Tsuwano Castle

 

Tsuwano Castle, celebrating the 700th anniversary of its founding this year, 2024, is now mostly ruins.

It is situated on a mountaintop, 200 meters above the town of Tsuwano which was built as a castle town in the early Edo Period.

There are no roads up to the ruins, but three walking trails or a chairlift.

Even after taking the chairlift there is still some walking to the first part of the ruins.

The original castle was started in 1282 shortly after the first Mongol Invasion and was meant to protect against further possible invasions. The Yoshimi Clan controlled the area for more than 300 years.

In essence it was a large fortified mountain ridge with fortifications spread over two kilometers along the ridge.

In the mid 16th century the region was invaded by Sue Harukata and he unsuccessfully besieged the castle for more than 100 days.

In the meantime, the Mori Clan took advantage and attacked the Sue and defeated them at the Battle of Itsukushima

Following the Battle of Sekigahara the Yoshimi were removed from the area and Sakazaki Naomori took over the domain.

It was he were remade the castle into the form it is today and started the construction of the castle town.

He reduced the size of the castle to its central section and modernized it by building most of the stonework that you see today.

In 1619 sakazaki was replaced by the kamei Clan and they held the castle and domain until 1868.

In 1686 the tenshu, keep, was destroyed by a fire caused by lightning and it was never replaced. The Daimyo lived and administered the domain from buildings at the base of the mountain, two of which are still standing.

During the Boshin War the Imperialist forces led by Choshu marched through the valley and the Kamei samurai stayed within the castle and allowed them to pass.

The castle was dismantled in 1874, shortly before the government ordered castles to be dismantled.

Even if you have not much interest in castle ruins, Tsuwano Castle is well worth a visit for the amazing views.

During the late autumn when the weather phenomenon known in Japanese as unkai occurs the castle ruins are above the surrounding valleys filled with clouds much like the much more famous Takeda Castle in Hyogo.

Down below the castle to the south is the Washibara Hachimangu Shrine which has the only purpose-built yabusame, horseback archery, grounds in Japan.

The previous castle I posted on was Hiroshima Castle. The previous post on Tsuwano I posted was on the garden at Yomeiji temple.

Yomeiji Temple Garden

 

Yomeiji is a Soto Zen temple in the former castle town of Tsuwano in the mountains of western Shimane.

It was founded in 1420 and has been the family temple for successive lords of the domain since then.

It has a thatched roof and many "treasures" to be seen, but for now I will concentrate on the garden.

Actually there are two gardens, with the last two photos of this post showing the older garden in front of the main hall.

It, however, can only be seen from a distance, though it is said that in earlier times a corridor surrounded it.

The main garden is to the rear of the priests residence.

It is not known when the garden was created nor who designed it.

The temple was rebuilt in the mid 18th century following a major fire, so it is believed the garden dates from that time.

The main focus is a Turtle Island connected by a bridge in a Koi pond.

A small waterfall runs in the hillside behind.

While the garden can be enjoyed from within the main viewing room, it is actually a stroll garden so can be explored a little.

The temple is located a short walk up a small valley off of the main area of town and is well worth a visit, especially with the Fall foliage.

Entry is only 300 yen and includes access to the temples Treasure House.

The garden is suitable for viewing all year round. These photos were taken over several visits at different times of the year.

In the next post in this series I will show the architecture and art of Yomeiji.

The previous post in this series exploring Tsuwano was on the Sagimai Heron Dance held every year.

Dance of the Herons Sagimai in Tsuwano

 

Sagimai, the Dance of the Herons, is an elegant,  medieval dance that originates in the Gion Matsuri, the Kyoto festival that is  the most famous of all festivals in Japan.

The best place to see it is in the former castle town of Tsuwano in the mountains of western Shimane close to the border with Yamaguchi, where the dance has been kept alive for more than four centuries after it disappeared from Kyoto.

Two male dancers dressed as herons, one male, one female, perform a kind of mating dance, and while the two "birds" are the stars of the show, there are plenty of other characters in the performance.

Two dancers called bofuri, wearing bright red wigs and carrying long rods slowly circle the two herons, twirling the rods to keep the space free from evil spirits. One bofuri moves clockwise, the other anti-clockwise.

The Toya, festival head, with some guards. Historically a hereditary position of the influential Hori family, the position of Toya is nowadays rotated among parishioners of the Yasaka Shrine.

The remaining halberds, or kasaboko. Originally 13, one for each month plus the largest for the whole year. Because of depopulation, there are no longer enough people to carry the halberds so they are left on display at the community center where the dance begins.

The dance takes place at several locations along Tonomachi, a street of preserved historical buildings from the Edo Period. All the dancers and musicians have their own "guards" as they walk the short distance. The crowd, never that big, usually accompanies the procession to the next venue.

While the herons are dancing, and the bofuri are circling, another pair of dancers called kakko mai are dancing. Kakko is the name of the small drum attached to their waists which they don't actually play. Their movement do not mimic, but is synchronized with, that of the herons.

Behind the kakko mai, the musicians playing flute, cymbal, and drums sit or squat, and behind them stand the singers.

The dance takes place on July 20th and 27th, the start and end days of the Gion Matsuri in Tsuwano. It was probably introduced from nearby Yamaguchi in 1542. The Ouchi Clan who ruled much of western Japan had introduced a lot of culture and tradition from Kyoto including the sagimai.

It stopped being performed in Kyoto during the time of the Onin War in the 15th century when Kyoto was a smoldering ruin and the dance died out there. Later it also died out in Yamaguchi, leaving Tsuwano as the only site in Japan where the dance continued until modern times.

In the late 20th century the people of Tsuwano took the sagimai back to Kyoto and taught them the details. Nowadays it can be seen at Yasaka Shrine in Gion, though it would be best to be in possession of a powerful telephoto lense if you want to see much of anything.......

In 1958 Tsuwano created the Kosagi Odori, literally the Heron Chick Dance, as way to get the towns children involved , and it has now become a feature of the festival every year.

Young boys have recently taken part in the Chick Dance, a result of the dwindling population. In a similar vein, women have started to take part in the main Sagi Mai, though so far only as guards of the procession.

One final note,.... Herons are quite a few species of different birds, with the one represented in the sagimai most likely a Little Egret. There are several egret species in Japan, all white. What I would call a heron is the Grey Heron, called Ao Sagi, blue heron in Japanese, and the egret is shira sagi, white heron.