Morioka Castle

Morioka Castle's stone wall

Morioka Castle (盛岡城, Morioka-jō^?) is a castle in the city of Morioka, Iwate, Japan. Monument selected by the country. It was the place of residence of the Nanbu family of Morioka Han. It is also generally called Kozukata Castle (不来方城, Kozukata-jō^?), but strictly saying this indicates another castle.

General information

Morioka Castle is a castle with a continuous enclosure built in a plain mount positioned on a granite hill in the central part of Morioka. The Kitakami River on the west and the Nakatsu River on the southeast were its natural outer moats. A secondary enclosure is positioned at the northern part of the inner citadel, and a red painted bridge spans over a moat that divides the two. There's a tertiary enclosure positioned at the northern part of it; a Koshi no kuruwa (腰曲輪^?), a　Awaji maru (淡路丸^?) and a Sakakiyama kuruwa (榊山曲輪^?) enclose the inner citadel.

As an act of respect for the shogunate, it has no keep, which was substituted by a three-story turret built on the keep base.

It has an admirable stone wall constructed with white granite, which stands out among the castles of the Tōhoku region, most of those having earthen forts. The building was dismantled during the Meiji period, and the only known remaining constructions in existence nowadays are a storehouse with thick mortar walls, which was reconstructed in the interior part of the castle, and a gate which is said to have been moved from the castle to the Houon Zen shrine within the city. But, it is not sure whether the gate that was reconstructed was the castle gate.

Nowadays, the ruins of the Morioka Castle became the Iwate Park (岩手公園, Iwate Kōen^?) (see below for more information about its nickname Morioka Castle Ruins Park (盛岡城跡公園, Morioka-jō ato kōen^?)). Within the park, there is a monument inscribed with a poem of Kenji Miyazawa, who hailed from there and utterly loved the castle. Also, a monument in memory of Takuboku Ishikawa can be found, inscribed with one of his poems that is:

“

不来方のお城の草に寝ころびて空に吸はれし十五の心 Kozukata no oshiro no kusa ni nekorobite sora ni suwareshi jū-go no kokoro (English: I laid down on the grass of the Kozukata Castle, absorbed by the sky; my heart of fifteen)

”

History

As stated above, the castle was the residence of the Nanbu clan, and the seat of Morioka han during the Edo period. It was held by the Nanbu until just after the Boshin War, when the family was reassigned by the government to Shiroishi Castle, which was formerly in the Sendai domain.

The question of changing the name of Iwate Park

To be edited...

See also

• List of castles in Japan

Literature

• Schmorleitz, Morton S. (1974). Castles in Japan. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Co.. ISBN 0-8084-1102-4. 

External links

• [1] (In Japanese) - Iwate Park

Coordinates: 39°42′00″N 141°09′00″E / 39.699947°N 141.150111°E / 39.699947; 141.150111