日本100名城　高知城　坂本龍馬達が仰ぎ見た城　高知県　Kochi Castle 2023

日本100名城　高知城　坂本龍馬達が仰ぎ見た城　高知県　Kochi Castle 2023

Today I am heading towards Kochi Castle on the Tosaden tram. Get off at Kochijomae Station. It is about a 5 minute walk from the station to Kochi Castle. Kochi Castle was built by Kazutoyo Yamauchi as an early modern castle after the Battle of Sekigahara.

Kazutoyo Yamauchi was awarded 200,000 koku in Tosa for his military service at the Battle of Sekigahara and built a castle there. Kochi Castle still has many remains from the Edo period, including the existing castle tower, Honmaru Palace, and Otemon. There is an equestrian statue of Kazutoyo Yamauchi near the entrance.

I will enter through the chase gate. There is a stone monument designated as a national treasure, but this is from before the war and is currently designated as an important cultural property.

Kochi Castle was listed in July in the “Calendar of 12 Existing Castle Towers,” a separate volume of “100 Beloved Castles,” which was released the other day. If you like the 12 existing castle towers, you can enjoy them for a year, so please check them out.

Taisuke Itagaki, famous for the Freedom and People’s Rights Movement, was also a former samurai of the Tosa clan, and there is a bronze statue there. This is a stone gutter installed for drainage. Let’s look at it from a different angle.

This is a statue of the wife of Kazutoyo Yamauchi, who is said to have given her husband a famous horse as a dowry when they married. You can see that there is a considerable difference in height. Let’s turn a little to the right and look at the stone wall below Sannomaru.

The stone wall looked like a field. Return to the castle route and aim for the main castle. The remains of the iron gate came into view. This is the Masugata Koguchi.

What you can see in front of you is the Tsumemon gate, and the second floor is a bridge between the Ninomaru and Honmaru. Let’s approach the castle tower. What sticks out from the castle wall like a needle is the Shinobigaeshi. This is a device to prevent enemies from invading the castle walls.

A stone drop is also installed. Let’s take a walk around Sannomaru. This is the remains of a drainage ditch. Stone walls from the Chosokabe era were also on display. The castle tower can be seen clearly from Sannomaru. From the Ninomaru, cross the bridge corridor and head towards the Honmaru.

This bridge corridor is on the upper floor of the Tsumemon gate that we visited earlier. It is designed to be destroyed in the event of an emergency to prevent enemy invasion. Kochi Castle is the only castle in Japan where the castle tower and Honmaru Palace still exist. The entrance fee was 420 yen.

There was a beautiful transom display. This is the Yamauchi family crest. There are also plenty of exhibits on the castle tower. A diorama of Kochi Castle from the Edo period. We arrived at the top floor of the castle tower. You can see a panoramic view of Kochi city.

A bronze statue of Ichiryo Gusoku organized by the Chosokabe clan. There was also a diorama of fishing in the Edo period. On the way back, go down from the Black Iron Gate. You can now go out to the gate. Thank you for your viewing.

2023/10/26　高知県高知市　日本100名城No.84
アクセス：とさでん伊野線高知城前駅から徒歩約5分　現存天守と本丸御殿が残る唯一の城
構造：平山城／現存天守・櫓門・石垣など
#日本100名城　#城めぐり　#現存12天守

日本100名城

現存12天守

【参考書籍】
戦国LOVEWalker2024 最愛の城100選：https://amzn.to/3RT5xcW
歴史人 2023年 12 月号「令和版　戦国の山城 大全」：https://amzn.to/49CC6CR
日本人なら絶対行きたい日本の名城200：https://amzn.to/3snK0Pz
完全保存版 日本の城1055 都道府県別 城データ&地図：https://amzn.to/3MstRza