SAMURAI CASTLES: Hikone Castle - Time and Tide

[Music] a synthesis of wisdom and Technology the samurai Castle it's details God secrets it's a guide to understanding of turbulent period in Japanese history and offers insights into Japanese spirituality a castle Secrets reveal a deeper side to [Music] Japan hi I'm Chris GL for over 30 years I've lived in Japan studying Samurai history and culture arms weapons Warfare and of course the symbolic and iconic Samurai [Music] castles the samurai built some 40 to 50,000 castles across Japan throughout history today only 12 tower keeps remain in original condition of those 12 only five are designated as National Treasures and this is one of them just coming into view now look at that hikone [Music] castle erected 400 years ago the castle keep and numerous turrets remain standing to this [Music] day the castle employs ingenious defensive and offensive devices throughout hikone Castle was built for [Music] battle considering it was a defensive Fortress the samurai put surprising effort into beautifying the castle [Music] keep what's astonishing is that several structures within the castle were relocated here from other [Music] places but why today I'll be taking you around hicone Castle which reused and upcycled parts of other castles to build it we'll discover its Secrets its building techniques and better understand Samurai castles Shea prefecture cradles Japan's largest lake lake bewa hion Castle stands on a 136 M Mountain overlooking the lake in the [Music] East construction began in the early 17th century shortly after Tokugawa easu gained power as Shogun he appointed the eclan as as the castle Lords and governors of the region you're probably familiar with this good luck charm for business Prosperity the Mani Neo the beckoning cat Legend has it that this originated with the eclan one day when returning from falconry hion Castle's second Lord was caught in the rain he and his retinue sheltered under a large tree [Music] then he saw a cat outside the temple across the way it seemed to be beckoning him with its pore no sooner did they move over to where the cat sat than lightning struck the tree under which they had been standing in gratitude for having escaped danger the Lord made a generous donation to the temple and made it his family [Music] Temple it's said that the manikin neor was muddled on the cat that brought the Lord Good Fortune hicon Castle is a sturdy Fortress it was built to withstand attack and we'll see evidence of that as we work our way towards the cap the center of the Fortress with the tenu the tower keep stands spans roughly 21,000 square m and is surrounded by a moat most people would enter the castle through the saguchi tamon yagura gates the first offense to confront attackers was the tonagura this stunning white Corridor likee Watchtower has Windows and loopholes along its length through which matchlock guns and arrows could be fired originally another set of gates stood perpendicular to the tamon yagura gates as attackers moved through this area they were exposed to attack from all four sides this particular Courtyard area is called a masata it's a trap better remembered as being called a death box on the other side of saguchi tonagura were the [Music] Stables the Staples could accommodate 21 horses now hion Castle is the only Castle in Japan with remaining stables and they've been designated as important important cultural assets by the way the horses used by the samurai aren't the huge Thor breads we used to seeing in the movies and on TV period dramas in fact they were shorter squatter Haier indigenous kiso Uma horses this breed of horse native to Japan may have been small in stature but their powerful legs were an advantage in mountainous Terrain next attackers would have had to cross another moat as they proceeded to the tenu once over the bridge they had a steep climb ahead of [Music] them before we head up to the cap there's something I want want to show you notice how the stone wall behind us there is climbing up the mountain that's a climbing stone wall they're very very rare you can only see these features in very few castles across Japan climbing stone walls were erected vertically against the slope of the mountain hicon castle has five such walls thus restricting the direction and scope of enemy attacks the one we see here was originally taller and the path beside it leads up the mountain to the tenu with the high stone walls attackers had no choice but to follow the path working our way up the incline towards the keep you'll notice that the stone stairs here vary in depth and height as well look at the difference there now this just makes it even harder for the attackers it slows their momentum right down and it has them watching their feet instead of looking for the Defenders and defenses around [Music] them things turn even nastier for them at the [Music] top attackers would make their way up the path behind us and then find themselves in this huge trench it was dug to separate the two ridg lines as well as control and confine the attackers to this narrow space making them easy targets from The Defenders on either side now what's even more amazing is that this was dug by hand there were no bulldo no tractors no trucks in those days the attackers would be penned in by the 8 m deep trench and exposed to the defender Counterattack with bows and guns before we proceed let's take a look at one of the trench [Music] walls standing under the bridge and having a look at the stone wall behind me you notice something rather interesting there are different typ of stonel an older style over there and a newer more modern updated version on this side castle walls are often overlooked by visitors but they are key to understanding the Castle's history the wall on the right side has large gaps between the boulders filled with pebbles but the one on the left has the stones fitted together with fewer gaps in between both sides were made at the same time however in 1854 a large earthquake damaged this section of the stone wall and it was rebuilt using different stonework techniques in fact with a bit of study you can actually tell the age of a castle by the stonework used okay let's push on towards the cape [Music] to get to the keep attackers would first have to cross the bridge but to get there that'd be forced to take a spiraling 360° Loop to get [Music] there this wooden bridge could be collapsed to separate the Bailey and prevent the enemy from reaching the cape [Music] across the bridge stands the tenbin yagura or scales turret the name is an illusion to the turret's balanced symmetrical structure which resembles weighing [Music] scales from inside the Tim bagara having a look out the window you can actually tell that the route we took really does go around 360° Samurai who slipped through the trench attack would now have their backs exposed as they charged up the stairs this is a menacing defense strategy he H Castle however was designed not only to attack the enemy but also to protect the Defenders take this wall for example note how this section slopes out a little bit what it is is two separate pieces of wall that is filled with stones and gravel inside now this is to withstand cannon fire basically the wall on the outer side gets hit by a cannonball and the filling absorbs the impact therefore the inner wall doesn't shatter and injure the people inside if you think about it this is amazing technology for having been made over 400 years ago the tenin yagura was one of the entrances to the main Bailey it's open to debate but it's believed that this turret was once the main gate of nearby nagahama Castle as we climb the stairs the tenu comes into [Music] view but there's the Tao mon yagura or drum turret standing in our way now every Castle had a drum Tower during attack it called the men to action and it signaled orders in this time it sounded the hours and shift changes this particular Tao yagura was also relocated from Another Castle but where remains a mystery through the Tao Mon yagura and finally into the main Bailey the core of the castle hiona castle is solidly designed with various defenses to stop attackers long before they G get anywhere close to the tenture and when you see its Sheer Elegance it's Beauty you tend to forget that this was built for [Music] Warfare a designated national treasure the three-story High ten shoe is 20.5 M tall including the stone foundation the Verandas on the top floor are only for [Music] show there's no way for anyone to actually step out onto them pointed bell-shaped Windows like these often appear in Buddhist architecture and signify prestige probably the most striking elements of this beauty are the Triangular Gables and Roofing embellishments hikon Castle has three types of [Music] Gables the undulating Gables trimmed with gold are another feature of Buddhist [Music] architecture [Music] there are also the cut end [Music] Gables and the large inset pediment Gables in the middle the three-story Castle keep has 18 cables in total [Music] the tenu at himei Castle has six stories twice that of hion but only 17 Gables so it becomes obvious that great importance was placed on the appearance of hikone keep but why is hion Castle so decorative I mean it's a military inst right the samurai of 400 years ago had interesting reasons for creating such beauty a short distance from hikone Castle is Mount sa upon which stood another [Music] Castle it was said to have been a grand castle with a five-story keep the Lord of saama Castle was Ishida mitari a Dao Lord known for his wisdom in 1600 a major conflict between two great armies took place about 30 km away in SE gahara the Eastern forces were led by daor Tokugawa easu who was seeking to gain supreme power over Japan the Western troops were led by Dio Ishida mitari a powerful vassel of the toyotomi clan who was hindering E's efforts yasu won the battle seized power and was proclaimed Shogun he bequeathed SAA massel to one of his retainers the eclan for their Gallant Fighting in the Battle of SE gahana later easu ordered the eclan to move the Castle the then daor e nugu received permission to rebuild at a new location closer to Lake B in either 16003 or 16004 at the time the lake was a major point of economic activity transporting goods and people to and from the then Capital Koto nsu's New Castle would be located at the point where highways from Eastern and Western Japan connected hikone had strategic [Music] value toaga easu now held power from your seat in eastern Japan but the Rival toyotomi Clan still held influence in Western Japan and were considered a threat to counter this the toaga law Royal eclan built an impressive stronghold that showed Tokugawa Authority and formed a first line of defense against the toyotomi [Music] forces if nugu were to build a new Castle he would have to make it superior to the five-story saama castle however at the time Tokugawa easu had a five-story Teno at his base Ador Caso so in difference to his Overlord nugu decided on a threeory [Music] keep but no matter how one saw it a three-story keep would look inferior so the Architects ensured it was just as elegant and added Gables railings and other embellishments the beautiful Gables and the well-shaped Windows have been compared with the heavy makeup worn by Kabuki actors to accentuate their features even from afar this Castle stands out and appears Larger than [Music] Life adding to the pressure was the fact that easu was still in conflict with the toyotomi clan at the time of construction so it was imperative the castle be completed in the shortest possible time the solution by now you've probably realized that honic castle was compiled from parts from other castles such as the timin yagura and the taoon yagura in fact the tenu here also came from Another Castle I'll show you the proof The Columns and be teams throughout the tenu are exposed and there are no Comforts because it was not meant for habitation the keep was considered the last resort in times of War a place of final [Music] Retreat the stairs inside are very very steep not just to save space in the narrow keep but also to make it harder for attackers to get in and yet easier for the Defenders can you imagine wearing maybe 15 to 20 kg worth of armor and carrying all of your weapons and trying to climb stairs like this [Music] difficult now in here we have evidence that this keep came from a different Castle you need a flashlight stronger than that on your smartphone to pick most of them [Music] out come and have a look at [Music] this if I shine a light up here can you see up there there's what appears to be writing and a symbol and over here as well not just there but in here as well come and have a look can you see up there writing and a symbol as well this is numbering when a building is dismantled all the parts are cataloged and assigned numbers and symbols however if the structure was rebuilt in its original form you shouldn't be able to see the [Music] numbering also you can see mortisers which are used to join the beams with other pieces again if the timber were fitted to the original plan you shouldn't be able to see them so why do [Music] we in 1957 work began to dismantle and repair the Teno the project took 3 years to complete and it was discovered that if the cap were to be rebuilt according to the numbering it would look different this plan shows what the T would look like a fivestory [Music] structure close investigation of eclan documents revealed that parts for hikon tenhu were relocated from otu Castle which was on the other side of Lake bewa U Castle successfully halted large numbers of the enemy's Advance during the Battle of seara leading easu to Victory it's believed the eclan used the U tenu to build hioni castle to bring Good Fortune reusing the timber in this way saved much time and effort and the tenu was completed within six [Music] months rather than designing it from scratch the eclan constructed hikone castle by recycling turrets Gates the keep and other buildings from existing castles using the technology of the time hikone Castle was built for battle but ultimately no one dared attack this defensive and authoritative [Music] Castle this stroll Garden was built in 1679 after many years of lasting peace from here the elegant keep becomes part of the garden the tenue was intended not only as a symbol of authority but to promote peace Japanese castles fuse Beauty and functionality Ingenuity and wisdom and that's something to look out for when you visit a samurai [Music] Castle [Music] [Music]

Channel: NHK WORLD-JAPAN

Views: 105,361

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Id: iqqbgUTWEug

Length: 28min 6sec (1686 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 11 2023