Kakegawa castle

We got on a Sinkansen train at Shizuoka station after visiting the Sumpu castle. For Shin-Osaka, next stop is Kakegawa station, and when we got off, the Kakegawa castle was in front of the station. Kakegawa city is located at approximately 250 kilometers east of Osaka city. To say another word, it's at a halfway between Osaka and Tokyo. It has a population of about 120,000, and is a typical rural city. And one more thing, it was born and developed as the castle-town of the Kakegawa castle. 

Honmaru gate and Main tower

For ex-castle-towns (most of them are rural cities), their castles were precious and main items of their tourism promotion. So, they are trying to invite tourists using the charm of their castles. If they have original Tensyukaku or the main towers, they will be highly motivated. Quite many rural cities which had had castles reconstructed their castle's main towers. Kakegawa city also reconstructed its castle's main tower in 1993, and is also continuing to promote as a famous tourist city. 


Go up to the main tower

We walk down the street in front of Kakegawa station' north side approximately 500 meters straight to the north. Then we arrive at the entrance gate of Kakegawa Castle. To tell this sightseeing spot firstly, the entire Kakegawa Castle area is Honmaru compound with the main tower, Ninomaru compound with the Ninomaru residence and the Ninomaru art museum, Sannomaru compound which is used as an open space. And, several historical buildings are around this place, a residence of a senior samurai, offices of a political organization of the Meiji era and so on.

From Honmaru compound

We go up the stairs to the Honmaru compound. At the end of the stairs, a heavily armored gate is there. Behind it, an entrance-fee-stall is, and there was the former Honmaru residence in front of our sight line. Unfortunately, it's a flower garden now. There's some kind of reason that this facility was made here, but it's not fit in with the atmosphere. A small hill with the main tower is at the north side of it. We re-start to go up to the another stairs guarded with long and heavy earthen walls to the main tower. We feel the whole site of this castle is comparatively small-scale. Because we can see the main tower in front of us, when we pay our entrance fee.

Main tower

Firstly, we found an information board described the history of the main tower. It tells us that the main tower is located in the Tenshu-maru compound ('Tenshu' means 'main tower'). It's one of the features of this castle. Because other main towers were usually built in the Honmaru compound, in other words, in the same compound. Another feature was the Wakikuruwa small-compound and an inner moat for defense on the eastern side. These premises were lost now, and changed a narrow allay to the Ninomaru compound.
   
The main tower is not original and was rebuilt in 1993. The scale is 3 tiers 4 floors and it's on a tall stone basement of 3.6 meters high. Its first appearance was in 1513 and the first main tower was built in 1597. It was destroyed by a big earthquake in 1604, and the next one was rebuilt in 1621. Unfortunately, it was also collapsed according to an another earthquake in 1854. So, the tower looking now is the third generation.

Inside of the Main tower

The first floor is an exhibition space with high ceiling, and is occupied with many artifacts such as armors, helmets, swords and weapons. And connected with the projection, the entrance structure. The second floor is a wide empty room with few exhibitions. Walking around every corner, we can find the width of this building. 

Shachihoko

In a certain corner, the Shachihoko is exhibited. This big fitting for the roof is technically a decorated ridge-end tile for roof water proof. And the same one fixed on the ridge-end of the highest place of this main tower. This imaginary creature is literally a fabulous fish like a dolphin and was believed that it threw up huge amount of water according to legend. So, people at that time believed it helped to prevent the main tower from suffering fire damage.

The third floor is only a staircase floor and the fourth is a landscape floor. From here, the Lords of it would have a look around the whole Kakegawa castle-town. It's a very nice view. 


Go to the Ninomaru compound

Moving to the Ninomaru compound, we go down the alley from the Tenshu compound to the Ninomaru. It is connected with the external staircase toward the backyard of the Ninomaru residence. The Ninomaru compound has been reduced because of a road between the Ninomaru compound and the Sannomaru. So, we cannot experience the real width of this castle. The situation at this moment is disappointing for us who expect an extensive castle area. By contrast, we can understand the traffic need for ordinary citizens who use this road everyday. The space once ruined can't recover easily. 

Ninomaru residence

This compound still has enough width as wide as the Honmaru plus the Tensyumaru. In this compound, there are the Ninomaru residence which was constructed in 1861, the Ninomaru Museum lately made, the Ninomaru tearoom and so on. This residence is one of few remained originals which were made during the Edo period. Front space of the Ninomaru residence is not enough because of the road between the Ninomaru compound and the Sannomaru. So, we feel the narrowness of the entrance area.

Reception room

Kimono displayed

We can look up the main tower in the west. Between the Tensyumaru and the Ninomaru, the Wakikuruwa small compound and an inner moat were existed once, but aren't now. These areas were changed into a giant garden. From the western side of the Ninomaru residence where is the front corner of this building, the scenery from there is especially nice. There are a reception room, a private study room and a bedroom of the Lords connected through a wide hallway of the west side.

Armor

By contrast, the eastern side is a backstage of this building. There were kitchen, retainers' working rooms, stockrooms and so on. Almost of the kitchen space was lost, so we can see small cooking space only. Each room has smaller windows than the rooms on the western side. Furthermore, decorations of walls and ceilings on this side are also rare, so these things make us feel dimness around there. 

At the bright side rooms, artifacts, armors, and Kimono are exhibited. And, at the backstage side room, the dalls of Daimyo-gyoretsu or scenery of the Lord's travel, and old weapons are displayed. 


About reconstructed main tower

Importance of the main castle towers (or the meanings of existence) were lost when the period of feudal lords ended in 1867. Because their importance came from the feudal lords' sense of values. In other words, these were required for the feudal lords but weren't for next ruling classes. 

Main tower from Ninomaru residence

As for the main tower of the Kakegawa castle, it was more complicated than others. The main tower and the Lord's residence were destroyed by an earthquake only 3 years before the end of feudalism. The residence was reconstructed without delay, but the main tower wasn't. Because it was a symbol of feudal military facilities, but the military importance of it was already doubted even in the Samurai class then.  

Kakegawa citizens had to wait for the reconstruction of the main tower approximately 130 years after the breakdown. For the realization of its reconstruction, they needed a strong reason. Recently, tourism is revalued especially among domestic sightseeing spots. Along this context, the Kakegawa castle's main tower earned a new importance as a sightseeing facility, and was reconstructed in 1993.  

Many main castle towers were reconstructed during a tourism epidemic around 1955. However, the Kakegawa castle's main tower was not. Worth waiting for the right time until 1993, it was reconstructed by a wooden structure. The occurrence was the first experience in Japan.

In Japan, every new building have to be made of the structure stronger than the power of anticipating earthquakes. Because Japan is a country where many earthquakes happen. This rule is provided for in the Building Standards Law of Japan. So, every main castle tower planned to reconstruct around 1955 needed to follow the rule. Consequently, they were made by the method of RC or SRC. To follow the rule, the method of wooden structures at that time couldn't achieve the level of the law wanted.

RC: Reinforced Concrete
SRC: Steel Reinforced Cocrete


Secrets of reconstructed main towers

Advances in building technology enabled 3 tiers and 4 aboveground floors main castle towers by wood. Of course, it is applying the level of the Building Standards Law of Japan. However, why we can build wooden building now same as the old days, if we use the same materials and the same method, what is the difference now and the past? To tell the truth, there are some hidden secrets, which people who concerned with don't want to mention.

Inside basement

Firstly, we want to mention a stone wall basement, which holds the weight of the building. In the old way, the stone wall basements of the castles were covered by large stones for security, and inside was mounted by soil. But this method was too simple, so they were secure
only in nomal time. If a strong earthquake is concentrated in them, they will be destroyed inevitably. It was made to protect against an earthquake using the power of friction which was made from the stones. So, it was not enough. 

Stone basement of the main tower

Then, how to protect the newly reconstructed tower from strong earthquakes? The secret is hidden inside of the stone basements. This tower was built on a strong RC (Reinforced Concrete) basement behind the fake surface stones. So, stones are used only for decoration and they didn't cover any power from earthquakes. We have difficulty to find the difference between the original and the fake from the outside. 

Secondly, we want to consider the upper part. We suppose wooden constructions of the upper part are same as the main tower in ancient days. However, the size of each material is thickened to complete the level of strict building rules. Furthermore, advance in calculation methods guarantees the safety. 

Wooden constructions of the main tower

Not only stone basements but also stone ramparts surrounding compounds are not original. (some of them are original but many of them aren't.) Castle compounds are usually surrounded by stone ramparts. These stone ramparts act as retaining walls to prevent the edge of castle compounds. Newly made stone ramparts some decades ago should have been modern designed ones. Because they should achieve the level of strict building rules.

Modern stone ramparts aren't fit for historical facilities. So, recently, antique-looking stone ramparts was invented. However, antique style is only its surface, and inside is a retaining wall made of precast concrete. 

This is quite sudden, but we have a question. Have you ever seen the film named "Blade Runner"? No matter how natural products look like the real things, they are all artifacts in the world of "Blade Runner". We are afraid that all of castles might become fakes like the world of "Blade Runner" in the future.    
 
The opinion described here is our's and only one concept among many. And we are worried about our descriptions aren't accurate somewhere. Please accept all of them in your big-heart.