Ogaki Castle - Relocated Gates

I have identified five gates relocated from Ôgakijō. They are... 1. Shimizuguchimon at Hirabayashi-sō 2. Honmaru Inuimon in Aono Township 3. Kuroganemon at Unuma-juku 4. Unassigned Gate at the Makimura Residence 5. Unassigned Gate in Hozumi Township More info' about each gate is provided

Ogaki Castle - Relocated Gates

大垣城から移築された城門

I have identified five gates relocated from Ôgakijō. They are...

1. Shimizuguchimon at Hirabayashi-sō

2. Honmaru Inuimon in Aono Township

3. Kuroganemon at Unuma-juku

4. Unassigned Gate at the Makimura Residence

5. Unassigned Gate in Hozumi Township

More info' about each gate is provided below:

Ôgakijō Shimizuguchimon: Relocated Gate at Hirabayashi-sō (Nagamatsu, Ôgaki, Gifu) 　大垣城清水口門［岐阜県大垣市長松町］

This gate is said to have been relocated from Ohgaki Castle where it was a gate at the castle's Shimizu entrance which bordered the Suimon River to the west of the castle proper. Now the Shimizuguchimon serves as the entrance to Hirabayashi-sō(villa), itself designated as a prectural historic site, in Nagamatsu Township, Ôgaki Municipality. The gatehouse is designated as a municipal cultural property.

Hirabayashi-sō, the residence of Iinuma Rokusai, a botanist and rangaku ("Dutch studies") scholar of the Bakumatsu period, was not open when I rolled up to inspect the gate; it may not be open to the public. The site's neighbour to the west is Arasaki Elementary School, and that was the former site of a castle called Nagamatsujō; I stumbled upon a small monument for it by sheer chance (almost visited a castle without realising it!).

Ôgakijō Honmaru Inuimon (Aono, Ôgaki, Gifu) 　大垣城本丸乾門［岐阜県大垣市青野町］

This gate is said to have been relocated from Ohgaki Castle where it was the 'Honmaru Inuimon'. 'Honmaru' means 'main bailey', and 'inui' refers to the northeast direction; 'mon' means 'gate'. It is now used as the entrance to a private property in Aono Township, Ôgaki Municipality. The gate is found facing the 'Kyū(Old)-Nakasendō' road in Aono village, directly south of the ruins of the Mino-Kokubunji.

Ôgakijō Kuroganemon (Unuma, Kagamiǵahara, Gifu) 　大垣城鉄門［岐阜県各務ヶ原市鵜沼町］

The cataclysm which was the fall of the Tokugawa order led to the superstructural remnants of many castles being flung far and wide, and Ôgaki Castle in particular has a profusion of surviving gates scattered around the Mino countryside. One of the more splendid survivors of that paradign-ending tumult was this gate, the Kuroganemon ('Iron Gate'), which was relocated after the decommission of Ôgakijō. It was first acquired by the Aźumi family of Sohara Township, but eventually acquired by Kagamiǵahara Municipality and moved again to the Unuma-juku, Unuma Township. The gate was fixed up, and designated as a local-level important cultural property.

Kuroganemon is a kōrai-type gate. It is 5.6m wide and 3.6m tall. The wooden parts of the gate a reinforced with long, thin, parallel strips of iron called sujigane (striated iron). The gate was originally built in the main bailey of Ôgaki Castle. Kuroganemon blends in well in its new home of Unuma-juku, and supporting stone-piled mounds and an adjoining wall have been built to make it feel snug; it now leads to the shukuba's parking lot.

Ôgakijō: Relocated Gate at the Makimura Residence (Ôno, Ibi, Gifu) 　大垣城移動城門・牧村住宅古民家［岐阜県揖斐郡大野町］

This gate is said to have been relocated from Ohgaki Castle. Shiro-meguri and Kojōdan both list the gate but without providing much information, so I don't know where in the castle this gate originally stood. However, where it stands now is very picturesque, as it serves as the main entrance to the Makimura Residence, a beautiful thatched-roof cottage dating to 1701; this Torii-źukuri dwelling is designated as an important cultural property, and is located in Ôno Township, Ibi County.

The homestead's garden, fiery in the approaching autumnal gloam, is also a highlight. This site is private property but the owners are okay with people looking in, and in fact the local bus stop is in their driveway; however, even though the lady of the house (the bigger, newer (but still old) house next to the cottage) said it was okay to look around, I didn't go up to the cottage as it was already getting on and I didn't want to impose, so I contented myself with investigating the gate and taking pictures of the old dwelling from across the garden.

Relocated Gate from Ohgaki Castle (Hozumi, Mizuho, Gifu) 　大垣城移築門［岐阜県瑞穂市穂積］

This fine gate once stood at Ohgaki Castle! It is now the front entrance of a large, rural residence in Hozumi Township, Mizuho Municipality. I poked my head in. Interestingly, the gate is off-set from the main path into the residence, creating a bend in the path flanked by stone-piled walls, not unlike at a castle! I wonder if this place was just a residence? Maybe it belonged to a village chief or wealthy farmer who could socially and financially afford to take on the trappings of a castle lord, at least after Ôgakijō was decommissioned.

Information and gallery contributed by ART.