Maruoka Castle facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Maruoka Castle 丸岡城
Sakai, Fukui Prefecture, Japan
Donjon of Maruoka Castle
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Coordinates	ACoordinates: Unknown argument format
Type	hirayama-style Japanese castle
Site information
Open to the public	Yes
Site history
Built	1576
Built by	Shibata Katsutoyo
In use	Sengoku-Edo period
Demolished	1871

Maruoka Castle (丸岡城, Maruoka-jō) is a special type of Japanese castle called a hirayama-style castle. It is located in the Maruoka area of Sakai city, in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. People also call it Kasumi-ga-jō (霞ヶ城, Mist Castle). This is because of a cool legend! The story says that whenever enemies came close to the castle, a thick mist would appear. This mist would hide the castle from view.

This castle was built a long time ago, at the end of the Sengoku period (a time of many wars in Japan). Over the years, different powerful families called daimyō lived there. They ruled the Maruoka Domain during the Edo period, under the Tokugawa shogunate. Today, the castle grounds are a public park. It is very famous for its beautiful sakura (cherry blossom) trees. The castle's main tower, called a tenshu, is quite small. It claims to be the oldest original castle tower in Japan. However, other castles like Inuyama Castle and Matsumoto Castle also make this claim.

Castle Location and Design
Castle History
Maruoka Castle Today
Castle Features
See also

Castle Location and Design

Maruoka Castle sits on top of a small hill. This hill is in the flat lands north of Fukui city. The area around the hill was made flat. It was protected by strong walls called ramparts. There was also a moat shaped like a five-sided star. The castle was built along an important old road called the Hokurikudō highway. This road connected two old provinces, Kaga and Echizen. It was also near where another road, the Mino Kaidō, met the Sea of Japan. This made it a very important spot for travel and trade.

Castle History

Building the Castle

Maruoka Castle was built in 1576. It was constructed by Shibata Katsutoyo. He was the nephew and adopted son of Shibata Katsuie. Katsuie was one of the most important generals for the famous leader Oda Nobunaga.

There is a famous legend about how the castle was built. It is called "O-shizu, Hitobashira." A hitobashira means a "human pillar." The story says that when they were building the stone base for the main tower, it kept falling down. No matter how many times they tried, the stones would not stay. One of the castle's helpers suggested they should make a human sacrifice. This was to make the gods happy. A poor woman named O-shizu was chosen. She had only one eye and two children. She agreed to be the sacrifice. But she had one condition: one of her children had to be taken care of by Katsutoyo and become a samurai. So, O-shizu stood in place, and the stones were built around her. Her sacrifice allowed the castle to be finished successfully.

However, Katsutoyo could not keep his promise to O-shizu. He moved to another area before her son could become a samurai. The legend says that O-shizu's spirit was very sad and angry. Every April, when it was time to cut the algae in the moat, heavy spring rain would fall. People called it "the rain caused by the tears of O-shizu's sorrow." They even built a small tomb to try and calm her spirit. There was a poem about it: "The rain which falls when the season of cutting algae comes Is the rain reminiscent of the tears of the poor O-shizu's sorrow."

Even though the castle was built around 1575-1600, its design looked older. It was more like castles from the earlier Warring States period (1477-1575). Since it was on a low hill, the builders decided to put the main tower on a very tall stone base. This would make the castle look taller. But at that time, building such steep stone bases was new. They used rough, uncut stones, which made the walls unstable. This is likely why the base kept collapsing during construction.

The Tokugawa Shogunate Era

Shibata Katsutoyo became sick and passed away in 1583. After that, the Aoyama clan took over the castle. But the Aoyama family chose the wrong side in a big battle called the Battle of Sekigahara. They lost their castle to the winner, Tokugawa Ieyasu. Ieyasu gave the Echizen area to his son, Yūki Hideyasu. Hideyasu then gave Maruoka Castle to one of his loyal helpers, Imamura Moritsugu.

Later, in 1613, there was a problem within the Fukui area. So, the Tokugawa shogunate (the government at the time) made Maruoka a more important domain. They gave it to Honda Narishige. He was the son of Honda Shigetsugu, another important general for Ieyasu. Honda Narishige helped a lot during the Siege of Osaka in 1624. Because of his efforts, the domain became even bigger. His son and grandson finished building the castle and the town around it, called a jōkamachi.

However, Honda Narishige's great-grandson, Honda Shigemasu, was not a good ruler. The shogunate removed him from power in 1695. The Arima clan then took over Maruoka Castle. They ruled for eight generations. Their rule ended in July 1871. This was during the Meiji Restoration, when the old system of domains was abolished.

After the Meiji Restoration

After the Meiji Restoration, many Japanese castles were torn down. At Maruoka, many castle buildings were removed. Some gates, stone walls, and trees were sold. But the main tower (the tenshu) and the castle grounds were bought by the town of Maruoka in 1901. It then became a public park. The moat around the castle was slowly filled in over time.

The main tower was recognized as a national treasure in 1934.

In 1948, a big earthquake hit Fukui. The castle's stone base was badly damaged, and the main tower collapsed. But in 1955, the tower was rebuilt! Workers used 70% of the original wooden pillars and about 60% of the original beams. They put in a strong concrete frame and rebuilt the stone base with the original stones. Then, they put the tower back on top. During this rebuilding, the windows on the top floor were changed. They used to be sliding doors, but they became push-up windows.

The castle was named an Important Cultural Property in 1950. Some of the castle's old gates still exist today. You can find one at Kōzen-ji temple in Komatsu, Ishikawa. Another is at Renshō-ji temple in Awara, Fukui.

Research on Building Dates

Experts from the Maruoka Castle Research Committee studied the castle. They looked at the wood used in the main tower. By checking the tree rings and other things, they found something interesting in 2019. Most of the main wooden pillars were cut down after 1626. This was confusing because people thought the castle was built in 1576. The style of the tower also seemed old for the 1620s. This suggests that if it was built in 1576, it was heavily rebuilt around 1628. This would have happened when the Honda clan owned the castle.

In October 2019, a typhoon damaged the outside wall of the main tower. It was later repaired.

Maruoka Castle Today

Maruoka Castle is one of only twelve castles in Japan that still has its original main tower.

The old castle grounds are now part of Kasumigajo Park. You can still see parts of the old walls and moats. There is also a small museum. It shows old weapons, armor, and items that belonged to the castle's past lords. The park is famous for its about 400 cherry blossom trees. Every year, a cherry blossom festival is held in April. During this time, over 300 paper lanterns light up the trees at night.

Castle Features

The main tower sits on a stone platform that is about 6.2 meters (20 feet) high. It is surrounded by Japanese black pine and cherry trees. To get inside, you walk up a long staircase into its dark wooden interior. The tower has three floors. The top floor was used as a watchtower.

The main tower has some special features. The roof originally had wooden shingles. But later, these were replaced with tiles made from a local stone called shakudani. These stone tiles make the roof very heavy, weighing about 60 tons. This is more than twice the weight of a normal tiled roof! Some sources even say it weighs 120 tons. People think stone tiles were used because they kept the castle warmer in winter. The roof also has stone shachihoko ornaments. These are like fish-tiger statues.

On one side of the main tower, there are special windows called ishiotoshimado. These windows stick out. Defenders could shoot at enemies through wooden slats. There was also a trap door to drop stones or pour hot water on attackers below. The main tower also has a hidden floor that you cannot see from the outside. Overall, the size and inside of Maruoka Castle's main tower are very similar to Inuyama Castle.