Shimonoseki City

Article posted on Sunday, October, 2nd, 2011 at 8:54 pm

Shimonoseki City I did a lot of driving in August. The destination of one of those drives was Shimonoseki, Honshū’s most-western city. It is a fascinating place, rich in history (Dan no Ura) but carries itself like a seaside resort town. Btw, there've been some changes to the map. You can now watch videos within the map (Shimonoseki). Or, you could just watch the two Shimonoseki videos below.
Kushizaki Jin’ya Kind of an odd place Kushizaki Jin’ya. Check out the video (& castle profile page) and tell me what you think. I’d love to get a second opinion.	Katsuyama Palace Katsuyama Palace is a fantastic place to visit, it’s well hidden though. I had to ask for directions & I was 100 metres away! The ruins have a very unique feel about them.

Jin’ya – A castle that isn’t a castle.

Article posted on Wednesday, July, 14th, 2010 at 5:47 pm

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.