Jin’ya?
Castle in Japanese – 城, represented a lot of things. It ranged from something massive and modern like Nagoya or Himeji castles right down to the simplest of stockade, which is probably now nothing more than a site marker in the form of a post in the ground.

It is a little confusing then, that there was a particular type of fortification that served many of the same functions as any large, Edo-period castle but was instead known as a Jin’ya. Well, just to be clear, they would never have been able to withstand any sustained assault but it was from within their offices that the domain was administered, just like at the larger castles.

…Jin’ya??
Jin’ya, written as 陣屋, can be a little tricky to translate. Depending on your source, the following words may pop up: Magistrate’s office, Encampment, Government house, etc…

Generally, Jin’ya were located in domains valued up to 30,000 koku – which is what Wikipedia says. According to a recent book purchase though, it seems there were plenty of domains valued over the 30,000-koku figure. Akizuki Jin’ya in Fukuoka Prefecture for example, was valued at 50,000 koku at one point. And, I’m not having a go at Wikipedia’s contributers. To be honest, the average koku value does tend to hover around the 30,000 mark.

Jin’ya were found all over Japan, and in rather large numbers. Many were built on land held by the Tokugawa Shogunate and others were set-up by Daimyo as mini-domains within their own borders. Some were even established at decommissioned castles. Nagayama Jin’ya in Oita prefecture to name just one.

Akizuki Jin’ya / Jō
Depending on which resource you refer to, the H.Q. of a certain Kuroda Nagaoki (third son of Kuroda Nagamasa) in 1623 was Akizuki castle (秋月城) or Akizuki Jin’ya (秋月陣屋). Whatever its label, let’s have a look at how it may have once looked:

Akizuki Jin'ya

The rear & the side defences cannot clearly be understood viewing this scale model. After refering to my field notes, those three sides were inaccessable due to a creek & embankments. Along the front however is a moat, several multi-story turrets & a main gate. Perhaps it also isn’t so clear but their are two enclosures. One containing the offices and an “L” shaped horse stable. The other presumably containing the lord’s residence.

In conclusion
So, there you have it folks. I hope I’ve been able to clear up what a Jin’ya is and isn’t. In the end, I’m not so sure if I have. Suffice it to say, It’s a Jin’ya if it says it’s a Jin’ya.

Well, between procrastination and not having a means to visit, I finally checked out the Tachiarai Peace Hall. You may well imagine it to be a hall-like building filled with peace, which may not be a completely accurate description. It is in fact, filled with WWII aircraft, parts of aircraft & other WWII related items.

When you are done with the video, check out:
The Pool of Zen's Poetry of the Kamikaze.
And, a site with some information on the former museum.

I was walking around school between lessons looking for a teacher (I work at 8 schools in Kurume city) & came across a room filled with historical artefacts. The room was decked out like a folk museum with items from various eras of Japan’s past. I later found out that the more ancient stuff were replicas but hey, considering this is a local school, I was still impressed.

Anyway, after getting permission (of course), the teacher said that NHK, Japan’s national broadcaster, had been there just two days earlier for a story. Have I in fact scooped NHK? Perhaps the big question is, Does it really matter?

Check out the vid and tell me what you think!

Another video! I jumped in the car and drove down the road for about 10 minutes or so. Me and Taiga ended up at the Asahiyama Castle Ruins, a site that had seen some conflict back in the day. It is a shame that there are no gates, towers or even stonework but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. What has remained is a little of the sculpting of the mountain in the form of a dry moat (ditch). Have I hyped it too much?

I have noticed that my videos in the past have been lacking greatly with regards to information. I’m happy to say that relatively speaking, this video is choc-full o’ facts. Relatively speaking.

This is the very bus I took from Fukuoka to Kyoto. It wasn't as comfortable as it looks.

Choose your own adventure

I have got to say that I am itching to travel. It has been a while since I’ve been on a castle-exploring trip, and without much time or money I’m unsure when the next chance to travel will be. When it does eventually happen though, I will be ready for it.

The first few times I travelled around Japan compared with the last time was very different. I suppose it’s natural that the more you do something, the more efficient you get at it, but also having a family and a mortgage has made me a bit (more like a lot) more careful when going about things. Tell me if you think my itinerary from Spring 2009 is a little hectic.

I don’t travel for relaxation, visiting castles is my relaxation.

Some things to consider when planning your own travels.

Getting around
I’ve already mentioned the night bus. I don’t particularly like it but travelling when you sleep (or attempt too) maximises the time you have to look at interesting things during the day. Night ferry is another option.

Of course being Japan, trains are a very convenient way to get around. Check out this website: www.jorudan.co.jp/ Just enter the train station names (you may have to double check the spelling) and it will offer you the fast or economical options that are available to you.

Where to stay
Do not waste your time at a youth hostel. I stayed at a couple in Ehime; too many rules & too expensive. I prefer a cheap business hotel room. Another option is a Minshuku (usually slightly-grubby, old-style guest houses) but the bathing area is shared.

What to see
Some people may prefer to wing it, but for the reasons I mentioned earlier I like to have a pretty fair idea of what I’m going to see. First thing I do is look at the Japanese Castle Explorer map. If you have managed to overlook the Google-bar, I recommend you give it a go. You can even type in Nihongo to get results. There is also the panoramio & wikipedia overlays to help you discover sights to see.

Finally, another post. And, finally another video. Does this video actually answer any questions? I’m not really sure. It’s just me driving around the neighbourhood.

Despite the relative newness of the area I live in, there does seem to be a lot of historically notable things. This is in stark contrast from where I grew up in Australia. Anyway, one of the backstreets has a rather interesting past indeed.

Early this year I added a function that allowed people to rate the castles they’d visited. It’s not a perfect system but it has allowed for the creation of a ranked list, and it is this list which forms the basis of the top-ten Popular castles list. Anyway, since its introduction just 5 months ago over 1000 votes have been submitted. Wow. I never thought it would be as popular as it has. A big thanks to you all, I really do appreciate everyone who has taken an interest & the time to vote.

Well, they’ve now been tallied, perused & interpreted and I have to say, the votes have revealed more than a couple surprises. Anyway, run your eyes over the stats and then we’ll chat again.

Surprises aside, I actually have no gripes with how people have voted. I’m sure they did so as they saw fit, it’s not like they can gain any benefit anyway. Things will all average out in the end.

Hurrah! Ye olde functionality hath returned! Perhaps I’m being a little over dramatic but after over a year on the back burner (and being completely forgotten about), a most handy feature has made its way back.

What the heck are you talking about?
Once upon a time, moving from a castle profile page to the map page was a bit different: the corresponding info window would open in addition to the map centering & zooming.

Check this out: the old way & the new & even older way.

This functionality was removed when the site was transferred to the www.japanese-castle-explorer.com domain. For some reason the hosting environment (?) seemed to mess around with some important variables within the programming, meaning going to a particular marker would direct each visitor to one of two possible results – which was and is completely unacceptable.

One more thing
You’ll notice in the attached picture that beneath the individual castle pictures in the castle name, a map link & two categories. The map link now incorporates the link-to-marker function. I’ve added the category links for visitors to not only get to the information they want more easily but also as a way for them (you guys) to get a better idea of what you will see in each category.

Earlier this year I introduced to you all my interest in Tsuba, the hand guards of Japanese swords (link). Well, here is another in my collection. There are only three Tsuba in my collection, it’s an expensive hobby you know!

This Tsuba
I picked this one up in Fukuoka city. This probably won’t seem so unusual to you, Japan may well be the place to pick up a Japanese antique or two. (Just keep that to yourselves though.) The majority of Tsuba that I’d bought though were back in my home town of Brisbane or on-line. Be sure to check out E-bay, but beware, there is a mountain of crappy ones.

In contrast to the majority of Tsuba made of iron, this one is copper. The overall feel is quite delicate & elegant. You’ll notice there are inlays of two different colour metals. Both are alloys, the dark one in known as Shakudō, the other is an impure gold. And by the way, the pattern is known as Sayagata (紗綾形) and it wraps around the rim in places. The central hole allowed the tang of the blade to pass through and you can see its shape has been altered multiple times.

How old is it? No idea. Who made it / What school of Tsuba maker? No idea, I know enough to know to not trust what is written on the box (Umetada). Size? Dang small.

The box rounds things off nicely. A previous owner obviously felt that the Tsuba was deserving of a made-to-order home.

Hello everyone. It has only just struck me that readers of this blog and/or subscribers to the RSS feed may well have been missing many of the updates that have occurred on the Japanese Castle Explorer site.

How can this be??

Good question. Here goes. Following an update, I spare no time informing my fellow twitterers & facebookers. Assuming that my job is done, I sit back & relax. Well, as I said, I now realize my folly.

So what’s new?

Good question. There’s a new top page on the JCE site. And, an old Japanese castle maps page. Also new (but a bit old) is this page of Japan’s top 100 castles.

Gotta go guys, but always remember, any & all question, comments, theories are welcome. Post a comment or email, or tweet, etc….