6/14/2019

tenshukaku Edo castle tower

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. Famous Places and Power spots of Edo 江戸の名所 .
. Persons and People of Edo - Personen .
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tenshukaku 天守閣 castle tower, castle keep
ooyagura 大櫓 big tower, turret
tenshudai 天守台


. Edo joo 江戸城 Edo-jo, Edojo, Edo Castle - Introduction .

Ieyasu built a very large and high castle tower, but his son Hidetada built a new one, and his grandson Iemitsu
had major remodeling and repair work done at the castle of Hidetada.
When this famous tower was burned down in the Meireki fire,
it was not rebuilt again, the money was instead used to rebuild the city of Edo.

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source : blogs.yahoo.co.jp/merce_style...

Tokugawa Ieyasu 家康
1.慶長天守 (1607 - 1623) - 16 years Keicho / Keichō tower
59 m high

The castle of Ieyasu was ment to withstand an attack from an enemy.
This tower could be seen from everywhere in Edo and was the pride of all citizens.
It was on the Western side of the 本丸 Honmaru palace.
The walls were white.

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source : blogs.yahoo.co.jp/merce_style...

Tokugawa Hidetada 秀忠
2.元和天守 (1623 - 1638) - 15 years  / Genna tower
To protest against his father, Hidetada had the tower torn down and built a new one to the North of the Honmaru. The stone walls are still there today.
The building was meant to withstand earthquakes, the roof tiles from the first to the fifth floor were made from copper, which was much lighter than normal clay roof tiles.
The tiles slowly changed their color and turned green.
The walls where black.

Tokugawa Hidetada 徳川秀忠 (1579 – 1632)
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Tokugawa Iemitsu 家光
3.寛永天守 (1638 - 1657) - 19 years - Kanei tower
44,8 m high (51,5 m from the bottom of the stone wall to the top of the shachihoko 鯱 decoration on the roof.)

Iemitsu wanted to make a castle tower in honor of his beloved grandfather, Ieyasu.
It is most probable that the carpenters only took off the outside materials of Hidetada's castle, left the interior and created a new outside.
On the fourth floor the tower had a karahafu 八方正面 唐破風 gable on each side, a symbol of power.
The main entrance was to the West.
The stone wall supporting the tower was 36.5 m to the North-South side and 33 m to the East-West side. The height of the stone wall was 11 m.
The basement room of the tower had a size of about 446 square meters and served as a storage for the weapons.
The first floor had a size of about 1110 m, the floor size becoming smaller and was only 304 m on the fifth floor.
The walls were made of white plaster.

Iemitsu had ordered 7 大名 Daimyo lords, two for the stone base and one for each floor to pay for the expenses.
It was a great honor to be named as such.
天守台石垣は黒田忠之、浅野光晟、
天守一重は水野勝成、二重は永井尚政、三重は松井康重、四重は松平忠国、五重は永井直清.


source : wako226.exblog.jp...
江戸図屏風の寛永天守閣 Kanei Edo castle tower on a folding screen

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source : wako226.exblog.jp...

. Great Fire of Meireki 明暦の大火 - March 2–3, 1657 .

According to the wish of 会津藩士の保科正之 Hoshina Masayuki, Lord of the Aizu Domain and brother of Iemitsu,
the castle was not re-built, but the money was used to re-built the badly damaged city of Edo.
There would be no more war in the Tokugawa regime, so no more need for a castle.
The absence of a castle tower became the new "symbol" of Edo and the Tokugawa clan who reigned for many generations from 1603 to 1868.

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- quote -
Will Edo Castle's tower rise again?
A citizens' group aims to grace modern Tokyo with a medieval masterpiece lost to fire in 1657
... The group, called Edo-jo Saiken o Mezasu Kai (The Group to Aim for the Reconstruction of Edo Castle), was founded in 2004 by Naotaka Odake,
... tenshukaku donjon (main tower)
... The builder’s plan of the Kanei tower — archived at the Tokyo Metropolitan Library — is the only one left for any of Japan’s medieval castles, since in those times people were not in the habit of keeping a written record for reasons of security,
... Edo Castle’s tower was the highest and most spectacular one ever constructed in Japan. That was because one of its key purposes was to project the grandeur and authority of the Tokugawa Shogunate far and wide from this mighty city the feudal regime made its political capital.
“It was a symbol of peace. It helped to keep the nation from falling into chaos.”
- reference source : Japan Times 2010 -

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. . Edo-jō 江戸城 Edo jo, Edo Castle . .

Tokugawa Ieyasu 徳川家康 (1543 - 1616)

Tokugawa Iemitsu 徳川家光 (1604 – 1651)


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. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .


................................................................................. Fukui 福井県
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福井市 Fukui city

. Inari 稲荷と伝説 Legends about the Fox Deity .
The reason why the lord of the castle went crazy was the doing of a fox.
So they built a sanctuary for Inari to appease the deity. And dogs were not allowed to come inside the castle compound.
The fox lived near the well of the castle tower and often attacked the chicken in the castle compound, but he was always forgiven.


福井城 Fukui castle tower
Fukui Castle (福井城 Fukui-jō)
..... also known by the name of Kitanoshō Castle (北ノ庄城 Kitanoshō-jō),
..... In 1871, all of the remaining buildings of the castle, with the exception of the daimyō palace, were destroyed and many of the moats were filled in.
Plans of the castle tower were found later.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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坂井郡 Sakai district 丸岡町 Maruoka town

katame no hebi 片目の蛇 snake with one eye
When the castle of Maruoka was built, the carpenters wanted to use a hitobashira 人柱 "human pillar" offering for safety.
A man with only one eye offered himself and promised to always protect the lord of the castle when he was buried under the castle tower.
Now snakes in the compound all have only one eye for this reason.
When enemy armies came in great numbers to attack the castle, the snake blew kasumi 霞 thick mist and fog on them and they had to leave.
. hitobashira 人柱 "human pillar" - human sacrifice .


Maruoka Castle (丸岡城 Maruoka-jō)
It also called Kasumi-ga-jō (霞ヶ城 Mist Castle) due to the legend that whenever an enemy approaches the castle, a thick mist appears and hides it.
..... Maruoka Castle was constructed by Shibata Katsutoyo in 1576. .....
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !




................................................................................. Gifu 岐阜県
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大垣市 Ogaki city

. Ogaki castle and a Rokubu pilgrim legend .
The pilgrim became a human sacrifice.


Ōgaki Castle (大垣城 Ōgaki-jō)
Other names for the castle include Bi Castle (麇城 Bi-jō) and Kyoroku Castle (巨鹿城 Kyoroku-jō).
When the castle was originally built, it had four levels and four different kinds of moats. In the late 16th century, however, Toyotomi Hideyoshi realized the strategic location of the castle and further strengthened it by building the donjon. Due to the historical importance of the castle, including its role in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, the donjon was designated a National Treasure in 1936.
In 1945, the keep and the rest of the castle was destroyed during air raids in World War II; it was rebuilt in 1959. The current castle is a replica ...
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !




................................................................................. Hyogo 兵庫県
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姫路市 Himeji city

. Osakabe no kami おさかべの神 female deity (or Yokai monster) .
venerated in the top of the 天守閣 main castle tower.


Himeji Castle (姫路城 Himeji-jō)
... known as Hakuro-jō or Shirasagi-jō ("White Egret Castle" or "White Heron Castle")
... significantly remodeled in 1581 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who added a three-story castle keep with an area of about 55 m2.
... Himeji was heavily bombed in 1945, at the end of World War II, and although most of the surrounding area was burned to the ground, the castle survived intact.
... substantial repair work was undertaken starting in 1956 - the Shōwa Restoration (1956–1964) ...
... The main keep (大天守 daitenshu) ... three smaller subsidiary keeps (小天守 kotenshu) ...
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !




................................................................................. Kanagawa 神奈川県
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小田原市 Odawara city

. tai 鯛 sea bream .
Since olden times the lord of Odawara always made an offering of one sea bream when something auspicious had happened.
Once there were two sea breams, so maybe something auspicious for his retainers. Anyway, the lord ate one of them.
A few days later a messenger from the Bakufu government came and told him he was advanced to a high position.



Odawara Castle (小田原城 Odawara-jō)
The castle tower was remodelled from July 2015 until April 2016...
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !




................................................................................. Nagano 長野県
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. 河童 Kappa the water goblin and 駒繋ぎ .
At the foot of the Matsumoto castle tower there was a remaining part of a cherry tree named 八幡太郎駒繋ぎ桜 Hachimantaro koma tsunagi sakura.
The Cherry tree where Hachimantaro bound his horse (before going into the river.)
There are other legends with a Kappa festival about a tree to bind a horse.

. Minamoto no Yoshiie Hachimantaro 源八幡太郎義家 / 源義家 . - (1039 - 1106)


Matsumoto Castle (松本城 Matsumoto-jō)
... The building is also known as the "Crow Castle" (烏城 Karasu-jō) due to its black exterior, because its black walls and roofs looked like spreading wings.
The keep (tenshukaku), which was completed in the late sixteenth century, maintains its original wooden interiors and external stonework. It is listed as a National Treasure of Japan.
... In 1872, following the Meiji Restoration, the site, along with many former daimyōs' castles, was sold at auction for redevelopment. When news broke that the keep was going to be demolished, however, an influential figure from Matsumoto, Ichikawa Ryōzō, along with residents from Matsumoto, started a campaign to save the building. Their efforts were rewarded when the tower was acquired by the city government.
... In the late Meiji period the keep started to lean to one side. An old picture clearly shows how the keep looked then. It was because of neglect coupled with a structural defect, but many people believed the tower leaned due to the curse of Tada Kasuke. He had been caught and executed for attempting to appeal unfair tax laws (Jōkyō uprising).
... A local high school principal, Kobayashi Unari, decided to renovate the castle and appealed for funds. The castle underwent "the great Meiji renovation" between 1903-1913. It underwent another renovation "the great Shōwa renovation" during the period 1950-1955.
In 1952 the keep, Inui-ko-tenshu (small northern tower), Watari-yagura (roofed passage), Tatsumi-tsuke-yagura (southern wing), and Tsukimi-yagura (moon-viewing room) were designated as national treasures.
... The second floor of the main keep features a gun museum, Teppo Gura, with a collection of guns, armor, and other weapons.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !




................................................................................. Osaka 大阪府
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大阪市 Osaka city

. Oonyuudoo 大入道 O-Nyudo Monster .
At the tail of the shachihoko 鯱 / 鯱鉾 fish-like decoration on the roof of the newly built castle tower there was black smoke coming out, which soon formed into the shape of the O-Nyudo Monster.
In former times, during natsu no jin 夏の陣 the summer battle there was black smoke indicating a curse of 秀頼と淀殿 Hideyori and his mother, Yodo Dono.
They say in reality it was a swarm of hanemushi 羽虫 featherworms during the daytime and in the evening a group of koomori 蝙蝠 bats.

. Shachihoko 鯱(しゃちほこ)roof decoration .



Osaka Castle (大坂城 or 大阪城, Ōsaka-jō)
The main tower of Osaka Castle is situated on a plot of land roughly one square kilometer. ... The central castle building is five stories on the outside and eight stories on the inside, and built atop a tall stone foundation to protect its occupants from attackers.
... During the summer of 1615 ... Osaka Castle fell to the Tokugawa clan, the Toyotomi clan perished, and the castle buildings burned to the ground.
In 1620, the new heir to the shogunate, Tokugawa Hidetada, began to reconstruct and re-arm Osaka Castle. He built a new elevated main tower, five stories on the outside and eight stories on the inside, and assigned the task of constructing new walls to individual samurai clans. ... Construction of the 5 story tenshu started in 1628 and was completed 2 years later,
... In 1665, lightning struck and burnt down the tenshu.
... In 1995, Osaka's government approved yet another restoration project, with the intent of restoring the main tower to its Edo-era splendor. In 1997, restoration was completed.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -
天守 / 天守閣 OK
25 櫓 (01)

. Shiro - Japanese Castle Legends お城と伝説  .

. Edo, Tokyo 江戸 - 東京 - 伝説 Legends Index .

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- reference -
More photos and illustrations:
reference source : blogs.yahoo.co.jp/merce_style...

- reference source : wako226.exblog.jp... -


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. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo 江戸の名所 .

. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .

. Doing Business in Edo - 商売 - Introduction .

. shokunin 職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .

. senryu, senryū 川柳 Senryu poems in Edo .

. Japanese Architecture - The Japanese Home .

. Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .


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- - - - - #edocastle #tenshukaku #castlekeep #keep #schlossturm - - - -
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