20 Chubu Region Castle Profiles from ART
20 Chubu Region Castle Profiles from ART
2021/09/23
ART's next contribution is 20 new profiles from the Chubu Region.
If you haven't seen his Japanese Castles Facebook page, check it out as well. All these photos and more have been posted there at some point or will be soon.
Akechi Osayama Castle / 明智長山城
Anyway, I was more interested in the historical narrative of the apparent castle than the features. Considering the dearth of interesting structural features, it's fascinating that this site is cherished, maintained well, and promoted as a tourist destination. An old man rolled up whilst I was waiting in the carpark and sold us a commemorative seal. If only every middling castle site was so well loved! But, of course, the castle is notable for its historical associations more than anything else.
Let me ask you something: was Akechi Mitsuhide a traitor? English language materials often present him as such, generally being disparaging. I think this is unfair. You couldn't trust a samurai as far as you could throw him. Did Toyotomi Hideyoshi prove any more loyal? The focus on Akechi as a traitor derives from a tragically romantic notion of samurai being otherwise very loyal, but this was the exception and not the rule. There was no bushidō and each man was out only for numero ichi. The amount of times the samurai would back stab and lie to each other is a testament to that. Even so, I thought the mayor's message inscribed on a plaque next to a large statue of Akechi trying to present Akechi as an ambassador for love and world peace was a bit laughable. By all means lionise the local historical leader but let's not project our own image onto his, eh?
(At the castle I saw a kamoshika (idiot goat), and chased it up the mountainside. I moved like a spider on my toes and hands up the cliffside but the beast bolted so quickly that it crashed through the forest, bleating, rising much ruckus, and got clear away from me. I only wanted to love him!)Chimura Yashiki / 千村屋敷
Etchuu Shinjou Castle / 越中新庄城
Gouda Fort / 郷田砦
Ibikitagata Castle / 揖斐北方城
Kukuri Castle / 久々利城
Kurono Castle / 黒野城
Mikawa Terabe Castle / 三河寺部城
Mino Ikeda Castle / 美濃池田城
Mino Ima Castle / 美濃今城
Mino Kaneyama Castle / 美濃金山城
Nagaoka Castle / 長岡城
Nitchuu Castle / 日中城
Noguchi Yakata / 野口館
Owari Moriyama Castle / 尾張守山城
Owari Ogawa Castle / 尾張緒川城
Saraki Jin'ya / 更木陣屋
Suemori Castle / 末森城
Yamada Shigetada Yakata / 山田重忠館
Yuminoshou Castle / 弓庄城
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