern extreme was the north part of Kyūshū), beyond which lived the Emishi barbarians of Tōhoku. In 707 sturdy fortifications were built including wooden palings, watchtowers and a main hall. A stele was also erected which proclaimed 'Enemies of the Emperor, do not come here'. The characters '勿来 (kuranakare)' came to be used as the name for the area – Nakoso, meaning 'do not come', on the border between Fukushima and Ibaraki prefectures.
Throughout the Nara period the Emishi, an ethnically distinct group from northern Honshū, would sail down the coast and assault the fort. Nakoso-no-seki was an outpost on the frontline of the conflict with the Emishi to stop them expanding southward into the Emperor’s domain.
During the Heian period, Japanese civilisation expanded into Tōhoku and the warrior tribesmen of the north were pacified in a series of campaigns at the end of the first millenium. They became culturally integrated into the Japanese way of life. One half-Japanese and half-Emishi personage, Fujiwara Kiyohara, would go onto to become a powerful ruler within the Heian political system and rule all of northern Japan from Hiraizumi as of 1100. Kiyohara’s ancestors were appointed to the uncultivated north to control the Emishi natives, but as regional samurai developed their own powerbases the Kiyohara defied the central government at Heian-kyō. On the side of the court, the famous samurai Minamoto Yoshiie fought the Kiyohara in two wars: the Zenkunen Campaign (1051-1062) and Gosannen Campaign (1083-1089). After a victorious battle Minamoto Yoshiie returned south via Nakoso-seki where he composed the following poem:
'A light breeze springs up as I pass Nakoso Barrier
And I feel the cherry blossoms floating over my back to the ground
How narrow the path seems hemmed in by a cloud of pink flowers.'
Minamoto Yoshiie was a man of both refinement and actions, and as such is held up as a paragon of warrior virtue. There are many allusions to Nakoso-no-seki in Japanese poetry and such poems are inscribed on stelae along the path which Minamoto rode.
There are several legends surrounding Minamoto Yoshiie’s journey through the barrier, including one where he felt suddenly very thirsty and so he prayed piously to the gods for guidance. Then, striking the ground at Nakoso-no-seki with his bow, a spring of pure drinking water burst forth. As well as this spring, other landmarks include a rock where the great warrior placed his helmet and a tree where he hung his saddle.
Field Notes
Nakoso-seki is an ancient fort and barrier gate site in Nakoso Township, Iwaki Municipality. The pleasant walk through the mountains to the locale known as Sekiyama ('Gate Mountain), is filled with gateways, statues of heroic figures, and poetry on rocks. Nakoso-seki was built on the scale of a small jōsaku. Jōsaku were citadels built throughout northern Japan to help quell and govern the local populace and intergrate it into the Yamato imperial system.
The main point of interest at the site today is the reconstructed portion of the citadel. A beautiful reconstruction from 2007, the fort’s palatial main hall, as it once stood during the Nara period, now welcomes visitors, serving as a photo gallery. Its wings enclose a pleasant garden. There are also walls and gates surrounding the halls. Originally this palatial compound corresponded to the inner fort, whilst an outer fort was enclosed with palisades and guarded by watchtowers.
The humble kabukimon (lattice beam gate), symbolic of the barrier-gate, is a motif of Nakoso town, and several can be found on the hike to the barrier ruins, including as soon as one steps out of the station house. A roofed gate has been constructed in the approximate position of the original exit to the fort, next to a statue of Minamoto Yoshiie. Another gate without a roof has been built in front of Nakoso Station, showing what the first gate at the barrier fort probably looked like. A large modern representation has also been built spanning the road at the foot of the hill. It is by the beach where the Emishi came ashore to attack the fort.
Other attractions include the Museum of Literature and History, which has exhbitis on the barrier fort, including a small model, and a reproduction of the armour worn by Minamoto Yoshiie. Additionally there is “Bow Point Spring”, “Helmet Rock”, “Saddle Pine”, and “Munetō’s Rock of Tears”. When Minamoto composed his poem he turned to see his retainer, Munetō, weeping. When asked the matter, Munetō replied that the beauty of his lord’s poem had elicited memories of home, bringing him to tears. The legend goes that Munetō’s tears flowed so copiously that they formed a boulder upon turning to rock. Don’t know how that works but I found said boulder on the mountainside.
It’s incredible to think that this site just north of the Kantō was once the very edge of Japan. Contemporaries of Nakoso-seki are other barrier gates at Shirakawa in Fukushima, and Nezu in Yamagata. Nakoso-no-seki remains as the most researched and care for of these sites today.
Gallery
| Castle Profile | |
|---|---|
| English Name | Nakoso no Seki |
| Japanese Name | 勿来関 |
| Alternate Names | Nakoso-seki |
| Founder | The Yamato |
| Year Founded | 707 |
| Castle Type | Mountaintop |
| Castle Condition | No main keep but other buildings |
| Historical Period | Pre Edo Period |
| Artifacts | Suifūden (reconstructed) |
| Features | gates, palace, walls |
| Visitor Information | |
| Access | Access: Nakoso Station on the Jōban Line; 30 min hike |
| Hours | 9:00-17:00; ¥330 |
| Time Required | 60 mins |
| URL | Castle Website |
| Location | Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture |
| Coordinates | 36.86578, 140.78014 |
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| Admin | |
| Added to Jcastle | 2025 |
| Contributor | ART |
| Admin Year Visited | Viewer Contributed |
| Friends of JCastle | |
| Oshiro Guide | |
