日本100名城　明石城　高石垣の両脇にそびえる現存櫓　兵庫県　Akashi Castle 2025

日本100名城　明石城　高石垣の両脇にそびえる現存櫓　兵庫県　Akashi Castle 2025

Today, I’m heading to Akashi Castle in Hyogo Prefecture. I’ll be getting off the Shin-kaisoku train at Akashi Station. It’s about a five-minute walk from the station. Akashi Castle was built in 1619 by Ogasawara Tadamasa. It’s said that Tokugawa Hidetada ordered its construction as a precaution against the various feudal lords in the western provinces. I’ll enter through the remains of the Taikomon Gate, which is the main entrance. It now has a square-shaped gate. There once stood a Yagura Gate here, complete with a drum to signal the time. The Gangi gate remains on the right. This is the Sannomaru, the former site of the feudal lord ‘s villa. To the east of Sannomaru, I’ll visit Musashi Garden. Miyamoto Musashi created a garden in Akashi, and this garden has been recreated here. Two remaining turrets are designated Important Cultural Properties. I’ll head first to the Tatsumi Tower. There are only 12 three-story turrets remaining in Japan. The Tatsumi Tower is one of them. Visible in front is the remains of the Sadano Tower. We attack the enemy from behind as they ascend the stone steps. We approach the Tatsumi Tower. We pass the ruins of the O-no-mon Gate . From here, we can get a good view of the sangizumi stacking. This is the remains of the Banno-mon Gate, connecting the Honmaru and Ninomaru. There is an observation deck, so we go there. We can see the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge next to the Tatsumi Tower. The earthen walls continue all the way to the Kun-yagura Tower. The Kun -yagura Tower is one of 12 remaining three-story towers. We peer outside through a narrow gap. The Kun-yagura Tower is slightly larger than the Tatsumi Tower. We go up to the castle tower base. The Akashi Castle castle tower base measures 25 meters east to west and 20 meters north to south. This is the same size as the Kumamoto Castle castle tower. However, it seems that the castle tower was never actually built. We can also see a baseball field on the right. In front of us is the remains of the Mino-mon Gate. When the castle was first built, there was a Honmaru Palace here, but it was burned down in 1631 and was never rebuilt. Let’s walk around the north side of the Honmaru. This is the remains of the Gon Tower. We’ve returned to the Ninomaru. Up ahead is the Higashimaru. We pass through the remains of the Naonomon Gate. We go down the stairs. Sakuraike Pond forms a moat on the north side. The north side is also fortified with high stone walls. Above this is the Ninomaru. We’ve returned to the remains of the Minomon Gate. From here, we head down to the Inari Kuruwa below. We’ve arrived at the Inari Kuruwa. In front of us is the stone wall on the north side of the castle tower base. We descend while looking at the Kun Tower. The gate is narrowing. The Kun Tower is also impressive from below. There is a stone monument with a Chinese poem written by a Confucian scholar from the Edo period. There is also a monument commemorating the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, donated by All Japan Pro Wrestling. Finally, we decide to exit through the Higashimeimon Gate. Edo period drawings show no gate in front of the masugata, but a Yagura Gate at the back. Thank you for watching.

2025/07/03　兵庫県明石市　日本100名城No.58
アクセス：明石駅から徒歩約5分　西国を睨む堅城
構造：平山城／櫓・石垣・水堀など
#明石市　#日本の城　#明石公園

日本100名城

【参考書籍】
日本人なら絶対行きたい日本の名城200：https://amzn.to/3snK0Pz
完全保存版 日本の城1055 都道府県別 城データ&地図：https://amzn.to/3MstRza

【撮影機材】
Osmo Pocket 3：https://amzn.to/4akx1ik