Reocation, relocation, relocation.

     

Have castle, will travel
One thing that perpetually amazes me is the number of castle buildings that were first built, then pulled-down & rebuilt elsewhere. I wouldn’t make the claim that samurai were as mad for recycling as we are in modern times but the re-using of buildings and even complete fortifications was fairly standard practice. It probably wouldn’t be too far wrong to say that felling trees & getting stones out of the ground were seen as a last resort.

Tōdō Takatora had his five-story keep carted from northwest Shikoku to just outside of Kyōto In 1610. Yodo castle in Kyōto was the recipient of gates, turrets & materials from several castles including Himeji castle. One of Akashi castle’s two remaining turrets came from a local castle while the other originated in Hideyoshi’s famed (and well shaken) Fushimi castle. Fushimi castle ended its life as a public-domain parts box which saw its limbs flung to every corner of the country in a manner not seen since William Wallace‘s simultaneous tours of Newcastle upon Tyne, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Stirling, and Aberdeen.

Mission: Find gate
The other day (sometime last year) I made it my mission to track down the relocated magistrate’s gate of the Tsushima domain which I learned of via お城ガイド, a site that documents remnants of Japanese castles. As can be seen from the pictures, the gate is a beautifully carved, Yakui-style gate and as can also be seen, it remains in fine condition.

How happy I was with myself that I’d snapped some decent photos of an historically significant gate. I was figuratively hi-fiving myself as I rode my Mama-chari back home only to find… nothing else to confirm that gate was the gate that I thought that gate was. Damn you relocated building!

Maybe it doesn’t even matter. I had a good day.

Tsushima domain
Tsushima domain consisted of Tsushima island, just off the Kyūshū coast, and a small enclave in what is modern day Tosu city in Saga prefecture. It was here that this particular gate is believed to have located before making its way to the Seihō temple, its current location.

  • http://chaari.wordpress.com Toranosuke

    What an interesting and entertaining little challenge/adventure to pose for yourself, searching out the relocated elements of a castle.

    And Tsushima, of course, being one of the more interesting domains, or, should I say, just different and unique in that it dominated relations with Korea. I’m not sure there’s much to see on Tsushima Island these days – I’ve certainly never seen it come up in guidebooks or the like – but I find that a shame considering the unique history of the place.

  • admin

    I really enjoy searching out these buildings. And, once added to my website, look a more appealing than just a pile of stones.

    Tsushima is one place I really want to visit. I always forget that it is just a few hours travel from where I live. A while back, I saw a random blog about someone’s trip to Tsushima & it revealed several places of interest. I guess this is hardly surprising but you’re right, it doesn’t have much of a profile.

  • admin

    Dang. Just noticed I misspelt the title.