Maruoka Castle is one of a small distinguished group of just 12 Japanese castles that have survived intact from the Edo period. Of these, Maruoka-jo is the oldest castle constructed in the Hirayama style.
The castle, built on an unimposing hill, in the city of Sakai in Fukui Prefecture, is also colloquially known as “Kasumiga jo” or Mist Castle. Legend has it that when Morioka Castle was set upon and surrounded by enemy forces, a giant snake appeared and hissed out a massive stream of haze to bewilder and defeat its attackers.
Katsuie Shibata had his nephew Katsutoyo build the Moruoka Castle by order of the first of Japan’s three famous unifiers, Nobunaga Oda in 1576 during the turmoil and conflict of the Sengoku Ji Dai (warring states period) as a preparation for the Ikko-Ikki, a militant Buddhist sect.
Cherry Blossom Viewing At Maruoka Castle
The Maruoka castle compound is surrounded by Kasumigajo Park, a famous cherry blossom viewing spot with approximately 400 Someiyoshino trees.
When it hits full bloom in late March or early April, the cherry blossom appears to form a mist that surrounds the castle, creating a mystical scene.
The castle is even nicknamed “Kasumiga-jo” which can be translated to “Mist Castle” and there’s no doubt that it is in a fantastically beautiful spot floating among the blooming sakura in springtime.
Maruoka Castle Tower
Maruoka Castle is a “linked” castle with the main circle and other interconnecting wards (compartments) such as Ninomaru and Sanomaru. The castle is built on a stone base with a double-layered exterior and a three-layered interior with a freestanding watchtower-style keep.
The top level of the keep has Windows open on all four sides, providing a view of the Japan Sea and the coast of Mikuni.
The human sacrifice Of “Oshizuka”
Maruoka Castle has a sad and haunting legend of “O-Shizuka,” who became an unfortunate human sacrifice. And there is a song related to her legend, the words of which can be roughly translated as:
“The raindrops that fall on the edge of the moat are tears of Shizuka’s blood.”
Legend has it that when the stone base of the castle towers was being built, the masons and engineers were having a hard time because stones would continually collapse each time they were stacked up.
At this point, someone came up with the idea to use a ‘human pillar’ to prop the stones up from the inside of the castle walls.
The unfortunate candidate was OShizuka a blind woman who lived in poverty. brave Oshizuka accepted this task and became a jinbashira or human Pillar on the promise that her child would be given an official samurai rank.
Thanks to her human sacrifice, Maruoka Castle went up without a hitch from that point on.
But the lord failed to uphold his part of the bargain with the old woman and it was reneged upon when lord Katsutoyo Shibata was suddenly moved to another Province.
After this, spring rains poured down every year, flooding the moat. People believed that the rain was caused by Oshizuka’s resentment that the promise was not fulfilled and built a shrine to comfort her.
Now, every year in April, the month when Oshizuka became a human sacrifice, this downpour is known as “Oshizuka’s rain of tears” by locals.
Another legend states that Oshizuka became a giant snake and lived in a nearby well, giving it the name “snake well.
So we guess the moral of the story is that when your lord asks if anyone would like a job, keep your head down.
Roof made of sceptered stone
A unique feature of Maruoka Castle is its roof, which is made of shakudani-ishi (stone scepter). Maruoka Castle is situated in an area that can receive a lot of snow, and standard roof tiles are susceptible to cracking during the cold winter weather.
There are around six thousand stone tiles which are said to weigh 120 tons. The variety of stones used is extremely rare and valuable as it was only mined in the nearby Mt Asuwa.
Because the roof becomes a blue hue when wet, Maruoka Castle is known to change its appearance in the rain.
A Castle Designed For War
Notice that the main Maruoka Castle tower is speckled with gaps and windows, both big and small.
The castle was defended from advancing samurai through these small windows by firing guns, bow and arrow fire, and the tried and true method of dropping huge stones on your attacker’s head below.
When you enter the castle keep. on the 1st floor, notice the gap which is called an Ishi-otoshi or Stone Drop where, as the name implies stones were thrown down from directly above on unfortunate attackers attempting to climb the rock walls.
Mind The Steep Stairs
Another interesting characteristic of Maruoka Castle’s design is the unforgiving angle of the staircases. They are so steep that ropes are installed to help you make it to the top.
The challenging angle of over 60° was to provide one last challenge for attacking samurai should they even make it that far.
Maruoka Castle’s History
In 1576 Maruoka Castle was first constructed by Katsutoyo Shibata. But just six years later, In 1582, after the powerful Oda Nobunaga died when he was betrayed in a coup known as the Honnoji Incident, a succession conference was hastily organized to choose who the various territories would be dished out to.
Maruoka Castle’s Change Of Lords
The decision was made that Katsutoyo Shibata was to pack his bags and move to the province of Omi in present-day Shiga and he gifted his chief vassal Ieyoshi Yasui the keys to the front gate of Maruoka Jo and lordship of the area.
But before he’d had a chance to enjoy his new digs, just one year later in1583, Ieyoshi Yasui died during the ferocious Battle of Shizugatake, a struggle for supremacy among the opportunistic vassals of Nobunaga Oda.
The Warring States Period Winds Down
Katsuie Shibata then committed suicide after being defeated by Hideyoshi Toyotomi, and the province of Echizen was ruled by Nagahide Niwa, who was on Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s side.
Later, during the famous Battle of Sekigahara, Munekatsu Aoyama, a member of the losing western army, lost his position as the Maruoka Castle lord, and Moritsugu Imamura, of Fukui domain, took over the castle in his place.
However, Imamura Moritsugu lost his position as a result of the Echizen Disturbance a factional war within the Fukui domain that took place in 1612.
The Current Maruoka Castle Tower Is Built
Honda Narishige was the newly appointed lord of the castle. The stone walls that remain today were most likely erected at this time, along with the present castle tower.
In 1624, Maruoka was named an independent domain from the Fukui Domain, and Honda Narushige became the first lord of the province.
The Drunken Lord Is Kicked Out
During the reign of Honda Shigematsu, the fourth lord of Maruoka Domain, things went downhill. Shigematsu Honda was said to be rather keen on his Sake and neglected his political duties.
As a result, his vassals squabbled overpower, and eventually, the shogun himself had to intervene to resolve the conflict.
Honda Shigemasu was told to put down his sake flask and was given his marching orders, and Arima Kiyozumi was named Maruoka domain’s lord in 1695.
Maruoka Castle Main Tower Survives The Meiji Era
The Arima clan continued to be the lords of the castle until 1869 which was the 2nd year of the Meiji period.
In the Meiji era (1868-1912), only the castle tower remained due to the decree to abolish the castle.
The Castle Collapses During the Fukui Earthquake of 1948
In 1948, the castle tower collapsed during the Fukui Earthquake. It was rebuilt using as many of the original materials as possible, allowing it to retain its place among the 12 original castles of Japan.
