Ako Castle Home of the 47 Ronin

 

Chishingura is one of the most famous stories of the samurai, known more commobly in English as The 47 Ronin.

Ako, on the Inland Sea near the border between what is now Hyogo and Okayama Prefectures was the home domain of samurai in the story, and therefore draws a lot of visitors.

Actually the events of the story mostly took place in Edo.

It is technically a flatland castle, though when built the seashore was closer than now and the castle was protected by the tidal flats but it was possible to access it by small boat.

A small fortification was here in the 15th century, but the castle was built after the area was awarded to the Ikeda Clan after the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600.

They built it as a secondary fortification to protect their border. Their main castle was Himeji.

In 1645 the domain was awarded to a branch of the Asano Clan, and Asano Naganao then spent 13 years greatly expanding the castle to its current configuration.

With 12 gates and 10 towers the castle was much grander than other castles of such small domains, although a keep, or tenshu, was never built even though a base was.

Ss the plan view in photo 2 suggests, elements of western castle design seem to have been incorporated.

Following the Ako Incident in 1701, the incident that led to the death of the Asano Lord and then later the revenge by his 47 samurai, the castle passed to the Mori Clan who hed it until domains were dissolved in the late 19th century.

Most of the buildings were dismantled, some walls too, and some moats filled in.

In 1921 a high school and its sports field was constructed in the hinmaru, inner bailey, of the former castle.

However, beginning in the 1930's some reconstructions began including the moats, and in 1955 the maingate was reconstructed.

In 1981 the high school was relocated and this has further expanded the reconstructions.

Two gardens have recently been fully restored to their former grandeur, and on these I will post next.

The castle is now quite large and open with lots of moats and walls.

To the north of the castle was the residences of the highest ranking retainers, including Oishi Kuranosuke, the leader of the 47 Ronin.

Now it is Oishi Shrine dedicated to the 47 and with statues of them lining the approach.

Nearby is the city History Museum with displays on the 47 as well as the local industry, salt. Very little info in English.

The previous castle I posted on was Fukuyama Castle.

Akashi Kaikyo Suspension Bridge

 

When it was completed in 1998, the Akashi Kaikyo Suspension Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world, a title it held until 2022 when a bridge in Turkey, the Canakkale Bridge took the title.

Though only the second longest suspension bridge in the world, it is nonetheless an impressive sight.

It crosses from Akashi, near Kobe on the main island of Honshu, over to Awaji Island, from where another bridge crosses over to Shikoku. The bridge is clearly seen from the train line connecting Kobe with Okayama, as well as obviously the expressway that it carries across the channel.

Underneath the bridge on the Kobe side is a museum about the bridge and its construction, and is well worth a visit.

The bridge is 3.9 kilometers in total length, and with a central span of 1,991 meters, the dimension usually used in measuring longest bridges.

The two towers supporting the bridges are 282 meters high. It is possible to book a tour that takes you up to the very top of one of these towers, an experience I heartily recommend and which I posted on earlier.

The bridge is more than 65 meters above the water at its central point.

The museum has great exhibits showing how the bridge was built, methods used, and how it is maintained.

Member of a tour to climb one of the tours get a guided tour of the museum as well.

A cross section of one of the enormous cables that carry the bridge.

There is an observation deck below the bridge that is accessed vis a walkway under the bridge that has sections of glass floor.

There is a cafe and shop with great views up and down the coast.

Called the Maiko Marine Promenade, it is accessed via elevators next to the museum building and costs just 300 yen and involves a 300 meter walk. At the point of the observation deck you are 47 meters above the water.

Around the base of the bridge on the Kobe side is Maiko Park with a couple of historic buildings including the Sun Yat Sen memorial Hall, a 1915 building showing materials about the Chinese revolutionary.

Dream Lens is a circular stone sculpture that is a very popular spot for taking photos of the bridge. Top photo.

The previous post in this series was on the nearby Akashi Castle. In case you missed it I highly recommend the post on the view from the top of the bridge.

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.