Fukuju Kaikan Garden

 

The Fukuju Kaikan Garden is located within the grounds of Fukuyama Castle and is a stroll-type garden with views of the castle itself.

Though free to enter there are surprisingly few visitors.

Formerly an area of castle warehouses, the property was developed in the early 20th century by a local businessman.

There is a teahouse in the garden and a further one attached to the Japanese-style building.

The teahouses were designed by Fuefuki Kaichiro and has Roji gardens.

The Japanese style building is open unless it is being rented for an event.

There is also a western-style building which has a small cafe within it.

There are three paths around the garden and a pond.

The vegetation is fairly thick but at several points the castle keep is clearly seen.

Recent photos suggest it has been trimmed back somewhat since I visited.

The previous post in this series on day 9 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on Fukuyama Castle.

Fukuyama Castle

 

Fukuyama Castle Park is, in my opinion, one of the under-rated tourist spots in western Japan.

Not so much for the castle itself, although it it is somewhat impressive, but rather for the number of interesting sites within the castle grounds, like a park, a garden, two big museums of art and of history, and a multitude of shrines.

All within a few minutes walk of a major railway station....

The castle itself was built between 1619 and 1622 after the daimyo of the area, Mizuno Katsunari deemed that the current castle, Kannabe castle, was unsuitable.

Katsunari was given support by the Shogunate so that the castle would be large and strong enough to impress and hopefully intimidate the Tozama daimyo that were in the surrounding domains

Parts of the castle including the main gate were brought from the dismantled Fushimi Castle.

The southern part of the castle and its moats have been lost to city development, including the shiunkansen station, but the northern part still remains and just outside of the grounds are numerous large temples and shrines.

The 5-storey keep was one of the few that were not destroyed in the early Meiji years when most castles in Japan were dismantled.

However, it was destroyed by air raids of WWII. The current keep was built in 1966.

Since I visited the northern side of the keep has had black iron plates attached to replicate its original appearance.

It originally was quite an intimidating castle, with 10 gates and 23 yagura.

The only structures remaining from the original are the Fushimi Yagura and Sujigane Gate, both of which are Important Cultural Properties.

In 1710 the domain passed to the Abe Clan who held it until the dissolution of the domains in the first years of the Meiji Period.

The penultimate Abe daimyo was Abe Masahiro who as a senior minister in the government signed the treaty with Commodore Perry.

The park around the castle is, like so many castle parks in Japan, planted with lots of cherry trees, and so is a popular viewing spot.

The reconstructed keep is home to the castle museum and has an entry fee as does the big art museum and history museum in the park, but the park itself is free to enter.

The previous post in this series on my walk on day 9 of the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the Tamashima Historic Preservation District.

Akashi Castle

 

Akashi castle is an Edo Period castle built to protect the approaches to Osaka from the west.

Most of the Tozama Lords, the daimyo that had fought against the Tokugawa and were therefore still considered a possible threat, lived in the west, and so the Tokugawa placed allies in strategic positions around the country.

At the entrance to what is now a huge park in front of the castle is a statue of Ikujiro Nakabe, a local politician from the Meiji era who had nothing to do with the castle. The statue was erected in 1928 but was subsequently melted down for weapons during WWII and then remade later. As well as being involved in national politics he also founded fishing companies and whaling companies that operated in the Antarctic.

The castle was constructed between 1615 and 1617 and took about a year to build. Thanks to the One Domain One Castle decree of 1615 many castles were dismantled and come of the materials and structures were recycled in the construction of Akashi Castle

It was quite a large castle with a total of twenty yagura, towers, and 27 gates.

Within the park are several gardens that are now named the Musashi Gardens after the famed samurai swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. He was involved in the design of the castle and the surrounding area, and several gardens in nearby temples are attributed to him, but these gardens in the park were named after him after a very successful TV drama series on Musashi.

A base for a Tenshu, keep, was  constructed but no keep was built.

The main structures were 4 3-storey towers on each corner of the inner bailey.

The castle was built by Ogasawara Tadazane, but the Ogasawara were transferred to the Kokura Domain in 1632.

A succession of Fudai Daimyo, vassals of the Tokugawara before Sekigahara, or relatives of the Tokugawa, were given the Akashi Domain after the Ogasawara.

The castle was mostly demolished in 1874, but the two corner turrets on the south remained and are now Important Cultural Properties.

A large park and sports facilities now occupy most of the site. The stadium is built over what was probably a garden by Miyamoto Musashi.

Many events and festivals take place in the park.

It is a popular spot both for Cherry Blossom and Autumn Leaves viewing.

It is free to enter and a ten alk from JR Akashi Station.